Team Mama Idea: Super Easy Soccer Cupcakes

Tomorrow is No. 2's last soccer game of the season. Which according to every single meteorologist will be played in the rain, again. Yep, I checked them all. I seriously can't remember the last time we had a dry weekend. Ugh!


After the game, we will celebrate with a team pizza party. And if you know anything about this Sports Mama, you know I couldn't help but volunteer to bring cupcakes. And not just any cupcakes, but soccer cupcakes of course!

These soccer cupcakes were easy, I mean super easy, to make. Want to learn how to make them yourself? Just keep reading!


What you'll need:

• Boxed cake mix
• Black cupcake liners
• Green icing
• Star decorating tip
• Soccer ball party picks (I found mine at Party City)

All you do:

1. Follow the directions on the box for cupcakes.
2. Let the cupcakes cool completely.
3. Once they are completely cooled, pipe on the icing (aka grass) using the star tip.
4. Stick the party pick (aka soccer ball) into the cupcake.
5. Step back and admire your work!

See, I told you they were easy. Yet they *almost* look store bought!

The only thing I would do different next time is to use chocolate cake mix instead of yellow. That way it looks like dirt underneath the "grass".


Happy weekend, Sports Mamas!

*** Update: We won 3-2 AND I just found out that my boy was chosen for the ALL STAR team!!!






*** Click HERE for my football cupcakes and HERE for my basketball cupcakes! ***

Weekend Snapshots + A Bonus Sports Mama Tip!

Hey mamas! Just wanted to share a few snapshots from this past weekend. No. 2 had a soccer game, No. 1 had a basketball game, and No. 3 had a flag football game. And guess what?? I got to see ALL THREE! None of them conflicted with the others...winning!

Saturday began with a soccer game. We couldn't have asked for more perfect weather!

Yep, that's my kid with the two different color socks on. Nope, it's not a new style. He has no clue where his other white one is. Ha!



The game ended in a tie, 2-2.

After soccer, we rushed to No. 1's basketball game. We had little to no time to get from Northern Virginia to DC. Gotta love travel sports!

They lost in OT. Such a heartbreaker!

No. 3's flag game was on Sunday.

And they WON!!! They won so big that the game was ended on a mercy rule, 28-0! Best of all, both his big brothers were there to cheer him on. Go Bills!

After the game, they celebrated with Bills themed cupcakes.

*** Sports mama tip: Next time you bring cupcakes to a game, try placing them in individual clear cups (pictured above). They are WAY easier to pass out this way (think no more icing on your hands!) AND you can even squeeze in a napkin. Your fellow sports mamas will definitely thank you for that. Trust me! I know I will be using this tip in the (near) future.

What do you do to cut down on messes when transporting goodies to and from the field? Feel free to share in the comment section below. I'm always on the hunt for new ideas!







Team Mama Idea: Basketball End of Season Ideas

Basketball season has come and gone! At least non-AAU basketball which is a whole different animal. We'll talk about that sometime soon, I'm sure.


Although I was never officially "crowned" team mama (none of the boys' teams had one), I tried to help out where I could. For No. 3, I ran our TeamSnap and took pictures here and there. I also took up the collection for his Coach's gift. His coach has been nothing short of amazing with the team. Coaching 8 silly and super energetic, third grade boys (who also happen to have some of the shortest attention spans I've ever seen!) is no easy task!


We presented him with an Amazon gift card as well as a framed picture of a basketball, signed by all of the boys on the team. I found the picture on Pinterest as well as these cute, FREE printable gift card holders. Just download, print on cardstock, and attach with the gift card of your choice-that's it!

Coach absolutely loved his gift! He said it would be going up in his office.

No. 3 earned a new medal to add to his collection! (Click HERE to see how I organize them).

And the end of the season just wouldn't have been complete without cupcakes! I bought blue liners and decorated them with orange sprinkles to match our team colors.

I decorated the other half of the cupcakes like basketballs for No. 2's team. Click HERE to read my original post, if you'd like to know exactly what I used.

How awesome is the thank you card the parents gave Coach Hubby?! I absolutely love it! The mama who coordinated the coaches gifts said she had it made at Walgreens. I will definitely be using her idea in the future!

Speaking of awesome, check out my shirt y'all! I'm obsessed.

Not that two basketball games, baking, and cosmic bowling with a bunch of eleven year old boys counts as staying in bed.

Until next season!

Team Mama Idea: Football End of Season Party Ideas for CHAMPIONS!

The end of football season is always so bittersweet. I always try and make our end of season parties extra special for the team as the season is long and hard. And when you win the championship, you deserve nothing short of the best.


We sent our boys (and coaches!) out with a BANG! And best of all, it was all completely covered by our touchdown jar. We raised $570.60!!!


I was a co-team mama for No. 1's team, so I had extra hands to help me plan and set-up. So helpful! We reserved a private area at a local sports bar. The boys range in age from 9-13, so this worked out perfectly.


We arrived about an hour before the scheduled start time to decorate.


We ordered each player and coach a personalized t-shirt. The front had their picture on it and the back had the entire roster, including both names and jersey numbers.

We draped them on the back of the chairs. They loved them!


One of the other co-team mamas made each boy a bag of treats. Aren't they cute?

