Activity Awards

For a fun entertaining idea this summer, host a cook-off! Friendly competition, especially involving food, is always a good time! With a little planning ahead of time, you can relax at a stress-free event. Here are some tips to get the party started.

1. Invite a good mix of people – those who love to make BBQ and those who love to eat it!

These Stars & Stripes serving dishes from Sur la Table make your Fourth of July BBQ theme complete!

2. Theme – A great theme sets the stage for an awesome party. Choose something summer related, such as 4th of July, Luau, or Beach theme, or you can choose your favorite BBQ to feature. Ribs? Chicken? Brisket? Your theme is the star of the party that you can use as a jumping off point for your music, decorations, and side dishes, so put some thought into making it a good one.

3. Music - Create an iTunes or Spotify playlist of your favorite summer jams to keep the party vibes going all day long. Don’t just stick to one genre of music – mix it up with some country, pop, oldies, rap and dance. As long as it’s upbeat, your tunes will keep the energy up and the party pumping!

4. Decorations – Let your theme be your guide! Table cloths, streamers, plates, centerpieces are all fun, inexpensive ways to deck out your space. Check out Pinterest for inspiration! For even more fun, consider creating a photo booth with props related to your theme. Then your guests can share on social and remember the fun after the fact!

Keep thirst under control with delicious drinks at your event!

5. Bevys - Offer lots of beverages to rinse the palate and stay hydrated! Consider making a signature cocktail to match your theme. Or buckets of beer on ice is always popular and easy! For non-alcoholic drinks, a big container of lemonade hits the spot. And don’t forget the water!!! Stumped for ideas? Check out this list of 25 Essential Cocktails.

6. Awards! To add hype to the completion, don’t forget the awards! Engrave some BBQ cookoff awards such as the Barbecue Magic Trophy Award or BBQ Cookoff Chef Trophy with your event name, theme and winning category. Or get creative with your own joke trophies, such as the Victorious Hulk, Gut bomb trophy, or a dead last toilet trophy for the last place finisher!

7. Make sure you have a plan for people who have a little too much fun at the party. Assign a designated driver to taxi your guests home. Uber is also a great option for getting your guests home safely.

Make it a summer to remember by hosting an epic BBQ cook off, full of good food, drinks, music, competition, and memories!

Cheers,
Jessica

With the conclusion of spring break, we're on the home stretch of the school year. Next up in May is Teacher Appreciation Week, where parents and students celebrate the educators, administrators and staff at their local schools. Usually planned by volunteers, activities for the week include themed events with small gifts, catered luncheons, decorations, and pampering! My kids' elementary school always had teachers' doors decorated and themes for each day of the week, with luncheons, massages, and coffee for the staff.

Check out great ideas for teacher appreciation at our pinterest page!

If you are a room parent, PTA volunteer, or student, brainstorming ideas and then implementing a week's worth of appreciation for the entire staff at your school can be daunting. Here are some ideas to help with planning an awesome week for outstanding teachers.

Small Gifts: for small inexpensive gifts, use Pinterest as your inspiration. Check out our Teacher Appreciation Board for cute, inexpensive and easy ideas.

Large Gifts: If you would like to treat your teacher to a larger item for their classroom or a gift card to their favorite store, consider pooling your class money into one larger gift. As a past room mom, I can tell you that this is a hit with teachers - they love it!

Apple Teacher Awards: We offer a number of different "apple" awards that teachers would be proud to display. Popular options include our 3D Apple Teacher Appreciation Plaque, Engraved Crystal Apple, and Red Apple Resin Award.

Kid-Made Items: Cards or letters made by students will touch teacher's hearts and will be cherished for years to come. Consider having the students write letters or draw pictures and put them in a binder for the teacher.

Ms. Inama from Enatai Elementary was last week's 'Teacher of the Week".

Award your Teacher: Nominate your teacher for an award to showcase their talents. Most schools offer Golden Acorn Awards that honor Outstanding Educators. Community organizations also honor teachers; here in the Seattle area, we sponsor the STAR 101.5 "Teacher of the Week" contest. Each winning teacher gets a check for their classroom, gifts and an engraved plaque made by Trophies2Go!

Volunteer your time: Teachers appreciate the helping hands of parents and other volunteers. Get involved at your school to see how you can help.

Be sure to participate in the 2016 Teacher Appreciation Week May 2-6! Teachers, administrators and school staff deserve recognition and thanks for educating our youth! Find out more at the National Education Association.

Cheers,
Jessica

I don't give participation awards because I don't think kids can handle losing. I give them because I reward their contributions to the team.

Sunday night I was watching the Golden Globes and yet again, Participation Trophies got trashed.   I was crushed when Ryan Gosling, one of my favorite actors, made a negative comment about participation trophies when presenting.  Why is everyone hating on participation trophies?  I know I'm the owner of a trophy company, but I'm also a mom and I don't see how awarding participation trophies is making a slacker society.

