I have been going to arenas to watch my boys participate in cold sports for seven years and for the past two years I’ve spent, on average, approximately eight hours a week in a cold arena. This makes me somewhat of an expert on how to stay warm and comfortable in the cold harsh climate known as the Canadian arena.
If you have an arena mom in your life, skip the jewelry and spa gift certificates this year* these are the gifts she’s going to want this holiday season.
*Actually don’t skip those things. If she spends that much time at an arena she deserves some pampering.
The LavaSeat Heated Seat Cushion is by far the best gift I have ever been given. My husband surprised it with me last year and it made me love him all that much more because it meant he knew I was freezing my a** off – literally - and he wanted to put an end to my discomfort. Thanks to a microwavable pack this little beauty stays warm for hours.
A reviewer in Calgary hit the nail on the head when she said the cons of the LavaSeat were: “Everyone wants to borrow it.”
Stuff her stocking with Little Hotties. I put them in my shoes, gloves, pockets, and one weekend at a particularly cold arena, I taped two to my body. When my husband told me I was hot, I don’t think he was referring to how I looked.
Pro Tip: Don’t use duct tape.
I bought these Reflective Shell Mitts as a gift to myself and they are the best arena mitts ever. Why? Because they are gloves and mitts in one - it’s multi-tasking JUST LIKE YOU. Plus, there’s a zipper pocket for your Little Hotties, and they have phone touch-friendly fingers so you can still play Candy Crush when your kid isn’t on the ice.
What? You know you do.
I don’t actually have a favourite travel coffee mug. I have about five. Cold arena + hot drink = she’ll love you for getting her one.
Get her a blanket she can keep in your vehicle so she can wrap up her legs. Most arena blankets are wool but wool is itchy and she deserves better than that. Buy something that’s soft to the touch but low to mid-range in price. It’s going to be dragged on the ground and stored in the trunk so you don’t want to throw away a lot of cash on a throw.
So your kid has joined the big leagues and you now find yourself spending entire weekends at arenas both near and far. Invest in a cooler to carry all your drinks/snacks. I purchased this Coleman Collapsible Cooler. It’s big enough to fit food for two days and has mesh pockets both inside and out. It apparently also fits 50 cans so.... you know, you'll get good use out of it in the summer as well.
And that, my friends, is how you keep an arena mom feeling hot while she's braving the cold. What are your must-haves when you go to the arena?
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Now that you're warm here are some Essential Tips To Help Hockey Moms Survive The Season.
And can we please stop with the snack insanity?
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