Guide: Taking Your Kids to a Hockey Game
Something my husband Craig and I do a lot, is try to expose our children to a lot of different activities and experiences. Experiences ranging from Immersive Van Gogh to Monster Jam, camping to fine dining, we feel it is important for our boys to truly experience the world around them. So when opportunities arrive, to take our boys to new experiences, we don't let them slip through our fingers.
We were recently invited to a LA Kings game benefiting Children's Hospital LA at the newly renamed Crypto.com Arena by one amazing organizations, Local Anchor.
Local Anchor was joined by 20 SoCal Bloggers, Influencers and their families at the LA Kings Marvel Saturday night game, honoring Children’s Hospital Los Angeles (CHLA). The LA Kings vs. The Seattle Kraken game featured Marvel Super Hero™ characters and imagery from our favorite Disney films. Players warmed up in special edition jerseys and mystery pucks were sold at the Kings Care Foundation booth featuring the LA Kings Marvel logo. During the game, the LA Kings celebrated real life heroes from CHLA including nurses, doctors and patients.
All I can say is, Wow! It was truly such a fun night out with the kids. We have not attended a hockey game since before the pandemic and somehow forgot how much fun they can be. Of course, the days of simply showing up to a game are long gone as we are two years into a global pandemic, so every big event takes a bit of planning on our end. But a little bit of planning can make for a very smooth experience.
Here's how we soothly did hockey!
Arrive Early
It was a beautiful early Saturday afternoon, when I began getting the kids ready for a 7:30pm LA Kings game. I knew I would have to battle at least an hour of traffic and needed to arrive early in order to navigate the day without stress and confusion.
So we were ready and out of the house by 4:00pm.
As predicted and as our GPS advised, it took us exactly one hour to drive to our final destination. Luckily, Local Anchor had already taken care of our parking, so we knew exactly where to go, effectively shaving about 30 minutes off our travel time.
Covid Testing
A big tip for anyone attending any events at local arenas or concert venues is, check their website for Covid protocols. In our case, in order to enter the venue, guests had to be vaccinated or show proof of negative Covid 19 tests.
This was one of the major reasons an early arrival was absolutely necessary. We wanted to allow ourselves enough time to go through the testing process without feeling rushed.
So, we arrived around 5:00pm and headed directly to the ground level of the parking lot where Covid 19 testing a line was already forming. This process took another 30 minutes as the registration process was not as user friendly as one might hope.
Something you should know is, all tests must now be paid for either by your insurance or out-of-pocket. They are no longer provided at no cost. So, make sure to bring your ID and your insurance cards.
Dinner
After we had our kids tested, we headed to LA Live, where we met up with friends. There are plenty of dining options, however restaurants get more and more crowded closer to game time. So another benefit of arriving a couple hours early is being able to get seated quickly and easily at restaurants. It allows for a nice leisurely experience all around and no cranky children.
Pre-Game Event
LA Live puts on a fun pre-game event with several vendor booths, games and photo ops. So once again, we leisurely and without any lines, checked out all of the booths, took fun pictures, and even hung our with Bailey the Lion, all because we were there before the chaos began.
Venue Entry
We enjoyed the pre-game event and were ready to head inside around 6:00pm. Again, a hassle free experience with virtually no lines. Another benefit of arriving early.
I think you might catch my drift by now. Arrive early! Arrive early! Arrive early!
In all seriousness, we had the best time from beginning to end. We had a fun dinner with friends, walked around the pre-game event and had a blast, and when we finally went inside for the game, Local Anchor had a wonderful surprise for us and all of our friends. We were invited to the Presidential Suite to enjoy some sweet treats and snacks, have more special one on one time with Bailey the Lion, the LA Kings mascot, and because it was Superhero night, the kids got to hang our and take photos with Iron Man and Black Panther. All this, and the game hadn't even started yet!
And when we finally got to our seats, it was nonstop fun! The music, the hype, our kids were either dancing or rooting for their team the entire time. The smiles never left their faces and we were simply overjoyed by how much the boys loved and all of us adults enjoyed the game.
It was a fantastic experience and we cannot wait to do it again.
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