IMPORTANT! “Safe dates” to get your gifts by the holidays!

Ok Makers this is the last week to order things to get them before the holidays, below is the schedule of shipping “safe days” and below that we’ve included many/most of our gift guides for 2008 to check out. Times are tight for everyone this year, give a gift that gives back – learning, building and making.

FedEx:
Ground – Dec 15th
3-Day Saver – Dec 17th
2-Day – Dec 18th
Overnight – Dec 19th

USPS (Any Method):
Due to the high volume of mail that the postal service deals with around the holidays, order by Dec. 10th, however, many packages are lost or delayed in transit and we do not replace or refund any orders lost using this ship method, we strongly encourage you to not use this method in December.

MAKE’s 2008 gift guides:

• The $20 gift guide at MAKE – Electronics kits for $20 and under – We know holiday gift budgets are shrinking – a lot of us will have more time than money next year, so more than ever – if you’re going to spend your hard earned cash consider spending it on something that gives back.
• Arduino Gift Guide – All things Arduino, our most popular open source prototyping gift for artists and engineers!
• Robot gift guide – For our MAKE Robot Gift Guide, we’ve put together a sampling of robot-related offerings from the Maker Shed, as well as some other robots we fancy.
• MAKE’s gift guide for kids – These gifts will inspire you to go out and make new things, teach others what you know, or even learn something new. The best gift you can give any kid is quality time together.
• The Chemistry gift guide – Celebrating chemistry and inspiring the next generation of chemists – The first, biggest and only chemistry gift guide in the world. Make the next scientists and chemists!
• Music maker’s gift guide – Musicians know how important it is to add a personal touch to their instruments – and really what better way to make something personal than to actually make it yourself? There are a number of very cool kits for sound-makers out there, from circuit-benders, to serious synthesizers. Here are some great gift ideas for those interested in crafting their own sounds.
• Made in Japan gift guide – Gakken kits that we have in the Maker Shed with descriptions of each item. You may have seen some of these items such as the hack-loving SX-150 Analog Synthesizer and the Mini-Theremin on the Make Blog before, but this list also includes some of the lesser-known gems like the Gravity Clock, the Stereo Pinhole Camera, and the New Edison-style Phonograph.
• Video makers gift guide – Video solutions, tutorials, on-the-go and more… This holiday season millions of people will give and receive some form of video, whether it’s a LCD TV, video game system, camcorder or other device. Why not consider giving the gift of video in the form of a fun and practical project that can be found in the pages of Make Magazine? Here is just a sampling of some of the video related gifts and resources you can find in the pages of Make and the Maker Shed.
• Steampunk Gift Guide – 2008… Gifts for Steampunks Jake Von Slatt’s excellent guide for all things Steampunk for Steampunks!
• Alternative energy gift guide – Solar, wind, fuel cell, biodiesel and more… – Next year is going to be a big year folks, we’ll see more investment and emphasis on alternative energy than ever before, this will be our “space race” and our “moon landing”. The children of today will be the ones who will shape the next decade and the next century. As a parent, a friend, a mentor or just someone who is giving a gift this holiday season – instead of a plastic toy or nik-nak I’m going to ask the you consider giving something that might just spark the attention of a young mind that will be called to solve our energy needs.
• Open source hardware 2008 – The definitive guide to open source hardware projects in 2008 – Each year we do a guide to all open source hardware and this year there are over 60 projects/kits – it’s incredible! Many are familiar with Arduino (now shipping over 60,000 units) but there are many other projects just as exciting and filled with amazing communities – we think we’ve captured nearly all of them in this list. Some of these projects and kits are available from MAKE others from the makers themselves or other hardware manufacturers – but since it’s open source hardware you can make any of these yourself, everything is available.