Editorial

If you have had kids you will have experienced those Christmas mornings when they all sit on the couch like wee little angels just waiting for you to pass over the gifts that Santa has magically left under the tree in the middle of the previous night.

And the thrill of opening then discarding paper and gift as they attack the next present in the pile, with high anticipation that one of these surprises will be the one to change their lives forever. I recall that children do change as they grow up and the present fervour seems to dissipate as the years go by, but it really doesn’t seem to be until adulthood that things really change. The saying “It is better to give that to receive” seems to children to be just the dumbest thing anyone could ever say. We did of course, constantly, declare that the day would come when they would get more pleasure from giving a present than getting one.

Well the reason for these giving memories is that as we hurtle towards the end of the year, this issue has something of a gift-giving theme to inspire and help you navigate the upcoming giving time.

Our gifting issue starts with a story of a Cambridge sheddie, Kim Dawick, who built a whole bunch of motorized drift trikes for himself and his mates to all race about in and have a laugh and a bloody good time. A very generous bloke.

Another of our main articles is on a set of bunks built by the North Shore Men’s Shed in Auckland. This will be gifted to a needy local family and you can just imagine how secure and cosy some young ones are going to be sleeping in these wonderful, brand new bunks. What a difference that will make to these children who have been through a tough time. A big thank you once again to the team at the North Shore Men’s Shed for such a magnificent job on these bunks — they are fantastic.

Other giving articles include a Timaru dad who has built a ride-on battery train set for his children and their friends. We have an electronic cricket you can make and gift that will transform the game of spotlight for one and all, and how about making a bespoke mailbox for family or friends? Now that would be a unique gift! Heck you could even gift our magnetic sweeper, a guitar or a magic mirror. Give, give, give — this is the giving issue.

Best to get all this giving out of the way because the next issue is not about giving away but enjoying summer and giving to yourself. Give first, play later.

Also this issue, we welcome back as a regular columnist The Shed’s previous owner/ publisher, Jude Woodside. Jude takes over the Back o’ The Shed spot and we welcome him to his new regular opinion slot. So, The Shed will now begin each issue with the new owner and close with the previous one — a couple of senior bookends to the magazine.

Greg Vincent Publishing Editor editor@shedmag.co.nz