Over 100 Nostalgic Toy Ideas You Can Craft for Christmas!

Santa's job will be easier when you turn toymaker and lend a helping hand to relieve the burden on his North Pole workshop. Among this collection of exciting toys, there’s at least one that will surely make Christmas extra merry for some youngster. Construction of these, as well as the others, is apparent from the drawings, which include patterns for the parts that require jigsawing. Enlarging the patterns full size is easy. First, count the number of squares given and rule on paper an equal number of 1-in. squares unless otherwise stated on the graph itself.

Next, number the rows of squares 1, 2, 3, etc., across the top and down one side of both the magazine pattern and the ruled paper. Now, begin enlarging the pattern by drawing that portion of the outline which is in square No. 1 in the magazine in the corresponding square on your ruled paper. Then advance to the next square, and so on, until the complete pattern is enlarged. With practice, you’ll find it easy to enlarge any pattern by the square method.

With the exception of the table-and-chair set, which should be made of plywood, common 3/4-in. white pine is ideal material for most of the wooden toys.

A Child's Table and Chair Set

A child's table and chair set. Photo of finished project plus graph depicting the measurements of each part for the assembly of chairs and a table. Exceptionally sturdy but not especially fancy, this plywood table-and-chair set will appeal to the dad or big brother who works with little more than a handsaw, drill, screwdriver and paintbrush.

More Table and Chair Sets For Children:

Children's Toy Chest Plans:

Build a toy chest that looks like a barn

Build a toy chest that looks like a castle

Build a "wooden letter block" toy box

A cradle/toybox that looks like Noah's Ark (very challenging)

Swinging Arm Dolls

      Here is how to make these adorable swinging-arm dolls. With old wooden packing boxes laid out in 1/2″ squares as material, mark the patterns according to the squared charts shown above. Before cutting out the figures, bore a hole through the shoulders and up one leg, as shown by dotted lines in diagrams at the right.
      The sailor’s hat is made of thin wood cut in circular shape and nailed to the head. Bore a hole through the under side of each arm about %” deep and a 1″ hole lengthwise to take the wire which passes through the shoulders.
      Straight grained shingles or thin wood will do for paddles. Fasten them by driving a small brad or wire pin through the joint. Set the paddles at an angle (about 45 degrees) allowing easy turning by the wind.
      When assembly is made, be sure to leave a small space between the arms and the body to permit swelling of the wood.

A Lighthouse Stool

The "beacon of the lighthouse stool, which is enclosed in an inverted glass jar, consists of a 1.5 volt flashlight bulb. This is inserted in a socket and wired to a push-button switch and dry cell. Removal of the screws at the base of the lighthouse permits renewal of the dry cell. Three 1/4 inch carriage bolts attach the padded top of the stool, lengths of tubing being slipped over the bolts to support the top slightly above the glass jar. The pattern for the sheet-metal base of the lighthouse is given at the right. The metal is lapped at the seam and fastened together with sheet-metal screws.

A Mirror-Scope

        Any boy can build one of these mirror-scopes at a small expense, and for his efforts see, when looking through the peephole, three miniature objects increase to a multitude.
      Here is the way it is done. Construct a wooden box about two feet long and five or six inches square. Against the inside of the front fasten a mirror as illustrated in the drawings above and drill a small peephole about two inches from the bottom. Also scratch a similarly sized peephole in the silvering on the back. Then cut a hole six or eight inches long in the top of the box and fit into it a piece of ground glass to admit light.
      The rear is built up of two pieces of wood as illustrated in the accompanying drawings. Attach a second mirror to the inside of the end, then hinge the latter as shown. Paint the inside of the box white and you are ready to install the figures.
      Many miniature images can be purchased at the five and ten store. Arrange not over four figures in a nice grouping. Close the end and it will seem as if hundreds of images inhabited the box when you look through the peephole. Images of ships, men, animals, etc., are recommended.

Toys Similar to a Mirror-Scope:

PVC periscope and Up Periscope!
Homemade 12.8 inch Dobsonian Telescope and Stellafane Home-Made Telescope Gallery
Homemade kaleidoscope toy - children can make these!

