There is now less than two months until Christmas!  While for most of us it is too early to hear Christmas songs on the radio, time is winding down on the opportunity to bring Santa to your local hockey rink.

Every December, many associations around Minnesota invite Santa to come to their arena and visit their players. This growing tradition of hosting a Skate with Santa event is a great way for youth hockey associations to add a little extra holiday excitement.  After all, the number one reason kids play sports is to have fun.

St. Micheal-Albertville Youth Hockey Association (STMA YHA) has been one of Santa’s regular stops over the past three years as he has made regular appearances at their Mite In-House Holiday Jamboree.

“We had 14 teams and about 160 players participate in the jamboree last year,” said Brent Evenson of STMA YHA, who played a key role in organizing event along with Becky Rogalski. “All of the teams played great games, and they ended with an open skate as Santa arrived on his sleigh to skate with the Mite players and their families.”

As STMA YHA’s Recruiting and Retention Coordinator for the 2012-13 season, Evenson was involved in all of the association’s efforts to grow the game. Some of them were designed to get more kids registered for the current season, and others, like the Skate with Santa event, were more focused on ensuring the kids already in the program were enjoying their experience.

“It was used to help promote hockey and get more kids on the ice in a fun environment,” said Evenson about their Holiday Jamboree.  “The Try Hockey For Free we did at the beginning of the season was more drills and skills based.  This (Skate with Santa) event was more for fun.”

While the goal of the event was to engage their current players, the event also gave STMA YHA the opportunity to reach potential future players, as 25-30 younger brothers and sisters that weren’t hockey players yet came to skate with Santa. With such a merry atmosphere, it is hard to blame them.

“There was Christmas music playing the whole time,” said Evenson.  “The coaches of the STMA program were also on the ice to help Santa hand out candy canes to the future super stars. All-in-all, it was a great way for Santa to see that our Mites should definitely be on the NICE list!”

Give the kids in your community the chance to make one last impression on Santa before he finishes the naughty and nice lists this Christmas season by hosting a Skate with Santa event at your local arena!