"Puck the halls with lots of Slapshots Fa la la la la la la la la "

'Dad can we have something hockey related to go on top of our tree this year?' was roughly what was said when the boys had finished decorating the Christmas tree in their bedroom this year. Every year it has been tradition for the boys to choose random toys to be our festive showpieces, but with hockey becoming such a big part of their lives this year it was inevitable that they would want their new love up high above the branches. There are so many cool Christmas related items available in the US and Canada and I'm kicking myself that we didn't realise that Hockey was going to be so big while we were away so we could have snapped some things up.
 

Sadly over here in the UK it is difficult to get many of these items and with import tax, extended delivery time and high costs, I just couldn't warrant splashing out this close to Christmas. So.... we did what we do best in our house and decided to make our own hockey-themed tree topper. Opeie is a big Chicago Blackhawks fan, partly because he loves the Jersey but also because he's a big Waynes World fan (I know what an awesome kid). So the Chicago Blackhawks were the starting point for our Christmas craft session. 

It's great crafting with the boys because they come up with the best ideas, like having a goalie mask and a Waynes World cap for the head piece. I threw in the idea for the wings and Opeie's last minute hockey stick idea while eating a frozen banana and being inspired by the stick,  meant our team creation ended up looking pretty great I think.

"You miss 100% of the shots you never take!"

Since being in the states the boys have gone hockey crazy. I'm not really sure what started it off but quite early into the holiday Seth had made it clear that we wanted to use his holiday money to buy some hockey sticks which I thought was a great idea as it was another thing that we could do together, awesome father/son bonding. There was a brief moment when we picked up the sticks and goal at the club house where we were staying and thought 'how are we going to get those in our case but as the blades were detachable we managed to make everything fit.

Since we got back we've played hockey in the street every day and have also purchased the Nhl channel to watch the games, which has been great. The boys though, were eager to go to a game. We're really lucky where we are as we are close to our local ice rink and a few days after we arrived back from Florida our local team, the Telford Tigers, had their first game of the season so we took the boys to watch.

The game was awesome and we beat Manchester Phoenix 4:1 which was a great result for the boys first game. The atmosphere was great and despite not being a big sports fan myself, I really enjoyed the fast pace of the game. Since then we've been to a game every week and it has been something great to do as a family.

Since going to the games, hockey has pretty much dominated all of our outdoor play while at home. I bought extra blades and picked up some wood to make handles so that the boys can play with their friends and we can all play as a family. It's great that the boys have got into something that we can all play together and living At the end of a quiet cul-de-sac has been perfect for our games.

I don't think this new love of hockey is going anywhere and I'm glad. I've never been in to football so being able to go in to the street for an hour and take shots at each other has been great for me and the boys and having friends on the street that are also interested in joining in makes all the difference to them. I'm just waiting now for that inevitable "Dad! can we ask santa for some roller blades for Christmas?".