Holidays coming, thought I'd start a thread to share ideas

[Scott Brandstetter]

I have grandkids (almost 2yrs old and newborn), a wife, son, daughter, etc and thought it might be neat to start a thread to share ideas of gifts we can make. I would love to get some great ideas and hope this thread is of interest to others. Obviously, we can't wait until December to begin making gifts......just like the man at the North Pole.

I will start with a few of my ideas

Step stool for smaller children to use in the kitchen to help cook or in bathroom to wash face and brush teeth
Bird Feeder that looks like an outdoor bench (saw this browsing the internet)
Ornaments (of course)
Jewelry Box
Little cars and airplanes with moving wheels and propellers

I am really hoping to find some unique ideas (unlike the ones I have listed)

[George Rousis]

Scott, those are all great ideas.

Last year I made a couple butcher block cutting boards ala Wood Whisperer and some Arts/Crafts picture frames for family members that went over well.


I have a couple bread knife kits from Rockler for this year, plans for some unique cutting boards for family members who felt deprived last year and more picture frames planned. Not great gifts for kids but fine for adults. Since last year i received as a gift an iron for personalizing projects, from Rockler also, "From the workshop of --------". Looking forward to using that on gift projects.


Looking forward to grandkids. I have accumulated some plans for wooden toys, cranes, trucks and such. Those seem like good projects for honing up on skills.


BTW, I lurk more then I post to SMC, and I am looking forward to contributing more as I get closer to retirement. Your post kind of resonated with me on where I want to go with woodworking. Not for profit, just the sheer enjoyment of it and gift giving.

[Joe A Faulkner]

These jig saw-like puzzles are great for two and three year old children. These are over 25 years old - made from nominal 1/4" thick luan plywood scraps. My wife had some cookie cutters that I used to trace the barn animals. The barn was hand drawn. The dinosaur was traced from a coloring book page. After 25 years a few of the pieces have lost their dowel grips. They are kind of neat, simple pieces that the kids got a kick out of playing with. Nice teaching aids on animal names, sounds, colors, tht sort of thing. The barn scenes are ~12" ~square.
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