Amy’s Free Ideas
 

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Make a table hockey game out of a cardboard box. Making it out of wood is sturdier, but it will also cost more, and needs woodworking tools. Here is how to make a cardboard one.

  1. 1.Find a sturdy cardboard box.

  2. 2. Cut off the top flaps, and trim them to fit  inside the box.

  3. 3.Cut the 4 corners half way down--measure them so all 4 corners are cut to the same height.

  4. 4.Score a fold line on all 4 sides of the box--on the inside of the box. Use a box cutter and metal ruler, if you have one. Be careful not to cut all the way through. This will make folding the flaps much easier. If you don’t score it first, when you try to fold the flap inside, it can buckle and end up crooked.

  5. 5.Rub glue all over the inside of one side of the box. Put the cut-off flap next to the bottom and fold the top half down over it. This makes each side 3 layers thick--to make it stronger to stand up to playing the game. Put cans, books, or something heavy on top of the glued layers to hold them together until the glue dries.

  6. 6.Cut out a small rectangle for the hockey goals on both ends. Since each end is 3 layers thick, you will need to cut each goal hole in 3 places.

  7. 7.Glue the other 3 sides  in the same way as described in step 5.

  8. 8.Decorate the box by painting, or glue on colored paper.

  9. 9.Use metal or plastic bottle caps for the hockey puck and the “pushers” (hockey stick substitute.)  Make “pushers” by gluing a smaller cap inside a bigger cap--the outer cap will keep you fingers from getting pinched if your “pushers” collide.

Optional: Make a score keeper: Cut the hook off of a wire clothes hanger. Straighten the wire, then cut it in half. Write numbers one through nine on wooden or plastic beads with a permanent marker. Push 9 beads onto the wire, and bend the two ends near the beads, but leave extra space--about the length of two beads. If you don’t leave this space, you won’t be able to move the beads to keep the score. Poke the ends of the wire into the end of the box over the goal. Repeat for the other goal. Move a bead over each time a goal is scored.