Gifts for kids?

[Dillon Sculpture]

Not you guys, I mean children. Annual toy run, I would rather build than buy, any ideas or passed projects?

[macbruce]

Tomahawks are always a big hit with the boys..... :ph34r:

[dablacksmith]

horshoe nail rings. tavern /wagon puzzles.old fasioned toy was a wagon tire (steel ring) and a stick roll it and keep it going using just the stick.flint and steel kit for the older ones .cant think of any others right now...

[tzonoqua]

Initials or name in iron
Horseshoe anything for horse mad girls, mine has a (Bill Epps style) horse-headed horse shoe on her wall I made and she looooves it.
Older girl has butterfly (scroll work wings)
A friend made a small sized rocking horse from steel, (decorative only) but I wouldn't advise on that as an actual toy unless you want repeated trips to the A&E Department!!!

[Bentiron1946]

Along the lines of hawks you could always make swords and spears plus shields for the boys and daggers for the girls. I bet helmets would be a big hit also.

[tzonoqua]

Sorry, BEnt,

As a mother, I would be very unhappy to find a metal sword or dagger as a present to a child. Age depending of course. This may be due to the fact that my daughter has an inch long scar on her head (which will be visible lifelong!) from her and her friends playing swords (wooden) when she was 4 years old. Children will playfight... putting a metal sword in their hand is asking for trouble, unless of course it's only ornamental and not to be played with.... and what is the fun with that.
(And yes, my daughter has a play sword, plastic, and a shield too, but it's soft plastic and even then I don't let them hit each other properly)

Helmets on the other hand would be a great idea, and a prerequisite to any of the afforementioned "gifts"

[ptree]

Colleen, My younger son has pretty severe scarring from a dog mauling on his head. He had 90 stitches and staples in his then 4 year old head. In the summers after, he would want very short hair, what we call a "Buzz Job" in the US. Think all hair to say 5mm. The scars looked like a road map, and adults would get a shocked look and say "Oh my God, what happened to your head to make those scars?" He soon tired of that and began to answer, "Those arn't scars, those are ancient writings" and stomp off, leaving the adults to think about what they had asked of one so small. He is now 21 and when his hair is short, the scars still show, but he is cool with that. His hair is now down to his shoulders so the really quite severe scarring is fully hidden.

Kids are tuff, and adaptable.
That said, no metal swords for mine when they were small either:) They did have full tool sets in the shop, which they used on project with me present. My then 13 year old daughter was the only girl her age at her large high school with a roll around tool box full of tools and advised the boys on how to fix their cars, as she usually knew better then they. Imagine the scene when my 5' tall, 100# cute daughter was telling the big boys how to fix their cars:)

[Dillon Sculpture]

I would have liked about any blade as a kid...

[macbruce]

:P, , , :lol:

[jeremy k]

I know a couple kids that could use a steel ball - just to see if they could unwind it.

[Dillon Sculpture]

I stepped into that one!

[territorialmillworks]

swords and rapiers...grandkids loved them...parents not so much Man, gkids are soooooo much more fun...get them high on sugar just before mom comes to pick them up...didn't know my daughter could cuss like that :)

[pkrankow]

Toys with wheels are a hit for youngsters, make sure they work! Girls like them too.

Phil

[coolhand]

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_ULyvUexk9no/TGu4y4vbnZI/AAAAAAAAANE/WH8RYLCXfbM/s1600/turtle.JPG

Turtle toy

[Sask Mark]

Kids seem to like rebar snails.

[Willis]

Marshmellow and hot dog toasters with their initials on them.

[southernforge]

There are books on making traditional wooden toys like trucks and such, but it would require time and woodworking tools. Homemade toys for kids tend to be made of wood rather than iron.

[Dillon Sculpture]

I like the turtle, snail ideas.
Here are few hand held items I thought were fascinating.
http://blindspotjewe...jects/2636243#7

[tzonoqua]

Wow, those are really neat!!!

(Sorry, I still say no metal swords for kids!! Mom Said!!!! And in classic Mom words... "You could lose an eye you know!")

ptree- yes, kids are adaptable, my girl brags that she has scars from a swordfight, but she is only 6- I hope she says the same when she's a teenager!!

When I was in india they used to make elephants and cows out of sheet, with clever cutting out and folding and bending, and fit together with tabs and rivets. Very clever, wish I had some photos, but they were also quite simply made and probably quite easily replicated.

[son_of_bluegrass]

SNIP{

"You could lose an eye you know!"

Snip

It's all fun and games until someone loses an eye....then it's a game of find the eyeball. :rolleyes:

[Naz]

I like the turtle, snail ideas.
Here are few hand held items I thought were fascinating.
http://blindspotjewe...jects/2636243#7

Now that is different, very original.

[Junksmith]

I like the turtle, snail ideas.
Here are few hand held items I thought were fascinating.
http://blindspotjewe...jects/2636243#7

That stuff is AMAZING! It almost needs its own category.

Now, toys: One year, with a combination of wood and metal, I made my teenage nephew a working table top catapult. Maybe not ideal for a toy drive, but not too powerful and relatively safe for a young boy. I'd like to do that again :)