Every winter we like to put our heads together and think of the best things we’ve seen through the year. Our editors have suggested a few items that they think make perfect gifts. Take a look below and see what we think would be great, in addition of course to a Make: magazine subscription!
Keith Hammond – Editor In Chief
Tidbyt Retro LED Display – $179
This thing is just cool, I want one! It’s an internet-connected retro LED dot display that you can dedicate it to your favorite train schedule, work metrics, animations, sports scores, love notes to your boo, anything! Lots of apps contributed by the community, and it’s built for repair, with unlocked firmware if you want to hack on it!
Maker’s Notebook Gift Boxed Hardcover – $19.99
Our classic hardcover notebook for all your sketches and ideas, in a gift box for your special maker. 150 numbered pages of 1/8″ engineer graph paper plus 20 pages of useful Maker reference materials like an electronic symbols chart, resistor codes, measurement conversions, microcontrollers and 3D printer filaments, and more. Plus a hidden pocket and other goodies!
Make: Electronics 3rd Edition – $20.99
Learn electronics from Charles Platt and you’ll never forget it — his hands-on approach encourages you to go ahead and mess things up and see what happens! He’s got an easy, friendly way of showing how things work, and a perfectionist streak that led him to totally rewrite this book a couple years ago with all-new schematic diagrams, improved circuits, and new Arduino projects, all wrapped up in his usual dry, sly sense of humor. Our best-seller for a reason.
Make: Soldering Starter Pack – $45
As Charles shows us in the new issue of Make, all you need to solder like a boss is a temperature-controlled soldering iron and a little practice! Our basic kit includes a digital 80W iron adjustable from 180-500°C with five extra tips, soldering stand with cleaning sponge, desolder pump, wire cutters, tweezers, and solder, plus our PDF Learn to Solder ebook and five Learn to Solder badges to practice on.
Forrest Mims Engineer’s Mini Notebook Series, Vols 1-4 – $10-$15
Generations of makers, tinkerers, and engineers learned electronics in the 70s, 80s, and 90s from Forrest Mims and his cool little Mini Engineer’s Notebooks for RadioShack. This 2007 anthology in four volumes collects 13 of them, all filled with Forrest’s hand-drawn and -lettered schematics of hundreds of useful circuits. A fantastic reference for anyone interested in electronics.
SunFlare Xplor Flexible Solar Panels – $450+
Forget bolting on those heavy, metal-framed glass solar panels — these are lightweight plastic laminated panels you can stick anywhere with double-sided 3M tape! I put a little 60 watt one on my pop-up tent trailer, now I’m coveting the rugged Xplor series, built with wattages from 115W to 180W for slapping on your RV, van, boat, or adventure rig of your choice. And with a bypass diode for each cell, they keep cranking even if some cells are shaded. Spendy but I expect prices to come down, the future is flexy.
David Groom – Community Editor
CM4 XGO-Lite Robot Dog Kit For Raspberry Pi – $599
Another CM4-powered marvel, this incredibly articulated robo-pup might be the replacement for my beloved aibo that I’ve been searching for all of these years! With voice, face, and gesture recognition, and an incredible range of motion, plus easy training and bonus grabber arm coming out of its head, this could be the last dog you’ll ever need!
ClockworkPi uConsole – $139+
I try to get my hands on pretty much every handheld computer-y type device I see, so it means quite a lot that this is pretty much my favourite one in several decades! The form factor is fantastic, the Raspberry Pi CM4 power is enough to do most things without any lag, and the development, gaming, and retro possibilities out of the box are incredible!
Keychron Q10 – $215
Check out my review of this keyboard.
HoverAir X1 – $399
I review gadgets for a living, and the hype to performance ratio is typically extreme. This has to be one of the first products I’ve ever seen live up to — or even exceed — its wild claims. The HOVERAir X1 is a completely autonomous pocket-sized drone that just follows you around recording video, then lands in your outstretched hand. You really have to experience it to believe it!
Pro Tech Toolkit – $74.99
I waited too long to invest in quality iFixit tools, and now every time I sit down to disassemble or repair something, I’m sooooo thankful to find everything I need in one kit! I even have a smaller one in my backpack, and a smaller still on my desk and in my purse!
Makey:bit Adventure Board w/ Micro:bit – $45
The micro:bit is a great way to get started with programming microcontrollers, and the Makey:bit, with its included projects and inspiration, is doubly so!
Making Simple Robots Starter Pack and Book Bundle – $69.95
Cute projects for the robo-curious of any age; grab the book/kit bundle and have a blast building ‘bots this holiday season!
555 Blinky Timer Kit – $4.95
Learn how to use this quintessential component for under $5.55 during our holiday sale!
Sunny Surprise Soldering Kit – $9.95
The weather outside may be frightful, but you can make your indoor environment delightful with this sunny soldering kit!
Caleb Kraft – Senior Editor
Bambu A1 Mini With AMS 2.0 – $499
For $500 you get an impressive little printer that can do 4 colors. It’s small but packs a big punch.
Matterhackers LDO Voron Kit – $1,499
This is for the uber geek. They’ll need to put 20+ hours into assembling it but when they’re done, it’s a BEAST of a 3D printer.
CookieCAD 3D Printing Filament – $34.95
Cookie Cad’s filaments are gorgeous and colorful. That’s really all there is to it, just look at those colors!
Tips and Tales From The Workshop v2 – $20.99
Gareth Branwyn shares useful tips and fascinating tales from in and around the workshop. Love this book.
5piece Lock Pick Set – $18.50
Everyone should learn to pick locks. It’s good for your brain.
Canvas Kit – Create Living Paintings – $45.00
I’ve loved these since the first time I saw it done over a decade ago. Use Petri dishes to grow pictures. wild stuff.
Neodymium Magnets – $4.99+
Listen, I don’t know exactly how to explain it but I promise if you buy a pack of neodymium magnets for any maker, they’re going to be absolutely elated.
Rangehood Fire Suppressor – $59.99
These are cheap, and will let you sleep a little easier at night knowing that if your printer should happen to catch fire, this will put it out.
The Machinist Sculptor: Industry Meets Craft – $65
Chris Bathgate is a sculptor machinist that makes incredible works of metal art using industrial tools like a lathe, mill, and more. At a glance, these items appear to be industrial items from an alien future, and on further inspection, they are intricate puzzles of manufacturing precision. His book is full of fascinating art and illustration.
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