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Built It, Fix It, Make It Better: 18 DIY Gifts for 2021

Posted: December 02, 2021
Built It, Fix It, Make It Better: 18 DIY Gifts for 2021

And by "DIY gifts" I don't mean do-it-yourself gifts you do yourself, but do-it-yourself gifts you give them to do themselves. See, not such a bad gift guide after all, is it?

If you've got someone on your holiday gift list who believes, no matter what it is - from home repairs to full home renovations, a kid's RC car to an adult's broken-down truck, or a yard in disarray to an empty plot of land that needs a lil' somethin' - they can build it, fix it, and/or make it better, my roundup of 18 DIY gifts for 2021 is the place for you.

Note: All 18 DIY gifts are priced as they were at printing on December 2, 2021. Pricing, and availability, are subject to change.

Gator Grip Universal Socket Set

Gator Grip Universal Socket Set
Gator Grip Universal Socket Set

The Gator Grip chomps up and spits out all the other sockets in your set. This universal socket houses 54 hardened steel spring pins that expand and contract instantly to fit a broad range of nuts, bolts, and other hardware. The Gator Grip adjusts to any standard nut or bolt head between 1/4" and 3/4", and metric issues between 7mm and 19mm.

$20.49 ➠ Amazon

Luisladders Triple-Jointed Folding Ladder

Luisladders Triple-Jointed Folding Ladder

Ah, this folding ladder from Luisladders reminds me of my ex-girlfriend Karen: triple-jointed and evil AF.

OK, maybe the ladder isn't evil.

Luisladders' multi-functional aluminum climber can be used as a scaffold, leaning ladder, or stepladder, and locked into an array of shapes and sizes for different working needs. It comes in 4 lengths, fully extended: 12.1'; 12.5'; 15.5'; and 18.7'. Max load capacity is 330 pounds.

$132.99 to $213.99 ➠ Amazon

Rolling Toolbox Stool

Rolling Toolbox Stool
Rolling Toolbox Stool

Made by Sharper Image, the Rolling Toolbox Stool consists of a steel frame set on 4 swivel casters, and topped with a cushioned seat so you can tool around your workshop or garage with ease and in relative comfort. All 4 faces of the Rolling Toolbox Stool contain tool storage drawers, trays, and slots.

$119 ➠ Amazon

Winbag Air Wedge Alignment Tool

Winbag Air Wedge Alignment Tool
Winbag Air Wedge Alignment Tool

The Winbag is an inflatable cushion and alignment tool designed to replace shims and wedges. Suitable for both home and professional use, the place-and-pump pillow assists with leveling and installing windows, doors, kitchen cabinets, and appliances without leaving scuffs or marks during insertion or removal.

Winbags are also helpful aids in leveling furniture, and can sub in for a door stopper during moving. They are particularly handy to handymen working alone, as a single professional installer can typically position, adjust, align, level, and hold work materials in place with one or two Winbags, rather than calling on an extra pair of human hands.

$17.44 ➠ Amazon

BBCo Sailboat Kit

BBCo Sailboat Kit
BBCo Sailboat Kit

In my opinion and experience, the only thing worse than having to operate a sailboat would be having to build the sailboat first. Why would I want to waste 30 hours (maker BBCo's estimate on how long you'll toil to take this kit from box to water) and risk permanently damaging my delicate rotator cuff hammering plywood into a seafaring vessel when I could be spending it floating passively on a water hammock or snoozing on a Zero Gravity patio lounger? What? Laid? Laid by whom? Some hippy sailor chick who doesn't brush her hair or shave her armpits or, like, a real girl with dangly earrings and tight yoga pants and perfume whose primary ingredient isn't dirt?

Huh. Interesting.

OK, I guess I'll consider building a sailboat then.

Driveway Medic Asphalt Repair Fabric

Driveway Medic Asphalt Repair Fabric
Driveway Medic Asphalt Repair Fabric

Need to cover your crack? Driveway Medic says it will prevail where liquid crack filler falters. A roll of self-adhesive asphalt repair fabric, the patcher applies in seconds via a simple peel-and-stick method, covering, sealing, and waterproofing in a single step. Driveway Medic is compatible with all driveway sealers and, once applied, can be walked or driven on immediately. According to manufacturer Cofair, the product will also stay put and effective for years.

$15.82 ➠ Amazon

Stikwood - Peel & Stick Wood Decor

Stikwood - Peel & Stick Wood Decor
Stikwood - Peel & Stick Wood Decor

Stikwood happens when real wood from the likes of oak and maple trees meets, say, duct tape with an infallible 10-year adhesive lifespan. As 1/8" thick panels with peel & stick strip backings, Stikwood installations fit against a multitude of interior surfaces to turn lackluster walls, kitchen islands, or even coffee table surfaces into stylish, yet cozy, and universally un-girly pieces of home decor.

Usually when people want a wall made of wood in their house they have to...build a wall made of wood in their house. Stikwood produces the same effect - maybe even a better effect - for far less trouble and cost. (That said, I wouldn't classify hanging it as so easy a 5-year-old could do it, or recommend buying it to anyone too cheap to pay a nickel to see Jesus ridin' a bicycle.)

$10/sqft to $16/sqft ➠ Stikwood

The Art of Fixing Things

The Art of Fixing Things

The Art of Fixing Things. That's some euphemistic phrasing right there. Probably coined by someone who is too cheap to just hire someone for other people who are too cheap to just hire someone to use in manipulating husbands, wives, boyfriends, girlfriends, mamas, popses, male buddies, and randos at the gym who appear to be able to bench more than the average couch weighs into doing chores and DIY projects for them.

