Do you agree that the most memorable and meaningful gifts are the home-made gifts? I would say yes, IF you have a talented husband who can build stuff. Fortunately, I married this type of guy. My husband ROCKS- especially when it comes to the home-made gifts. No challenge is too small for this incredibly artistic, hardworking and aspiring craftsman. Every year around Halloween I begin drafting our Christmas Shopping list…and dreaming outloud at the possibilities that could come to life in our garage. The amazing part, my husband doesn’t balk at the challenges and the seemingly unreasonable timeline.
Given the state of the economy and the need to get creative this Holiday Season, I thought “Uncle Steve’s” gift ideas may be more relevant. Here is just a quick recap of Uncle Steve’s past Workshop Challenges:
One year this guy made 4 teeter-totters! ($200 in lumber and priceless memories for our nieces and nephews) I had the small challenge of getting these teeter-totters to their respective locations which required a freight shipment to Indiana.
Another year… 2 ships, 2 race cars and 3 marble rollers. I’m a big fan of the marble roller that our nephews renamed to the Marble Chaser. It apparently also doubles as a hotwheel race track.
The custom-made Train Tables were a hit with our 3 year old nephews. Both were custom-made based on their father’s professions: imagine a corn field and another with vineyards and a winery. And I do believe one of the train-tables (7 years later) is still being used as a Lego Table.
The little girl’s dream kitchen was a dream come true for our Bear last Christmas. (Not to be outdone by the Doll House with custom furniture that will be under the tree this year!)
Here is a funny one…a custom made sign for Ali’s family business; the Apple Barrel
An absolute favorite that anyone can make is the Puppet Theatre. Hit the Home Depot for plumbing pipe and the fabric store for curtains…a couple of puppets and you have got a winner. Show time!
Uncle Steve prides himself in exceeding the expectations of his littlest fans (his nieces and nephews) however the Bean Bag Toss (also known as Corn Hole) was a favorite amongst the Aunts & Uncles last year.
And the gift idea that anyone can do and becomes a keepsake forever is the ”actual” Christmas Tree ornament. It was a surprise for me after Bear’s First Christmas. Here’s what you do… cut off a 1/2 inch section of the tree trunk, paint a message, drill a hole, layer on some varnish and you have the cutest keepsake from a special Christmas.
I will (proudly) admit/brag that my husband is not normal. But I do agree that dusting off our hidden talents can translate into some incredible Christmas gifts that don’t cost a lot but mean the most.
If you have any ideas that I should put on next year’s Workshop list, that would be great. 
Can I borrow Uncle Steve?? Seriously…has he thought about utilizing his abilities for $$$ I would be very interested in finding out how much he would charge for an off season purchase. …. something along the lines of a storage piece that can also be used for a train/car table….
Wow! Those gifts are awesome! And all that work that went into them! That’s what makes homemade gifts so awesome, you really have to think hard about what you’re giving, and it’s also the gift of time! Feel free to jump on over to my site to enter the homemade Christmas gift contest I have running, thanks!
My best friend is making homemade gifts for everyone. We didn’t do that this year…just cut back our budget and who we buy for. I’m not the most crafty person.
Those are great!
Nice sturdy teeter-totters.
Hoping my husband will make my son a stable for his play horses for Christmas.
regular price.. Could you perhaps look into it and see if it does what it says? Then maybe you can help your blog readers by posting about it in your next blog post if it works… It sure worked for me to get a Mindflex game. So try it out