So this post is a counter argument - reasons WHY TO GIVE PARTICIPATION TROPHIES.

If you haven't heard, Bryant Gumbel plus many others are slamming the practice of awarding participation trophies to kids. The argument says that the over praise of our youth is causing problems with that generation and participation trophies are to blame.  It's sad that something so positive is being twisted into a negative.

I feel that when a young child participates in youth programs they learn commitment, dedication, and team work. I see no problem when a small reward, such as a trophy or medal, is awarded for successfully completing one of these programs.

Adult Participation Awards

Adults receive participation awards all the time, yet they don't make the headlines. Here are some examples of widely accepted grown-up participation trophies:

My Mother in Law Bonnie and I after we finished a sprint triathlon. Why is ok to get participation awards at a race, but not ok to give kids at the end of a season?

1.  Every 5K, 10K, Half or Full Marathon gives participation medals and t-shirts for finishing the race. These runners train and at the end of their event, whether they finish first or last, they get a medal. How is this different from a child who attends every practice and game and then gets a medal at the end of the season?

2.  Pro Athletes get Championship rings whether they are on the star line up, are injured, or sit on the bench the whole season as the third string. When the team wins, everyone gets an award, regardless of how much they contributed.

3.  Many employees receive Years of Service awards for working for a particular amount of time at a company. Whether the employee receives hardware or cash, this is an award to motivate retention, regardless of performance.

What gets me is when adults get these types of awards, they are a good thing, but if a child gets a participation award, the argument is that the child is going to grow up being entitled and/or have easily hurt feelings.  Is this what happens to adults too?

Coach Push Back

Are you a coach with a kid who is a star athlete on the team? Then your child has probably been getting trophies their entire life and they really have no value to you or your kid – I get it.

But most children are not stars; they have to work to do well. My kids are not naturally gifted athletes but like to participate to stay active and be social with their friends. Kids like mine are the real reason for participation awards - kids that show up week after week but may only play in the game for a few minutes.  They are the ones who earn a trophy, because without those kids sticking with it, you may not have a team.

I see participation trophies as a “sports retention award”. With so many options of what to do with their time, kids can choose to play video games instead of joining a team. Why not reward them for keeping with the sport so they will continue to play?

Trophy Haters

Have a hang up about giving trophies? Fine, don’t give a trophy. But DO give something as a memento of the season so the kids know you care.

My daughter played on a soccer team with an awesome coach. He was amazing with the girls and they had a great season. But he didn’t believe in giving participation trophies. Well my daughter was crushed, especially since her parents own a trophy company. Sure, we could make her a trophy, but it doesn't mean anything if it doesn't come from the coach. As I stated above, she wasn’t the fastest or most aggressive player on the team, but she did try and she attended all of the practices and games.

At the end of season team party, true to his word, the coach didn’t give trophies but he did give the kids a photo collage with pictures from the season. To me I don’t see the difference between a small trophy and this photo gift. They are both small mementos to recognize the season. Neither one results in kids being spoiled and entitled; they are both a way to acknowledge a season well-played.

I know to an adult a participation trophy is no big deal, but to a young child, these really matter.   Getting a trophy from a coach or teacher is quite meaningful and a participation trophy becomes a prized possession and point of pride for young children.

When to Give Participation Trophies (And Not)

I am a fan of participation trophies for young kids.  This is the carrot that gets them through their commitment, whether that's a sports season or a year of piano lessons.  However when kids get older and more skilled, a participation trophy may no longer be useful.  Once in select sports and activities most kids no longer receive participation awards; they only receive trophies when winning tournaments, competitions, or other championships.

However these older kids may still receive mementos, just in a different form.  Pins, coins, t-shirts, water bottles are all forms of participation awards that kids receive for attending different events, such as tournaments. festivals and jamborees.  These are fun for kids to collect, trade and wear with pride.

However, I do not condone craziness - there is a line that can be crossed.  For example, we had a recent customer who changed the engraving on her son's trophy from "Most Improved" to "Most Inspirational" because she didn't like the award her son received.  In my book that is NOT ok and gives my industry a bad rap.

In Conclusion

Coaches, teachers, league organizers, administrators, and parents - there is a value and a necessity of recognizing our youth for committing to and participating in positive activities such as sports, academics, and the arts. A small reward in the form of a participation award at the end of the season is a good thing, especially for younger kids who are trying out activities to see what sticks.

Read more thoughts about Participation Awards, check out my past blogs, A Mom's Opinion of Participation Trophies and Making Sports Trophies Meaningful. Agree? Disagree? Feel free to let me know.

Cheers!
Jessica

Celebrate a special event for years to come with an engraved glass ornament.