Wood Choppers

The stock required is 1/4" thick. Two bodies, two arms with axes, and two bars are needed for this toy. The upper bar has a place 5/8" from its center which is widened to resemble a tree stump an inch high. The pairs of parts are held together while holes are being bored thru them. The shoulders of the men and arms should have small holes to make a fixed joint while the men's legs and the bars should have holes closely fitting 1" nails. Both bars are located on the side of the men on which the arms are fastened. Color the coats, hats and sleeves blue, boots and axes black, arms, fingers, faces pink, and trousers red, bars green, and stump brown.

Bucking Goats

From 1/4" stock, saw out two bodies, as shown in the full-size drawing, and two bars shown in the dimensioned drawing. Place the two bodies together and bore holes in the hind legs, as shown, for 1" nails. Do likewise with the two bars. Color the goats white, with large brown spots on their backs, necks and legs. Color the horns and hoofs black, and the bars gray or brown. Fasten with movable joints, one bar on each side of the goats, having them cross as indicated in the assembled drawing.

Similar Hand-Held Toys:

The pecking chickens
A Jacob's Ladder Toy - my children played with one of these
A Policeman's Puzzle

A Bucking Bronco Rocker

This bucking bronco rocker requires plate casters for the footrest and a socket-type caster for the rear leg. The two sections of the toy are pivoted together with a carriage bolt and a small pillow-block bearing. A coil spring between the legs give the "cowboy" a bucking ride that bounces him up and down in the saddle.

Bucking bronco instructions and pattern.

A Walking Turtle Pull Toy

      When pulled, on a string, the wooden turtle illustrated below moves its legs and draws its head in and out in a lifelike manner.
      Turn the shell from a band-sawed pine blank. Hold it in a chuck for recessing, and then fit the recess to another chuck for shaping the outside. Groove the segment zones and divide them radially.
Bend the crankshaft from baling wire, the bearing from a strip of sheet iron. The connecting rods are strips of sheet iron, pushed onto the cranks before the wheels are added. The latter are keyed by bending the shaft ends back on themselves and forcing them into small holes in the wheels, where a drop of celluloid cement holds them. Screw the bearing inside the recess, slit the ends to the bearing holes, and force in the crankshaft.
      Shape the head and neck semicircular on top. The neck slides in a groove in the shell, being held with a metal plate. The connecting rod enters a slot, where a nail holds it. The tail is a strip of inner-tube rubber.

More Old-Fashioned Pull Toy Patterns:

An Organ Grinder Toy

Front side, and open rear view of the animated organ-grinder toy.
The sand motor is "wound" by turning the house sidewise through a
complete revolution as shown at the far left.

An everlasting sand motor provides the power to drive the mechanical organ grinder illustrated. To “wind up” the mechanism, it is necessary merely to give the box a complete turn in the direction indicated in the drawings. This brings the sand back into the hopper ready to run down and turn the small paddle wheel. Other adaptations will suggest themselves, such as a woman pumping water or a hobo sawing wood.

For the box, plywood is used, the joints being well fitted to prevent leakage of sand. The six-bladed paddle wheel is scroll-sawed from a block of white pine. The axle is a piece of bicycle spoke turning in glass-bead bearings, which are recessed into the wood as shown. Short lengths of brass tubing will serve just as well as the beads.

The hole in the sand hopper should not be over 1/8″ in diameter for beach sand. Incidentally, beach sand is the best because the grains are smooth and pour more readily. Sand from a creek bed is also satisfactory. To facilitate adjustment, the back panel with the window is fastened with No. 3 screws.

The organ grinder is scroll-sawed from material and painted in bright colors. The girl is painted on cardboard, together with the window frame, and glued to the box, as is the hand organ.—L. R. Browne.

A Sand or Water Mill

This is an interesting beach toy as either fine sand or water may be used to operate it. It is very simple to construct and is made as follows: The base is constructed of 1/2 " pine, 7 1/2" wide and 7 1/2 " long; and the four blocks which are glued and bradded to the corners, are 1/2 "x1"x1". The two uprights are 3/4"x7/8"x8 1/4", and the two cross supports at the tops measure 3/4"x7/8"x2 1/2".

