By Erica, Staff Writer, All Habs Hockey Magazine, with additional content by Rick, Chantal, and Kristina.
MONTREAL, QC. — If there’s one thing that’s aggravating hockey fans this holiday season, it’s not the three weeks that they spend trying to get “Wonderful Christmastime” out of their heads. It’s the lockout, which seems like it might never end – not unlike hearing the same Christmas song over and over again. The NHL and the ‘PA are arguing over money that technically comes from the fans, so maybe it’s not the best idea to spend any more money on them until they stop squabbling and apologize to each other.
Here are some gift ideas for the hockey fans in your life that won’t involve giving any money to the people who are keeping hockey away:
APPAREL
ENTERTAINMENT
I know a couple of sports fans who think they’re too cool for books, or who are just so busy watching sports that they don’t have time to read about them. Maybe, without hockey, they’ll have time to crack open a book?
Down Goes Brown has been making hockey fans laugh on the Internet since, I don’t know, the birth of the Internet. He just published a book, titled The Best of Down Goes Brown: Greatest Hits and Brand New Classics-to-Be from Hockey’s Most Hilarious Blog. Sure, the title is a mouthful, but everyone who’s read it has been in stitches.
I’ve been a fan of Vancouver Canucks superfans The Green Men since the first game they slipped into those unforgiving bodysuits. And now one of them wrote a book! Behind the Green, by Ryan “Sully” Sullivan. (No word on whether his buddy “The Force” also plans on writing.)
For the hockey history buff or trivia nerd in your life, there’s Next Goal Wins! by Liam Maguire, which promises an endless stream of facts and stats.
If you’re a bit of a prankster and you want to watch someone’s blood boil as they unwrap their gift, consider buying them this book about Gary Bettman and how he reshaped the NHL. It’s not a glowing biography of him, nor is it a puff piece, so it should make for a pretty good read – as long as it doesn’t get thrown out the window first (not unlike the first half of this NHL season.)
GIVING BACK
Some people like gifts. Other people might think they have enough stuff, and may appreciate a charitable donation instead of something that might eventually be threadbare or given away. Consider donating to:
- The Montreal Canadiens Children’s Foundation, which has probably taken a big hit without the revenue it gets from raffle tickets usually sold at Habs games;
- The Max Pacioretty Foundation, which itself was started because Max Pacioretty wanted to give back;
- Right to Play International or Right to Play Canada, which empowers children in poor or war-torn countries by giving them games and sports to play;
- World Vision allows you to buy gifts on behalf of someone, like two, four, or six soccer balls for children in a developing country;
- You Can Play Project, supported by Carey Price and Brian Gionta, among others, which is dedicated to ensuring equality, respect and safety for all athletes, without regard to sexual orientation;
- The month of Movember may be over, but it’s a good cause to support year-round. This year, Sher-Wood made a mustache-themed hockey stick for the cause;
- You can also try contacting a local children’s hockey team to see if they need sponsors.
Happy holiday shopping! Just as hockey fans love their teams despite labour disputes, don’t forget that they will love you no matter what you give them, as long as you don’t make a mistake of Hockey Sweater proportions.