"Oh no, spending your entire Sunday afternoon dicking around with my leaking dishwasher and misfiring spark plugs isn't a tedious waste of time...it's an art."

$12.95 ➠ Amazon

Grip Clean Dirt-Infused Heavy Duty Hand Soap

Grip Clean Dirt-Infused Heavy Duty Hand Soap
Grip Clean Dirt-Infused Heavy Duty Hand Soap

Grip Clean heavy duty hand soap goes for the sly marketing technique of claiming it will wash your soiled hands clean of dirt using the power of...dirt. Developed for auto mechanics, fabricators, construction workers, farmers, welders, gardeners, or "simply anyone who gets dirty and needs to get clean," the Grip Clean formula revolves around cosmetic-grade Bentonite clay (i.e., fancy dirt) to serve as a natural pumice and cleanser for your hands. Arms and body too, if you need it.

$11.50 ➠ Amazon

KneeBlades - Rolling Knee Pads

KneeBlades - Rolling Knee Pads
KneeBlades - Rolling Knee Pads

KneeBlades are rolling knee pads for home repairs and maintenance. DIY upgrades and rehabs. The domestic sports many of us play every day. Or at least a couple times a month when our mamas call us with a new busted something, or some must-have improvement she just saw on HGTV or the internet. The domestic sports that, more often than not, require us to fall to our knees.

And stay there for hours.

And crawl around on them with nothing but a hard ass concrete or wood surface underneath, like some sort of child learning to ambulate, or, like, a BDSM slave.

$54.99 ➠ Amazon

CAT LED Flashlight with Magnetic Base

CAT LED Flashlight with Magnetic Base
CAT LED Flashlight with Magnetic Base

Fitted with COB (chip on board) technology, CAT's LED flashlight pours out a 175-lumen flood of light from anywhere you can latch or attach it. The long, rugged ABS body has a pocket clip at the back and a magnetic base that will hold tight either to your shirt and tent pole, or your fuse box and hood.

$12.68 ➠ Amazon

EZ Ice - DIY 60-Minute Backyard Ice Rink

EZ Ice - DIY 60-Minute Backyard Ice Rink
EZ Ice - DIY 60-Minute Backyard Ice Rink

EZ Ice says its DIY backyard ice rinks are so fast and easy to put together that even your kids could do it. In 60 minutes! Which means you should definitely get an EZ Ice backyard ice rink and put those couch-lounging freeloaders to work. I see a Tuesday night winter hockey league with the boys in your future.

$2,280 & Up ➠ EZ Ice

Walabot In-Wall Sensor & Imager

Walabot In-Wall Sensor & Imager
Walabot In-Wall Sensor & Imager

Pipes, wires, studs, and rats. Yes, rats. Walabot is an in-wall sensor and imager that can help you detect building components and unwanted guests alike, anything metal, wood, plastic, or on the move that's hiding behind your concrete and drywall.

$44.96 ➠ Amazon

Hydro-Turf Engine Oil Extractor

Hydro-Turf Engine Oil Extractor

Getting ready for next summer means getting ready to haul out your boat. Your jet ski. Your ATV. Your Ducati. Your pimp-mo-convertible. And your Hydro-Turf Oil Extractor to change their oil. While the company's contraption looks a little like a fitness/torture device, its actual duty is to suck out up to 6 liters (1.57 gallons) of old oil from engines to make the DIY changing process a simple one. Reviewers are generally in agreement that it performs this task respectably, even on larger recreational toys and cars.

$79.95 ➠ Amazon

Concrete Walking Path Molds

Concrete Walking Path Molds

Now here's a concrete example of why I don't like my mama looking at the internet. A couple years ago, she found these walking path molds - correction, DIY walking path molds - and just had to have a "precious, stony-looking" walking path installed in her front yard. And who was the installer?

Yep. This dude.

And if you're wondering, then, why am I including the walking path molds on a DIYer gifts list, consider this: I never said it wasn't a gifts from hell list.

$16.49 to $55.98 ➠ Amazon

Keter Adjustable Folding Work Station

Keter Adjustable Folding Work Station
Keter Adjustable Folding Work Station

DIY anywhere with Keter's work station in a suitcase. The adjustable bench sets up sturdy on steel legs in about two seconds with instant-release latches, and has a 1,000-pound weight-bearing capacity for use as anything from a miter saw stand to a nailing or painting station. Breakdown is just as quick, with the bench collapsing to a 4-1/2" thickness for slim storage and wieldy transport.

$124.99 ➠ Amazon

Hubs Geodesic Garden Dome Kit

Geodesic Garden Dome Kit
Geodesic Garden Dome Kit

Hey, kid, go find me some sticks! Sixty-five of them to be exact. Hubs' DIY Garden Dome Kit is a box of "Hubs" and hardware you can use to create and snap together frame pieces to build sturdy geodesic structures. Use them to cover your garden, give your kids (or your dog) an outer spacey fort, make a festival tent, or design your own planetarium. The Hubs configurations and possibilities are limited only by your imagination, and the number of splinters you're willing to sustain during construction.

Den DIY Cabin Kit

Den DIY Cabin Kit
Den DIY Cabin Kit

Arriving as a flat-pack kit, the Den Cabin stands out not just for its pleasing aesthetic, but for Den's promise that they've created a structure that can be fully assembled in as little as 3 days. No heavy equipment is required - all parts are transportable by hand. No special tools are necessary - Den A-frames have pre-drilled holes for easy bolting using standard tools. Plus, Den includes everything down to the cabin door hardware with purchases, so you won't have to hike 30 miles to the Lowe's when you realize you don't have hinges.

Completed Den Cabins stand 12' tall, with 11' high ceilings.

$27,000 ➠ Den
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