Creating a Personalized Gift

These quick and easy puzzle boxes make perfect gifts for hard-to-please teens.

I love it when we publish a project I have an immediate need for. Karl Taylor's puzzle box from Spring 2009 (issue #34) is a perfect example.

I love it when we publish a project I have an immediate need for. Karl Taylor's puzzle box from Spring 2009 (issue #34) is a perfect example. As the issue went to print, I happened to have two teenagers in need of a gift. I love shopping for my 9-year-old son. If you can throw it, shoot it, or it bounces, it's a sure-fire hit. Choosing a gift for an 18-year-old is a totally different ball game. I usually resort to gift cards or cash, but I find it very impersonal and I don't get joy out of giving gifts like that. The secret chamber puzzle box solved my gift-giving dilemma for another year!

It's actually a relatively simple project and doesn't require precise cutting. If you stray from the pattern lines, nobody will be the wiser. I rolled up the cold hard cash and tied it with a scrap of ribbon. The bill tucked neatly into the puzzle box and I actually had something I could wrap.

My puzzle boxes weren't perfect. I think I used too large a blade, causing a lot of play in the lid. I also pushed the thick wood too hard while cutting. This resulted in an angled cut and the lids only slide off from one side. My younger son asked who was getting the box with the knot in the lid. I explained I was giving that one to his brother. "Oh good," he said. "He gets the messed up one."

Now, I like the one with the knot in the lid because I think it gives the box some character. But if it makes him happy to think his brother was getting a defective box, who I am to argue?

When the teens opened their gifts, I told them the craftsmanship may not be top notch, but the boxes were made with love. And you know what? The kids loved them! Of course they tucked the rolled-up bills promptly into their pockets, but they played with those boxes for quite some time. The boxes were passed around among other family members and I think a few of them might have been a little jealous.

For a few hours of my time and some scrap wood, I was able to turn a ho-hum gift into something that I was proud to give. The puzzle boxes added a personal touch I hope the kids will remember long after the cash is gone.

Shannon Flowers
shannon@foxchapelpublishing.com