Ideally, all your gifts are handmade, complete, and ready to give away for the holidays. But back in this world, help is usually appreciated, which is where Maker Shed steps in. There’s so many gifts for the makers in your life in the shed, narrowing down just the right one is tricky. So we’ve picked our favorites to help ensure you’ll find something great. Here, in no order, are our staff picks for 2025.
Make: Very Useful Monsters Robotic Workshop Kit
Create your own animatronic character, GabbE, that responds to your voice or music, a little “Tamagotchi” robot friend that uses simple AI to interact with motions, or go mobile and take GrabbE for a radio controlled spin!
What better way to get your kids engaged in robotics and electronics than with creating their own cute monsters?? Sold! – Juliann Brown
I love this kit! It’s such a fun and easy way for kids to explore coding and robotics. I had a great time putting it together and driving it around the house, though my dog was a little suspicious of our new robot friend! – Jamie Agius
Maker Faire Hoodie
This 9oz Pigment Dyed Hooded Pullover from Independent Trading Company is emblazoned with our Maker Faire Mare Island Sea Dragon logo, beaming with individual and unique vintage character!
I love my Maker Faire sweatshirt! It’s soft, cozy, and perfect for cool mornings on the road. It always sparks conversation wherever I wear it. – Kelly Marshall
The material of this hoodie is amazing. Just the right material to not be too hot but still warm enough! – Cathy Shanahan
The EMF Explorer Kit
The EMF Explorer Badge is an electromagnetic frequency sensing circuit that lets you listen to the world of hidden electromagnetic frequencies all around you!
The EMF Explorer kit is an excellent way to learn to solder, as well as discover the fascinating world of hidden electromagnetic frequencies that surrounds us every day! – David Groom
Makedo Kits
Grab this entry level kit of Makedo tools to get started cutting and connecting with up-cycled cardboard, and take maker playtime to the next level. Makedo kits are a collection of tools and fasteners for kids to build unique cardboard creations!
I used the Makedo kits at a summer Maker Camp. It was great for young kids, allowing them to cut cardboard safely and attach different pieces of cardboard to each other. I also saw them used in a group activity at Maker Faire Lille as well as Maker Faire Bay Area. These are great tools for simple, open-ended creation. – Dale Dougherty
Computer Engineering for BIG Babies
CE for Big Babies is the next step in continuing education, and putting you and your kids in the good graces of the General AI that is sure to take over the world. The book picks up where the original CE for Babies left off. And, like the first book, it’s way too short, with six pages. It explores D-Latches, Shift Registers, Multiplexers, Decoders, and reading and writing from Addressable Memory.
I backed the kickstarter for this sequel. The premise is wonderful (teach computer engineering to babies!?) and the execution is stellar. The description’s right about it being short, but I’m impressed at how much fun this board book is. – Sam Freeman
Chompsaw
Meet the ChompSaw: A Kid-Safe Power Tool for Fun, Learning, and Creativity!
The ChompSaw makes cutting cardboard a breeze while keeping fingers, hair, and clothes safe! Watch big ideas come to life and transform ordinary cardboard into extraordinary projects like fantastic forts, DIY costumes, and educational dioramas! The possibilities are as big as your imagination!
Cardboard is a super useful material and there is just so much of it around! But getting it into the right shape for home and kid projects isn’t easy. The Chompsaw turns a fight with dull scissors and the hazard of boxcutters into a satisfying part of the making process. Five stars for the Chompsaw for kids and adults alike. – Jennifer Blakeslee
Big hit with kids, helps them unlock their imagination and think about bigger projects. – Rio, Roth-Barreiro
My nieces and nephews love it! – Gillian Mutti
I think this is a great product that makes making more accessible to everyone. It is a fun product and a great idea. – Siana Alcorn
Boxytone Synth Kit
The Boxytone is a musical synthesizer (or “synth” if you’re in a hurry). A synth is an instrument that pushes and pulls electric charges. The changing electric charges make a speaker go in and out. If a speaker wiggles around quickly enough, your ear and brain will recognize it as a musical note.
I like Wikipedia deep dives and guiltily laughing at Always Sunny as much as the next person, but sometimes I really want to DO something. Enter the Boxytone Synth Kit, a wacky musical instrument that you actually build yourself! It’s a do-able project that’ll leave you with a sense of satisfaction, and then provides hours and hours of fun foolin’ around. (And don’t forget to add a book or three to your order, to keep the lights on in the Books Department. We’ve got some cool stuff coming in 2026!) – Kevin Toyama
Compressed Air Rocket Launcher v3.0
Blast reusable rockets hundreds of feet in the air with the Compressed Air Rocket Launcher v3.0! This launcher was first introduced to the world in Make: Magazine vol. 15 in 2008. Since then, individuals, groups, and Maker Faires all over the world have had a blast introducing rocketry to kids and adults with this launcher.
This rocket launcher has thrilled kids and grownups for decades now, but Rick and Keith haven’t coasted – they have continually innovated and upgraded this kit to make it stronger, super reliable, and even suitable for replicable experiments with a protractor to measure launch angle and an optional pressure gauge, so you can test your different rocket designs under the exact same conditions. What began as a PVC-and-plywood project in Make: magazine now features a solid steel air pressure-rated chamber and durable plastic frame that will last for years. Awesome kit. – Keith Hammond
Make: Electronics Super Bundle – Print
This printed book bundle is great for anyone getting started with electronics or for those who simply want a reference guide for sticky moments when you’re tinkering!
This is a complete set of Electronics encyclopedias and electronics books. They are a best seller in the shed! – Phil Muelrath
Maker Faire Hat
Show off your maker pride! Whether you’re making in your workshop, hanging out at Maker Faire, or out and about with your friends, this hat with an embroidered Makey on the front and the Maker Faire logo on the side is the perfect way to top of your fit!
My husband wears his all the time. It’s a great-fitting, good-looking hat, and he loves repping Make: wherever he goes! – Jamie Agius
I’m getting the Robotic Arms kit for my son for Christmas and the Makey baseball hat for my self. – Todd Sotkiewicz
Make: Complete Magazine eCollection 1 thru 94 – PDF
The Make: Magazine eCollection* (PDFs) is every volume of Make: from the very beginning to the almost current issue – that’s over 90 Volumes, with enough DIY projects and articles to keep anyone busy making for a long, long time!
20 years of Make: right at your digital finger tips. No slogging through eBay for early issues. No hunting through boxes that never got unpacked from the last move. It’s all just here. A timed cat feeder repurposed from an old VCR. A mini motorbike powered by portable handheld drills. The first mentions of maker mainstays like Arduino and Raspberry Pi and 3D printing.
A lot changes in 20 years. The parts might be out of stock, the tech might be out of date, but the ideas in these pages are forever inspiring.” – Craig Couden
The Krampus Counted Cross Stitch DIY Kit
The Krampus Counted Cross Stitch DIY Kit is the perfect spooky-season stitching project for lovers of dark folklore, gothic Christmas decor, and beautifully creepy holiday art. Stitch your own menacing yet charming Krampus portrait – the ultimate anti-Santa for your mantle this winter!
Just one of the fantastic cross stitch kits in the shed, this is the holiday gift I didn’t know I needed. – Sam Freeman
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