Team Mama Idea: DIY Wrestling Senior Night Idea!

Happy New Year, Sports Mamas! I hope you all are well. 

I wanted to jump on here really quick and share a simple, budget friendly DIY Senior Night idea with my wrestling mamas. Ashley Johnson, one of the awesome mamas in our Facebook group, recently shared this photo from her athlete's Senior Night.

I mean, seriously... how cute AND CREATIVE is this?!?

She made the singlets our of colored posterboard. (If you have a Cricut, you could use that as well). She then added the school logo, name, weight class, and year to each one.

I absolutely love the simplicity of this DIY! 

Be sure to join the Confessions of a Sports Mama Facebook group for even more inspo. We're 77,000+ strong... and counting! Thanks again to Ashley for sharing her idea with us and allowing me to share it here on the blog!

Team Mama Idea: DIY Candy Leis for Senior Night!

Another Senior Night is in the books for No. 1! We celebrated our Senior basketball players last week during the final home game of the season. I can't believe how fast time is going.

I wasn't Team Mama for a change so not only did I get a chance to relax, but I was totally surprised as well!

There was this cute balloon display, which also served as the perfect photo backdrop.

Each Senior had a banner.

Our Team Mama made special programs which included photos and bios of each of our Seniors. The team managers each got a beautiful bouquet, us Mamas got roses (in our school colors, of course!), and our boys got leis!!!

In Hawaii, leis are given for many celebratory events, especially graduations and birthdays. To honor our Seniors on Senior Night, our Team Mama made them candy leis!

I absolutely loved them! So unique and special. And guess what? She was sweet enough to give me the instructions to share with you all! So if you're interested in making a candy lei (or several!) for your next celebratory event, keep on reading.

What you'll need:

• fun-sized candies 
• cellophane
• curling ribbon
• scissors 
• tape

What you do:

1. Roll out your cellophane (about 7 inches wide) and lay out the fun-sized candy bars on top to see how long you'd like to make the lei. (She used approximately 10 candies). Be sure to leave enough space between candy bars to tie the ribbon.
2. Cut the cellophane to size and fold it over the candy bars, enclosing the candy into the cellophane. 
3. Tape ends of cellophane, creating a tube.
4. Cut 10 pieces of curling ribbon (approximately 10 inches long) and begin tying the ribbons between each candy bar. Leave a 2 inch space at the beginning and end of each cellophane tube.
5. To close the lei, tuck the 2 inch cellophane end into the other and tie a ribbon to close it.
6. Curl the ribbons between each candy using scissors.

After the game our boys had pizza and cupcakes.

 

Hard to believe that No. 1's basketball career is coming to an end. Seems like just yesterday he was shooting the ball into No. 2's baby swing... bittersweet, for sure! 

We'll miss you Class of  '22!!!

*** Special thanks to our Team Mama, Kristin S. for her help with this post! Also to Paolo Films for the 5th pic.

Team Mama Idea: DIY Photo Cupcake Toppers + NEW Senior Night Ideas!

It happened, Mamas. Senior Night for No. 1 was this past Friday. And guess what? I actually made it through without crying! I know, I know. HOW?!? Well, for starters I was crying on and off all week long. I was also running around like a chicken with my head cut off making sure that everything was set and that everyone knew where to be, and what to do. And finally, I spent waaaay too long doing my makeup to cry and forever look a hot mess in pictures. #FORREALS

Senior Night actually began at 4pm for the team (3pm for us mamas). We arrived earlier than we normally do to set up for our pre-game meal. We wanted to make it extra special for our 16 Seniors, so we decided to set the table for them. We found a bunch of football themed supplies, as well as plates and a table cover in our team colors at our local party store.

We let the Seniors choose what they wanted to eat this week, and of course they chose Chick-fil-A. I mean, can you blame them?! We picked up assorted chips and fruit to go alongside the chicken sandwiches. 

And for dessert...

They had individual bundt cakes, with these super cute, photo toppers!

They were one of my favorite details of all! Sure, you can order them. But it's more fun (and cost effective!) to make them yourself! 

Here's how.

What you need:

• Wallet sized photos (2 for each player)
• Foam board
• Scissors
• X-Acto knife
• Glue
• Cake topper sticks

What you do:

• Cut your photos. I decided to round the edges a bit. If you have a pair of those scissors that cut decorative edges, they'd be perfect for this!

• Trace photos onto your foam board. You only need to trace one photo for each player as the toppers are double sided.

