Weekly Roundup: Ten 3D Printable Christmas Gifts for the Person Who Has Everything

We all have that one difficult person on our holiday shopping list who either buys themselves everything that they need or they are impossible to please, making them really difficult to shop for. You know that you can always play it safe and buy them a gift card, but while that’s fine for the annoying guy at the office, unless they are specifically requested gift cards are a little impersonal and boring. For gift recipients like this you need to step back and think outside of the box a little bit. And if buying a present just isn’t going to work, then my solution is always to just 3D print them something.

The trick is to stop trying to buy them something that you think they might want and instead focus on getting them something that you know that they don’t have and that you know they will use. Thankfully there are endless 3D printable things available completely free online that can be turned into some pretty special and spectacular gifts. Because I’ve been told that I’m pretty good picking out gifts for people, I decided to find some unique and fantastic 3D printable Christmas presents that just may be perfect for that difficult person on your list.

Here are Ten 3D Printable Christmas Gifts for the Person Who Has Everything:

PERSONAL CANDY DISPENSER

Mini Candy Machine by Tanya Wiesner

Found on: MyMiniFactory
Cost: Free

When in doubt, get them something that they can eat. You may not be sure that your Uncle Larry is going to wear that sweater, but you know that he’ll eat a jar full of Skittles or M&Ms. So just get some candy and 3D print this awesome mini candy dispensing machine to hold it all. And the best part is, it doesn’t need any quarters!

This personal candy machine was designed specifically to be 3D printable on even the smallest 3D printer, and it is made up of 5 individual parts that will easily snap together. You can 3D print it from any color material that you like, however you should use the clearest translucent material that you can get your hands on for the jar.

SCISSOR HANDS GRABBER

Scissor Hands by don3sch

Found on: Thingiverse
Cost: Free

Even if they don’t think they do, everyone needs to get themselves a scissor hands grabber. You can use it to grab things that are farther away that your arms will stretch, making it possible to avoid moving from your current sitting position. It is also, having personal experience with this particular grabber, an excellent tool to annoy any household felines that may be running around. This is going to be a crowd-pleasing gift at your next holiday get together.

The original Scissor Hands Grabber that was uploaded by MakerBot had some issues, but thankfully a Thingiverse user was kind enough to fix the problems and improve the model dramatically. Make sure that you use his remix when you make your own!

CAT BUTT DOORBELL

Catastrophe – Doorbell by chrisdug

Found on: Thingiverse
Cost: Free

Another option to consider when someone makes it difficult for you to buy them a gift is to get them something that you know for a fact they don’t have, and will amuse you when they open it. Enter the Cat Butt Doorbell.

This is exactly what it says it is, and every home in the country should have one of these.

LOW POLY WALL-MOUNTED UNICORN TROPHY HEAD

Unicorn Trophy by Apachcreation

Found on: Thingiverse
Cost: Free

There is a very good chance that no matter how good of a hunter your father is, he doesn’t have a unicorn head mounted on his wall. So why not give him the impossible with this cool low poly version?

It can be printed as large as your printer can manage, and there are several different versions of the file, including one with the horn separated so it can be printed in different color materials. The final print can be painted, or you can just print it in whatever color filament that you like.

VORONOI ELEPHANT WALL HOOK

Elephant Cloth Hanger by Jun0

Found on: Thingiverse
Cost: Free

If you think the mounted unicorn head is a little too much, then this voronoi-style elephant head might be a less flamboyant alternative. As with the unicorn, this can be printed as large as your 3D printer will allow, and it can be printed in just about every type of material that you can think of.

If you’re going to actually use this to hang coats from then I’d suggest a tough material like ABS with a lot of infill to make sure that it’s strong enough to hold an average coat.

LUNAR PHASE CLOCK

3Dprinted Lunar Phase Clock by galile0

Found on: Thingiverse
Cost: Free

If you’d like a present that requires a little bit of work, then this is a great, but still relatively easy, 3D printing project that will make a great gift when it’s finished. The clock combines a miniature version of the moon with an internal mechanism that will display the phase that the moon is in each day automatically.

The creator has included a full list of required parts and supplies, as well as assembly and printing instructions. This would also make a great nightlight for a child, or an educational project for a classroom. You can also make the clock several different sizes.

Here is a video of the Lunar Phase Clock in action:

VASE WITH ARTICULATED LIMBS

Print in place Articulated Vase by Joe

Found on: MyMiniFactory
Cost: Free

Because if they were easier to shop for then they wouldn’t get stuck with a vase that has arms and legs.

Also, as the gifter you get bonus points for posing the vase making obscene gestures with its arms. They brought this on themselves.

SUSHI MOLDS

Sushi Maker Set by MEH4d

Found on: Thingiverse
Cost: Free

I am actually in the process of making a set of these because I know someone who will love it, however this is also a gift that I could use to be amusingly passive aggressive to people who make it difficult to shop for them. Like the person who responds to your inquiries about possible gifts with ‘oh I don’t need anything, whatever you think I’ll like will be fine’. Okay, that’s great. Really helpful, thanks. So now I’m going to get you something that you’ll never use but will feel guilty about not using every time I “innocently” bring it up and ask how it worked.

Just make sure that you 3D print these molds with a filament that you know if food safe on the off chance that it is actually used. Most reputable PLA manufactures include warning labels if their materials are not food safe, but if you’re not sure it might be worth an email to the manufacturer.

SLOTH HANGING PLANTER

Hanging Sloth Planter by 3D Central

Found on: MyMiniFactory
Cost: Free

If all else fails, then it’s time to bring out the big guns. That’s right, it’s time to go full sloth. This adorable hanging basket is going to put a smile on anyone’s face, even the grumpiest grump that has ever grumped. And if it doesn’t, then they are dead inside.

This sloth planter can be hung from a rope or on a branch, or it can be set on a shelf on its own. Naturally this can be printed in any material that you want, but personally I think this will look great in a wood filament. Just give it a quick sand and apply some stain and you have an adorably unique holiday gift.

VINTAGE FLIP CALENDAR

Desktop Vintage “Perpetual” Flip Calendar by otvinta3d

Found on: Thingiverse
Cost: Free

When I was a kid my grandfather has this amazing old school flip calendar from the ’60s on his desk, and one of my biggest regrets now that he’s passed on is that I never managed to keep tabs on it. But this fantastic 3D printable calendar is a pretty close approximation of his, and it is also a really clever design that will look great on almost any desk.

This is a 3D printing project that was made to be printed with metallic materials, however it will look good printed from whatever you can get your hands on.

Here is some video of the calendar in action:

That’s it for this week, thanks so much for reading. For those who observe it, I hope that you have yourself a great Christmas and holiday season, and I hope that I helped you find a few 3D printable gifts this month. I’d love to see your Christmas haul this year, especially if it is 3D printing related. You can always email me, or drop me a tweet @SJGrunewald and say hi.