With Christmas just around the corner, it's time to start thinking about gifts.  If you're like me, you want to get a jump on your shopping to get it over with and enjoy the rest of the season!

Here at Trophies2Go we offer a number of stunning engraved gifts for your family, friends clients and colleagues.  What's great about our gifts is that they are engraved for FREE and shipped directly to your door.  No mall, no hassle, and more customization possible than Amazon!

Here's a sampling of our newest and my favorite personalized gifts for this holiday season.

Engraved Glass Ornaments:  Celebrating a First Christmas together, a special anniversary, a new baby, or a new home? Engrave a beveled glass ornament to remember the special event for years to come!  Our ornaments are made of clear glass with beveled edges that twinkle and shine on a Christmas Tree!

Wine Gifts:  Shopping for a wine connoisseur?  We offer a large selection of engraved wine gifts that any wine drinker will love!  Some options include Crystal Decanters, Engraved Wine Stoppers, sets of wine glasses and engraved wine boxes.  Wine boxes make beautiful corporate gifts for clients, especially when a favorite bottle of wine is added to the inside!

Engraved Glasses:  New to Trophies2Go, we just added elegant glassware to our line of engraved gifts.  We now offer engraved wine glasses, including red, white and stem less, champagne flutes, highball glasses, beer pints and more .  All glasses are deep etched with your logo for free!  Perfect for corporate galas, banquets, fundraisers, and any other event where you would like branded glassware for your guests.  Or personalize a set for someone special for a one-of-a-kind gift - it's sure to impress!

BBQ Gifts:  Do you have a barbecue expert in the house?  Get them their own personalized BBQ tool set!  Engrave a special message onto the box and the tools.  We also have engraved cutting boards and engraved wooden spoons for your favorite griller.

A flask gift set with a special treat inside is Santa's favorite gift!

Golf Awards and Gifts:  Both my husband, brother in-law and father in-law are avid golfers.  If you are like me, every year you get your golfer a dozen of their favorite golf balls and a new golf glove for Christmas.  This year consider presenting those balls in a special box.  We offer two new golf ball boxes; a rosewood golf ball box with silver engraving or a keepsake color box that can be personalized with a photo - a cherished memory!

Boxed Sets:  We offer engraved boxed wine tool sets, poker chip sets, humidors, golf putters, flask sets and more.  Check out our wide selection in our corporate gifts section of our website.

Personalized gifts are our specialty!  Forget the mall and shop at Trophies2Go for free engraving and quick turn around, just in time for your holiday celebration!

Cheers,
Jessica

The game below is for the 21+ crowd only.  Play responsibly!

Beer Pong is a favorite tailgating game at Husky Football.

With college back in session and the football season gearing up, now's the time to get out your table and start practicing your throwing skills for BEER PONG!  This fun drinking game requires a beer pong table, plastic keg cups, Ping-Pong balls, a healthy immune system and BEER!

With 10 cups arranged in a triangle on each end of the table, the object of the game is to throw a ping pong ball into a plastic cup at the far end of the table. If you make the shot, the other team has to drink the beer in the cup. This game is great fun, especially at tailgates and other adult parties.

Engraved Beer Pong Awards

We offer 4 styles of beer pong awards for your next event, whether it's at a tailgate, a house party, or a tournament for your fraternity or dorm.

1.  Beer Pong Champion Trophy: This trophy has a beer pong insert in the middle of a wrapped silver ribbon. The bottom displays etched engraving for free!  It was also a featured product on the Beer Pong All-Stars website, which features all things beer pong!

2.  If you are looking for something to hang on the wall of your frat or dorm room, a Beer Pong Champion Plaque is an excellent choice. It's a black plaque with silver engraving with the same beer pong insert. A great way to show off a win!

3.  Beer Pong Tournament Award: A perpetual award, this popular larger trophy is impressive because the sides of the base can be engraved with different winner's names on it, so it can be passed around from person to person, year after year. With 3 side plates, it can hold up 12 winner's names, 4 on each side.

Our Beer Pong Champion perpetual trophy. It's a customer favorite!

4.  For a fun and inexpensive party favor or award, check out the Five Star Beer Pong Party Medallion.  This includes a neck drape in your choice of color - match your favorite college team or Fraternity colors. At a starting price of only $7.20 each, they are an affordable award that your beer pong winners would be proud to wear!  They even include engraving on the back of the medallion.

All of our Beer Pong Trophies include customized engraving for FREE.  At Trophies2Go, we don't count characters, and even logos are included in the price. The logo files that are compatible with our engraving machines are high quality, high resolution JPG files and EPS files.  If you have questions about engraving for your beer pong trophies, just give us a call at 1-877-926-4700.

Remember to enjoy your beer pong responsibly and here's to a great fall season full of fun!

Cheers,
Jessica