Hey Soccer Moms- I Need Input

We always doa Pizza Party at the end of the season. A few years they tried to top the last year with a bigger and better party. The previous posters were right. Getting together off the field and playing with thier friends is great. The kids just love to get together. We do have a Quarter Jar. Every goal the team scores, all the parents put a quarter in. This covers the coaches gift and most of the time the pizza for the team. If we have a great season, it covers a small something for the girls. When my daughter was 8, we did charm braclets. The girls love them, every year we add a charm. Soccer balls, good luck, etc. You can find the bracelets for $3-$4 and the charms are about $3. Moms that are not the Team Mom, remember how hard they work and get them a small something also. Even if it is just a card all the kids and parents sign! Make it fun and do not work to hard at it!

The gift bags are unnecessary but a nice touch if you want to do it. Word of advice with my three, 9, 13 and 16, if you do everything to perfection, volunteer at school, room mother, chaperone for field trips, team mom, yada, yada, by the time the little one is in middle school you are going to be burnt-out on this stuff.

As for the coach? Ask his wife and get something he would really like; remember you are buying for him, not something you would necessarily like. Restaurant gift certificate is good or if there is something that he is really into, go that direction.

One year, the team mom gave the kids each a soccer ball water bottle to use for future years. We still use it.

As for the coach gift, get the parents to all pitch in maybe $5 each and get a gift card. I'd do either Walmart / Target type place or better yet, a Visa gift card that can be used for anything.

Think it's very sweet of you to think about additional gifts for the kids, but I think it's totally not necessary. Soccer is about fitness, fun, and friends. The pizza party is a great bonus. The treat bags and favors are just adding more to that great bonus. The trophy is "the ultimate" (at least it was in my childhood).
As for a coach gift: do you know something about the coach that would rock his/her world? (A favorite restaurant or special hobby?) If not, I think the previous poster had a good idea: have everyone chip in a little and buy a Visa giftcard.

Hey "TEAM MOM" you should get the gift. If you are anything like all the team moms my daughter had for years and years, you deserve it! What you are doing is more than enough and anything given should be given back now two fold.