You’ve been online searching for days, through Lowes, Home Depot and Amazon for a gift that your crafty family member, spouse, or friend will enjoy.
It seems like an impossible task, because you might not be too certain what you’re looking at, or what is “good”.
Narrowing down their needs will help you decide, depending on their hobby and skill level!
The Occasional DIYer
This is the type of person who is ready for a challenge. Someone who goes out of their way to attempt to build the “easy stuff”, like custom 2×4 planters for the garden out back, or hanging shelves in the garage or home.
There are a few ways to narrow down if this is the right category to be looking in your the important person you’re shopping for.
The answer should be “yes” to one or more bullet points below.
They:
- Don’t have any cordless power tools at all.
- Only have a cheap drill or corded tools
- Have an outdated set of tools (anything with a NiCad battery is too old to keep around)
- Are always talking about wishing they had tools to try projects
- Like the idea of multi-use functional tools
- Will be able to do 1-15 projects per year
- Entry level carpenter or hobbyist
If any or all of those describe the person, there is no better time than today to get them the best starter cordless combo kit at the best value for price.
Ryobi 18V One+ Lithium Ion 6pc Combo Kit
The Intermediate Craftsman
This is the category most people I know fit into. This is where they have most tools that they need to do small projects around the house or in the garage.
These people are a little more difficult to shop for because it’s really figuring out what they don’t have, and what they want to do in the future.
For example, if all of the hand-tools and power tools in their arsenal are up to par for the projects they have done, maybe the next step is to push a little bit to move them ahead.
Do any of the follow apply?
- Mechanically inclined (can usually figure out how things work)
- Do their own work on cars/trucks
- Own project machines like half working go-cart or ATV
- Have needed to abandon a project because they couldn’t do metal fabrication
- Have ever mentioned they could really use a welder
Awesome, you’re in luck because there has never been a better time to buy a multi-use welder at a very reasonable price.
With this welder, an advanced Do-It-Yourself craftsman can tackle the difficult projects they’ve had to abandon before!
With the 110V power option, this will plug into a regular outlet in a house, and once they’ve advanced past the thin sheet metal, and they need to move on to thicker steel projects it’s easy to get an electrician to wire up a 220V outlet which will give this welder the full potential for power!
Now since it’s MIG, the person will need cover gas (or you could go with a flux-core wire). For stick welding though? The flux is on the welding rods, and perhaps that’s a topic for another post.
The Professional
I wouldn’t even recommend that you buy something for a person in this category unless you have heard them complain about tools they NEED.
If in casual conversation they’ve uttered: “I could really use a new tape measure, or speed square, or X,Y,Z” then definitely look into the item(s) they mentioned.
A carpenter can never have too many tape measures or pencils.
The best way to go is to get a gift card to their favorite hardware store or big box store!
The Universal Gift
Now gift cards are really as universal as it gets, but if you’re not the type to give cash or gift cards are presents, you’re going to want some items that can be given to anyone in these categories.
You’re in luck! Here’s a list of “universal gifts”
- Claw Hammer
- Screw driver set
- Hex-key sets
- Graph-paper notebooks
- Carhardt jacket
- Winter/work gloves
- Sunglasses (I prefer Oakley)
- Knit winter hat
- Boot socks (if they wear boots)
- Gas card – The “holy grail”
As always, the ‘thought’ is what matters, and when the Holidays are over, your giftee with be thinking of you every time they grab that gift and use it to create something!
The Handy Writer 