Tabletop Ice Hockey

Total Time Needed:: Afternoon Or Evening

Hockey buffs love nothing better than lacing up their skates to hit the ice for some fancy stickwork and booming slap shots. You can make sure your kids get plenty of ice time (no pads or helmets required) with your own miniature rink, complete with berry basket goals, tiny wooden hockey sticks, and real ice.

Materials

Plastic berry basket
White low- or medium-tack Con-Tact paper
Freezer-safe baking pan
Craft stick

Utility knife
Colored tape
Water and freezer space
Button or bead (the puck)

Instructions

Make the goals by cutting a plastic berry basket in half. (For smaller goals, like the ones we made, cut the baskets in quarters, slide one piece inside another, and secure it in place with craft glue.)
For the rink, cut a piece of white low- or medium-tack Con-Tact paper to fit the bottom of a shallow, freezer-safe baking pan. With a ruler and red and blue permanent markers, draw lines across the paper as shown: One red goal line at each short end of the paper, a red dotted centerline across the middle, and two blue lines dividing the paper in thirds. Trace around the rim of a disposable cup for the four face-off circles, the center-ice circle, and the referee's crease (a semicircle halfway do
Remove the backing from the paper and stick it to the pan. Fill the pan partway with water and put it in the freezer. Set the goals in place and allow the ice to freeze overnight or until solid.
For two hockey sticks, use a craft knife (parents only) to make an angled cut 1 inch from each end of a craft stick. Glue each of the short pieces to a full craft stick, then wrap them with narrow strips of colored tape.
When the ice has set, remove the pan from the freezer, grab a button or bead for a puck, and have two players face-off at center ice.