5 Beginner Wood Projects to Make For Others This Christmas

Easy DIY projects to build your woodworking skills and create one-of-a-kind gifts!

Woodworking is an extremely rewarding hobby. Unlike sewing, where you feel like the benefits are overshadowed by its sweat equity, the amount of overhead you can save by building your own pieces is astounding. 

Also, unlike sewing -- where you're mostly working with a sewing machine and/or serger -- with woodworking there are SO many fun tools to play with. It's addicting! To give you a glimpse into what you can accomplish at the starter level, here are five easy woodworking projects to try this holiday season. Don't worry -- I've included a step-by-step tutorial for each. 

Side note: to accomplish any of these tutorials you'll only need five power tools, which I've outlined in a starter guide for you available at the bottom of this post! 

Wood Project #1: A Tea-Light Candle Holder Centerpiece
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Time to complete: 20 minutes

Directions:  Using a 1.5" spade bit, drill a hole to the depth of your tea light. Sand the edges, and seal with a layer of polycrylic once done. 

This is honestly the easiest woodworking project I've ever completed. But look at how pretty it turned out on my mom's table setting!

Wood Project #2 : A Herringbone Serving Tray
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Time to complete: 5-6 hours

Directions:  Get the full herringbone tray tutorial here. 

Can you believe this tray was made entirely from an old wine crate? While not technically difficult, laying down all of these intricate pieces does take a fair amount of time. I stained several pieces of wood in different colors, then ripped them into strips using a table saw. The strips were cut into 3" pieces and arranged in this alternating pattern.

Wood Project #3 : A Bathtub Shelf 
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Time to complete: 3 hours

Directions:  Get the full DIY Bath Shelf tutorial here.

What mom wouldn't want to soak in this at the end of a long day? I designed this little shelf to have a safe nook for your book/ipad as well as a holster for your much needed vino. You're welcome!

Wood Project #4 : A DIY Wood Lantern
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Time to complete: 2 hours

Directions: get the DIY Wood Lantern tutorial here.

You can easily make one of these from scraps in your garage. Or make them from an old wine crate like I did! Get the kids involved and have them paint your lantern. For a little more pizzaz, drill a hole through the top of your lantern and add a hook made from wire. 

Wood Project #5 : A Fabulous Farmhouse Tool Caddy
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Time to complete: 2 hours

Directions: get the fab tool caddy tutorial here. 

Riding the recent Farmhouse decor trend, these caddies are great for storing home decor items or as a table centerpiece. Once I figured out how to make the side profile, the rest of this project was a breeze. Luckily I include my template in the linked tutorial! 

Give one of these projects a try! Who knows...you may just fall in love with a new tool. 

While I consider the next BIG tool I'd like to purchase, I've realized just how resourceful I can be with the tools I already have. Novelty items like scroll saws and oscillating tools would be nice -- as well as more clamps, and a reciprocating saw to break down all the aforementioned wine crates (fear not, it's on my Christmas list this year) -- I'm really not that limited by what I can accomplish. 

You don't have to have a fancy garage setup or big specialty tools to make quality items your friends and family will love!

My List of the Top 5 Tools You Need to Get Started in Woodworking 

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