I ordered the trophies from Trophy Depot. They are quick and reliable. Our club actually paid for them since our boys made it as far as they did!

I also printed out a picture of each player with his family and the championship trophy. CVS offered the white border as an option, and I'm so glad I went with it. It definitely made them look extra special!

We all ate while watching the championship victory on the big screen! Coach also made a highlight reel of the entire season. The boys really enjoyed seeing themselves on t.v. They were clapping, and oohing and ahhing after each play!

I think it's pretty safe to say that they enjoyed their food! And then there was cake, because no party is complete without cake (or a cupcake cake!).

It was so funny to hear them talk about who "ate" who.

We allowed the boys to put their shirts on AFTER they finished eating. Ha! And paused to take a bunch of pictures, of course.

Then it was time for gifts. And boy did they get a bunch. In the words of their head coach, "this is more like Christmas than a football party". They deserved it all. Such an amazing group of players, coaches, and parents!

In addition to the shirts and trophies, they also received personalized Gatorade water bottles from one of their assistant coaches.

Such a cool and practical gift! What athlete can't use more water bottles?

And an 11 X 14 high resolution photo from their head coach. We will definitely be getting ours framed!

This photo totally screams, "Look ma, we're famous!" to me.

For coaches gifts, we collected money from the parents and purchased them each personalized footballs from Etsy which the boys autographed.

We also gave them gift cards purchased with the leftover money. So well deserved!

Everyone had a great time.

Including us mamas! Who may or may not have planned to dress alike...

The saying says, "Go big or go home". And that's exactly what we did. We love our boys. Go Admirals!

Now it's time to rest for a couple of weeks before our weekends are filled with basketball.

Until next season!

***Be sure to click on the links below to see some of my previous end of season party ideas:

End of Season Party Ideas

End of Season Party Ideas- II

Football Cake & Cupcakes

No. 1's birthday always falls during football season (usually on a practice night). Well, this year it falls on a game day, so what better way to celebrate than with his teammates and a football cake AND cupcakes!

Here's what you'll need for the cupcakes:

• Boxed cake mix
• White frosting
• Burgundy icing color
• Gold decorating gel
• Gold cupcake liners

I began by baking the cupcakes according to the instructions on the box. While they cooled, I worked on my frosting. I won't even lie, burgundy is a tough color to achieve! I feel like I had to use a ton of icing color, and they still didn't turn out as burgundy as I would have liked. Oh well. Once they were completely cooled, I iced and then added each player's jersey number to them.

On to the cake. Here's what you'll need:

• Boxed cake mix
• Chocolate frosting
• White decorating icing
• Football shaped cake pan

I again followed the instructions on the box, changing nothing except for the type of pan I used. I purchased a football shaped cake pan from Michaels. Don't forget to use a coupon! Oh yeah, the pan also called for a longer baking time than the box did. When the cake was completely cooled, I took a serrated knife and sliced off a tiny bit of the middle so that when I flipped it, it would be leveled. Before removing it from the pan, I took a butter knife and went around the sides to loosen it up a bit. After that, I flipped it over, gave it a bit of a pat, and out it came!


I began decorating the cake by icing it with a very thin layer of the chocolate frosting first, also known as a crumb coat. When the crumb coat was applied, I stuck the cake in the fridge to let it set. Once it was set (no longer sticky to the touch), I added the final, thicker layer of chocolate frosting. I then took the white decorating icing (which already had a piping tip attached-I love that!), and drew on the laces. That's it! It was my first attempt at a football cake, and I must say, I really like the way it came out!

It's also my turn to bring snacks to the game. For halftime fruit, I sliced several navel oranges (click HERE to see how I do it) and placed them in snack sized baggies. For post-game snacks and drinks, they will have Gatorades to help wash down the cupcakes. I also grabbed some goldfish crackers for the little siblings.


I can't wait to share them with the team tomorrow. Go Admirals!






*** Update: We won! Victory never tasted so SWEET!!!

*** Here's my most recent take on football cupcakes! I used blue liners and orange sprinkles to match our new team colors as well as chocolate icing for the "footballs" and white cookie icing for the "laces". Easy peasy and the team loved them! #WINNING

*** Click HERE for my basketball cupcakes and HERE for my soccer cupcakes! ***







Basketball Cupcakes

No. 2's basketball team made it to the championship game! They only lost one game during the regular season, so they are the number one seed. In my sports mama mind that calls for none other than...CUPCAKES! Yep, I'm that mama always looking for a reason to bring goodies.


These were pretty easy to make, and I am by no means a baker. I used a boxed cake (Funfetti, to be exact), vanilla frosting, orange icing color, black icing, and a no. 2 piping tip.


I let the cupcakes cool completely prior to icing. While they were cooling, I spooned the vanilla frosting into a bowl and began to add in the orange icing color, little by little with a toothpick. It did take quite a bit of icing color to achieve that perfect basketball orange. Once iced, I drew on the black lines using the no. 2 piping tip. I began by piping the line down the middle (or the "almost" middle-ha!), then added a curved line on each side of the middle line, followed by the line across. Ta-da, basketball cupcakes!


Not too shabby for my first attempt, huh? I can't wait to share them with the team.


GO SPARTANS!

*** Update: THEY WON!!!!!!!!!

*** Click HERE for my soccer cupcakes and HERE for my football cupcakes! ***