Two holes are bored in the base for the screws that hold the uprights in place. These holes are 2y 4 " from the end and 2^" from the sides.

Holes are bored in the little top braces )A" from the two ends and one just in the middle, or iy 4 " from the ends. These are for the screws that hold the braces to the uprights and to the top piece. All holes are bored with a drill suitable to take iy 4 " No. 8 flat-head screws, and all are countersunk on the side where the screw enters.

The top piece is made J/4"x5*4"x5*/>" with the two front corners slightly rounded, as shown.

A hole is bored of a size to receive the funnel used, \y 2 " from the front edge and 2^" from the sides.

A hole is drilled in each upright piece, 3 l / 2 " from the lower end, of a size that will insure a driving fit to the wire used, in this case being a piece of No. 12 copper- dipped, 4^4" long.

A piece of J4" dowel is cut off %" long and a similar hole is bored about two-thirds of the way through, as shown.

Four holes are bored, as indicated on the drawing, for the quills, which are later glued in place. Feathers from the poultry yard will furnish these.

Sand all pieces with No. 1 sandpaper and first assemble the top, the two uprights and the two cross supports. Paint these two coats of red paint.

Attach the cross blocks to the base with glue and •U" brads and paint two coats of yellow. Paint the tun- nel two coats of bright green.

While these are drying construct the paddle wheel. The piece through which the wire axle runs is ^4"x34"x 2J4". The four blades are y 4 "x2y 4 "x2y 4 ".

After these are sanded and a hole is bored through the center piece, nail the blades to the center piece, in the position shown in the side view. Use y 4 " brads and glue for fastening the blades. Paint two coats of yellow.

When the parts so far assembled are thoroughly dry, finish the assembly, using \y 4 " No. 8 flat-head screws and glue. The toy is now ready to operate.

More Water and Sand Toy Ideas:

Planning a new water wall for water play

The Coolest Sandbox Around

DIY Sandbox with lid and benches

A Step-Up Stool

Little ones may need a bit of help in the washroom reaching the sink so why not build a little helper? This little step-up stool features a curly tail and a pink pig snout. Don't forget to tack on a non-skid rubber mat to prevent slippery falls!

More Bath Related Toys:

A Toy Freighter

A colorful Toy Freighter for quantity production boats are among the most fascinating toys for young children. If they can play with a boat in the bathtub or in a wading box or pool, so much the better, but they also get much enjoyment in playing with one on the floor if it is of a flat-bottomed type.

The little freighter illustrated is adapted for either purpose, and the design is especially well suited to quantity production because of its simple construction and the small amount of materials required. The capacious cargo hold will carry a large shipment of dummy boxes and barrels made from scraps of wood.

White pine, redwood, or any fairly lightweight wood may be used. The hull is built up as shown and fastened with casein glue to a waterproof plywood bottom. The plywood should be of the outdoor type. Avoid using nails or brads unless galvanized, because ordinary nails will eventually cause rusty streaks.

Deck planking can be simulated by scoring the wood with a hard lead pencil and then varnishing the surface. Take care to round off the tip of the mast as well as that of the dowel behind the deck house. If the toy is intended for a very small child, the mast should be eliminated so that there would be no danger of his falling upon it.

Use the brightest reds and greens in painting, because the appeal of this freighter lies principally in its coloring. Stenciled windows and doors add to its appearance, but are not absolutely necessary. The cargo hold is painted gray.

Craft Little Toy Cars, Boats and Trains:

Playing Make Believe at The Car Wash:

Road Rugs and Mats For Little Toy Cars:

Creative Playthings for Marbles:

Build A Child's Doll House:

Craft Your Own Math Toys:

Dress-Ups Aren't Just For Halloween, These Also Make Great Gifts For Christmas:

Tools and Workbenches for The Youngest Carpenters:

Homemade Toys for Little Campers: