Every year during the holiday season, Canadian kids ask for the same old thing. 11-year old Cindy from Red Deer, Alberta has put together a 'wish list' that includes a shiny new Warrior Royale Grip one-piece composite stick. BORING!
10-year old Bobby from Truro, Nova Scotia is hoping for a new pair of Nike Bauer Vapor XII skates. BEEN THERE, DONE THAT!
Little Cindy and Bobby are well within their rights to ask for these normal, everyday items but they're missing out on the really good stuff. I'm talking about equipment and accessories which go largely unnoticed on store shelves because they come in small bottles or with an extension cord attached.
So in an effort to make this the best holiday season ever, I've compiled my first annual (*insert echo sound effects here) "Hockey Equipment Wish List of Odds 'n Ends and other hockey stuff you maybe didn't know existed!"
Spray it!
Who wouldn't want a bottle of a black substance that parents spray or brush onto the toe of a kid's skate to protect it from blade and puck damage? There are skate toe protectors available at your local sports store and they'll provide your kids with hours and hours of liquid polymer reinforcement.
You can also stuff a stocking with some anti-bacterial equipment bag spray deodorizers or with a bottle of spray that keeps the fog off the face shield or visor.
And don't forget the spray that acts as a stain and water repellent for skates and gloves and the spray that keeps mouth guards clean and healthy.
Tape it!
Who needs a new stick when you can get all kinds of tape to bring the old stick back to life? For the blade and knob of the stick, there's a huge variety available like Canadian flag tape, American flag tape, Hockey Canada tape, green or pink camouflage tape and regular tape that comes in almost every color imaginable, including burgundy and powder blue.
You can also get very colorful 'Stretch Grip' tape which wraps around the shaft of the stick for a better grip.
And then there's the extremely colorful shin guard tape with words like 'Explosive', 'Radioactive' and 'High Voltage'. No more clear shin guard tape for my kids!
Bag it!
Speaking of high voltage, shouldn't every Canadian kid have an equipment bag that comes with its own heating and drying system? Now they can thanks to a bag that has a special
opening which allows you to hook up an electrical blower/dryer.
So forget about spreading the equipment all over the house. Simply insert a hose into the end of the bag and press the 'On' button. Or you can get the power dryer that has four separate hoses which allows you to drop a hose into each skate and each glove.
If your child is bothered by the clutter in and around the equipment bag, surprise him or her with a hockey stick bag, a helmet bag and a jersey bag which are all available in-store or on-line. (It's hard to believe but nobody has invented the bag that holds the equipment bag yet!)
Happy Holidays!
Just in case you weren't sure, these are primarily 'tongue in cheek' suggestions in terms of gift-giving for the kids. While the above products are all very real and readily available, they certainly won't produce the same excitement as a new pair of skates or a new stick will.
Having said that, if you have any other unusual hockey gift ideas, please feel free to share them with us.
Together, we'll make sure little Cindy and Bobby have a happy holiday season thanks to that new can of hockey stick wax or a new hockey puck bag or a new Octopus equipment hangar or a pair of hockey skate weights used to improve speed and endurance or the....
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