• Cut out the shapes you traced using an X-ACTO knife. Then glue them on to the foam board.

• Once you've glued your photos on both the front and back, stick one of the cake toppers into the bottom of the foam board- no glue needed!

That's it! So simple yet they were totally one of the stars of the show!

Here's a look at how the rest of the night went.

My football mama BFF ordered this amaaaaazing balloon display.

Did I exaggerate?!? It was a show stopper! So many people stopped to take photos in front of it. 

We decorated the fence at the bottom of the stands with banners and balloons.

Each Senior had a fathead (click HERE to learn how we made them) as well as a poster.

Us Senior Mamas got cowbells with our boys' numbers on them!

As well as an orange rose with a hand written thank you note from our player... sniff sniff.

We also wore our sons' jerseys. SO fun!

The night was absolutely perfect. The sky was the most beautiful it had been all season long!

I can't believe it's come and gone so quickly.

Once a Spartan, always a Spartan! WE LOVE YOU, SENIORS!!!

I hope you found this post helpful. For daily sports mama inspiration, be sure to join the Confessions of a Sports Mama Facebook Group!

*** Click here and here to read my previous Senior Night Ideas!

Team Mama Idea: Decorate Your Athlete's Locker for Senior Night!

Happy Tuesday, Sports Mamas! I hope you all are well. I just wanted to jump on quickly and share this fun idea. There's no tutorial as it's pretty self explanatory.

You guessed it! LOCKER DECORATIONS! Many schools have this tradition. Moms make their athlete a poster and get together the evening before Senior Night and decorate the locker room. Here are some creative ideas from some of the awesome moms in the Confessions of a Sports Mama Facebook Group!

Shared by Elizabeth C.

Shared by Mandy A.

Shared by Stacey B.

Shared by Beth M.

Shared by Sydney D.

As you can see the possibilities are endless! You can simply hang a poster. Or you can go all out and hang streamers, balloons, and include gifts as well. 

You don't have to be a Football Mama to do this. It can be done for any sport that uses a locker room; soccer, volleyball, basketball, etc. 

Can't wait until Senior Night? Do it for Homecoming!

I hope this posts inspires you. For even more inspiration be sure to join myself and the 3,000+ REAL sports mamas, just like yourself in our Facebook Group!

Team Mama Idea: DIY Wooden Photo Collage Letters!

Senior Night for No.1 is next week!!! I can't believe it, mamas. Seems like he was just a Freshman yesterday. And a 55lb anklebiter two weeks ago. *sniff sniff*

Us Senior Mamas are getting together on Thursday for a craft night. We're making fatheads, posters, and these super cute wooden, photo collage letters!

I got the idea from Christina P., one of the awesome mamas in the Confessions of a Sports Mama Facebook Group. By the way, have you joined us yet?? It's a private group for Sports Moms to connect and ask questions, share ideas, victories and defeats. We're over 2,500 strong...and growing! Here is the photo she shared that I used as inspiration.

Her daughter made one for each of her teammates. How sweet is she?!

Want to make one (or 10!) yourself? Then just keep on reading!

What you'll need:

• Large wooden letter (we found ours at Michaels)
• Mod Podge (we went with the Matte finish)
• Foam Brush
• X-Acto knife
• Scissors
• Photos (I used a total of 12 4x4 photographs, however, every letter will be unique.)

What you do:

• Lay your photos out. You will notice that I printed way more than I needed. I wasn't sure how many I'd need, so I erred on the side of caution. 
• Place them on top of your letter, one by one, until it is covered and you are happy with their placement. Use your scissors to cut them down, if needed. Do not worry if there is some overhang; we will take care of that later.

• Once you are completely happy with the placement of the photos, glue them down using your foam brush and Mod Podge, one at a time. 
• Once the glue has dried (I waited an hour), flip the letter over and trim off any excess using your X-Acto knife.

• The final step is to seal the photos with a thin layer of your Mod Podge. I waited until the next day to do this step, just to be safe. You simply put a little on your foam brush and brush over the entire letter. Do not worry, it dries clear. I promise! This will ensure that your photos do not come up at the edges and will give you a nice matte finish. 

That's it! Super easy and super cute! I'm not even gonna lie. I got a tad bit emotional as I was looking through the photographs. I really cannot believe how fast it has all gone.

Youth sports; the days are long, but the years are short. Way. Too Short. Remember to enjoy each and every moment, Mama.

*** Check out these letters made by some of the Mamas in our Facebook group using the instructions above!

Shared by Beatriz C.

Shared by Stacey B.