How often do you get the chance to beat your son in a relay race, laser tag and air hockey all in the same night? Not often, huh? Well, dozens of New City mothers had the chance on Friday when Link Elementary held a night of fun for mothers and sons at New York Sports Club at Palisades Center mall in West Nyack.

"I'm definitely excited about this," said student Ryan McAndrew. "I'm excited for my friends to get here and can't wait to play against the moms. I hope my friends and I can team up and take on the moms in laser tag and I can't wait to shoot my mom." "Oh, really? Well, game on then," said Pam, Ryan's mother, with a laugh. "But any chance to spend time with my son in a fun environment like this is a good time for me."

The day began at 4 p.m. when kindergarteners and first graders arrived with their mothers. Grades 2-3 took over at 6 p.m. and grades 4-5 had their fun at 7:30. The entire day was supervised and organized by NYSC staff to ensure that each mother and son had a good and safe time playing around together. "I had fun beating mom in the relay race, but I think she did a good job," said James Wirchansky.

"This was a great opportunity to hang out and play some games together," said Sandra, James's mother. "We really have to do this kind of thing more often." Despite the ear-to-ear smiles, Link's Mother/Son Night was designed as a fundraiser.

"It was a night dedicated to put the fun back in fundraising," said Link Elementary PTA fundraising vice president Gina Kelly. "We didn't want to do the same old thing to raise funds. There was some legwork involved. Calling and shopping around for the best place to hold our mother/son night, but once we spoke with the people at NYSC, we got the ball rolling. They were great to work with and I recommend them to anyone looking to have a fundraiser or party of their own."

Rather than selling wrapping paper or having a bake sale, Kelly got creative and found a great way to bring mothers and sons together all while raising funds to help the school.

"Honestly I was a bit nervous, we had never done anything like this before and this was truly a first-time event," said Kelly. "Everyone seems to be really enjoying it." "I had a great time. We had a good night together doing new things," said Jessica Rich, who came with her son Coby. Rich is also Link Elementary PTA president. "We've never played laser tag, we've never played dodge ball and we had a lot of fun together."