3D Printed Gift Ideas for the Holidays
Every year, buying gifts for friends and family starts to seem more like a chore. If you’re going to the big malls and shopping areas, there will be hordes of shoppers clogging the stores from Black Friday onward. Plus, what do you get for the person who already has everything? In the same way that handmade gifts bring joy to their recipients, 3D-printed gifts offer a similar mixture of excitement and magic. Even though the technology has reached the point where nearly anyone can order a machine online and start hobbyist printing, there’s still a large group of people who have never encountered a 3D printer or its products. Make their holiday special by crafting them a custom gift, something they’ll never be able to find in stores. Here are three ideas that are sure to make your loved ones very happy:
- Holiday Bokeh Kit: Let’s start with a gift for the photography enthusiasts in your life, and they’ll probably never expect it. Essentially, a bokeh is a plastic cover that attaches to your camera lens, with a tiny shape in the center to let only a certain amount of light in. Right now, 3D Systems’ design brand, Freshfiber, has a free download of four seasonal bokehs, which feature shapes of a Christmas tree, bell, snowman, and candy cane. This gift is great because it’s basically free (other than the cost of filament), impossible to find in stores, and something you can enjoy with the recipient right after they get it. Just pop a bokeh on the camera and find some unique lighting (Christmas lights maybe?) to shoot, which will produce some truly cool effects.
- Chess Set: Here’s another gift idea that will have the family relaxed and enjoying each other’s company in no time. Online, there are a variety of special chessboard designs ranging from minimalist to hyper-detailed, and complete with uniquely shaped pieces. My favorite design so far is the Marcel Duchamp set, which harks back to a one-of-a-kind chessboard made by the French-American artist after he became a chess journalist. Designers Bryan Cera and Scott Kildall recreated the original set by studying photos and slowly shaping the pieces on a 3D drawing program. Now, you can download the design file for free here and print the entire chessboard out at home.
- Personalized Action Figures: Imagine it — you’re opening a gift from your favorite uncle on Christmas morning. He just handed you a slender present, and it doesn’t look like clothes, a book, or a videogame. As you get the wrapping paper off and pry open the box, you’re shocked to find a lifelike figurine of yourself as an NBA basketball player. That moment would be priceless, and with 3D printing technology, it’s easy to do. Companies like 3D Systems offer a service where you choose a theme — sports, Star Trek, cowboys, and Ghostbusters are just the start — and then upload a photo to be mapped onto your custom figurine.
