This post was last updated on August 14th, 2020 at 12:43 am
Around our house, “Star Wars” has carved out a niche, to put it mildly. We have “Star War” bed sheets, T-shirts, calendars, figurines, Lego kits, books and the movies. My favorites, however, are some wooden homemade toys: Luke Skywalker’s loyal servant, the astromech droid R2-D2, and “Red,” the droid Skywalker would have taken if not for its “bad motivator.”
Inspiration for building wooden “Star Wars” toys came from a book about “Rogue One,” the movie about the Rebels’ mission to capture the Death Star plans. The book includes photos of wooden “Star Wars” toys used during the childhood of the movie’s main character, Jyn Erso. I liked the toys for their primitiveness.
Some “Star Wars” fans go to great lengths to celebrate their favorite characters. The R2 Builders Club, for example, makes full-scale R2-D2 models, some costing thousands of dollars. I’m not that ambitious. We made an R2-D2 and “Red” at a scale of 9:1 on a $10 budget. Our wooden droids’ bodies and heads came from a 2-inch-diameter dowel. The heads even rotate, though they’re wobbly.
Of course, you don’t have to like “Star Wars” to make wooden toys. Whatever your family’s passion, I encourage you to direct some of it toward creating toys. I enjoy working with wood, but any material will do. Your skill level doesn’t matter, and neither does the size of your workshop. What matters is the time you spend designing and building the toys with your kids.
If you’re searching for wooden toy ideas, they’re all over the internet. Here are three cool projects for the average DIYer:
Toy Camera
Many kids like to pretend taking photos, and this toy camera looks like the real thing. The instructions include the use of power tools, but you could make a lot of it from handsaws.
City Blocks
For little kids, it’s hard to go wrong with blocks. These blocks are shaped like buildings. The best part is they’re coated in chalkboard paint, so kids can draw the windows and doors.
DIY Sit and Scoot
For this project, all you need is an old board, wheels, some screws, handles, paint and a few tools. Kids will get exercise with this toy, a big benefit.
You can make these toys for your kids but consider making them with your kids (if they’re old enough). While taking the proper safety precautions, involve your kids in tasks, such as gluing parts or inserting screws. My kids and I recently pieced together a turtle and bird from wood scraps. The turtle looks like a turtle. The bird looks like, well, a winged beast of some kind. The point is we built it together.
The simplicity of wooden homemade toys is their charm. Perfection, or anything close to it, isn’t necessary for your kids to enjoy these creations. I couldn’t tell you the story behind most of the toys in our house, but I won’t forget the toys we made together. They represent some great memories.
Homemade toys also rate high on the frugalmatic scale. You’re creating something usable and, at the same time, bonding with your kids while making it. You are maximizing the value of both the toy and the time spent with your kids.
Think about what you want your children to show and tell their children someday. A homemade toy might carry a lot of significance, and it will cost you a lot less than the oodles of store-bought toys tossed out and forgotten long ago.