Best Woodworking Gifts to Make for the Holidays

Now that you’ve set up your garage workshop, it’s time to put your space to use. Crafting handmade wooden gifts is a great way to hone your skills, while creating something thoughtful and unique that will be treasured for years to come. The projects below are designed to accommodate a wide range of skill levels, budgets, and time allotments. Good luck, and happy creating!

Wooden gifts for the kitchen

Beautiful and useful, kitchen items are a popular gift. You can engrave items with names, dates, and images for an even more personalized feel.

• Cutting boards:A board made from a single slab of wood is a beautiful and valuable gift. You can make the project more challenging by using contrasting hardwoods to create a checkerboard or striped pattern.
• Serving trays and charcuterie boards:A handcrafted serving tray is a great statement piece that brightens up a room even when it’s not being used for entertaining. Choose a live-edge board or incorporate unique handles to add a special touch.
• Coasters:A set of wooden coasters is an easy, fun project perfectly suited for beginners. Like cutting boards, they can be simple or very complex. This is typically a great way to use up extra bits of wood you may have lying around your shop.
• A baguette slicer:A baguette slicer is a simple, elegant, and practical gift, perfect for food lovers or bakers. This tutorial also demonstrates how to make a bagel slicer, which slices bagels and rolls horizontally.

Wooden home décor gifts

From entryway organizers, to whimsical ornaments, the sky’s the limit when it comes to home décor woodworking projects. Popular options include:

• Turned ornaments:A fun project for those with a lathe. While Christmas trees are the most popular hand-turned ornament, the internet is full of other fun shapes and holiday items you can create.
• Picture frames:Picture frames are a timeless idea that make an extremely thoughtful gift, especially when paired with a meaningful photo. Remember that you will need a glass or acrylic sheet and a backing board as well as wood.
• Wooden signs:A wooden sign personalized with a family name, a favorite holiday phrase, or a meaningful date makes a wonderful gift. Choose cedar, redwood, or teak for natural weather resistance.
• Candle holders:You can either use a drill press to create precise holes in blocks of wood, or use other tools to create a more intricate, unique shape. Apply a clear, fire-resistant sealer to protect your piece.
• Wooden phone stand:Making a wooden phone stand is another great way to use up scrap wood. Cut the groove at a slight incline to allow the phone to sit at a comfortable viewing angle.

Wooden games and toys

Handmade wooden games and toys can make high-quality, heirloom-worthy gifts for kids and adults alike. Consider options like:

• A chessboard:A chessboard/checkerboard is a classic woodworking project. Use a jointer and planer to ensure all faces and edges are flat, straight, and square.
• Wooden toys:Wooden toys make great minimalistic décor in a nursery room or kid’s bedroom. Options include rattle toys; building blocks; toy cars; wooden jigsaw puzzles; and more.
• A Jenga tumbling tower: You can choose to make to make a small tabletop version, or a giant lawn version—either is a rewarding challenge! Choose straight boards with as few knots as possible, as knots can make the blocks stick during play.
• Dominoes: Making a set of identical wooden dominoes is a test of precision and patience. You can use black paint, a wood burning tool, or an oil-based paint pen to create the pips.
• A dollhouse: Dollhouses can be made in various scales and styles, from a simple cottage to a multi-story mansion. For an authentic, period-accurate look, find plans for a specific historical era of architecture.

Challenging heirloom gifts

These advanced gifts are more suitable for experienced woodworkers craving a real challenge. With the right amount of precision, patience, and practice, you can create a beautiful item that will be treasured for generations.

• Wooden toy train set: A classic and impressive gift, this project involves making the locomotive, cars, and even the track itself. It can include multiple cars like a passenger car, coal car, or tanker. Try using different types of wood for each car to provide greater visual contrast.
• Mechanical wooden clock: These projects involve assembling intricate, interlocking wooden gears and parts to create a working timepiece. You can use a kit, or carve each wooden piece yourself.
• Music box: Making a wooden music box involves both woodworking and delicate mechanics. You can purchase a music box movement and create a custom wooden box to house it.
• Chairs:A chair is one of the most difficult types of furniture to make. The various angled parts, curves, and joinery must be perfectly executed for structural integrity. A handmade rocking chair is even more special.

Additional tips for making wooden holiday gifts

Here are some tips to help guide you as you create your wooden holiday gifts.

• Choose the right wood that matches your project’s function. For example, hardwoods like oak and maple are more durable, and will last longer, than soft pine.
• Follow woodworking safety protocols, like wearing a dust mask and eye protection; using sharp, clean cutting tools; and keeping your woodworking space organized.
• Don’t be afraid to practice. Remember that the item you ultimately give as a gift does not need to be your first, second, or even third attempt. Keep refining your technique until you’re satisfied!
• Protect your creation. Consider applying a durable protective sealant over gifts that will be handled frequently, like coasters and cutting boards.
• Start early. It will likely take a few weeks to acquire your materials; make the items; and get everything stained, painted, sealed, and dried. So, the sooner you can get started, the better!

Happy holidays from SSI Packaging!

Whether you need help packaging, boxing, protecting, or tracking your creations, SSI Packaging is here to make the holidays easy. Our small, family-owned packaging company is here to help small business owners and creators succeed in all their endeavors. For more information on our packaging, marking and coding, and inventory management solutions, please explore our website or stop by and see us today!