DIY Wooden Card Holder for Playing Cards
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Card games are fun to play with kids, but little hands may struggle to hold the cards. Make a wooden card holder for playing cards so no one gets frustrated.
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Uno is a classic card game that kids have enjoyed for decades, but game play can get a little wild if you’ve got too many cards to handle. Not a big deal with honest parents, but somewhat disconcerting once you’ve got older siblings to contend with!
Whether your players include little ones with small hands, an adult holding the baby, or older adults with a touch of arthritis, having a set of playing card holders can make game play much more fun.
Our six kids span 11 years and they all love playing games. Early on we discovered that it was difficult for young children to hold all their cards without sharing their hand with the whole world.
You can use a large chip clip to hold cards, and I’ve seen a fabric type holder, but I love these hands-free playing card holders — perfect for when you’re holding the baby or wriggling toddler!
You Need a Card-Board or Card Holder for Playing Cards.
Bryan created a set of these “card-boards” for our toddlers and younger children to use. Similar to the Scrabble tile holders, these card-boards hold any number of cards so that little people can see their cards without laying them all out on the table.
I recently busted them out to play Quiddler with my teens and young adult kids. The card holders for playing cards are perfect for adult card games as well as the classic uno. (Great game, by the way; it’s like Scrabble with a twist!)
If you’ve got a handy man — or woman — in the family, these are quite easy to make. Well, sort of. I mean, I didn’t make them. But, Bryan assures me it’s simple if you’re tooled up.
You can find similar card boards on Amazon, but it is cheaper to make your own.
How to Make a Wooden Card Holder for Playing Cards
- Cut several large planks out of 1×6 or 1×8 clear pine.
- Cut the channels with a table-saw set half-way through the material at about a 10° angle. A thin-kerf blade works best. (That just means that the blade is thin so that it doesn’t make too wide of a cut.)
- Sand and smooth any rough edges.
See? That wasn’t hard, was it? And you’ll have so much fun playing cards with your kids once you get tooled up with card holders for anyone who wants one!
A set of wooden card holders makes a great Christmas Gift packaged with a favorite card game. Be sure to check out some of our favorite games to play as a family as they are some of the best frugal gifts to give.
Good Ideas for Family Fun
What do you think?
I’d be honored if you chimed in the comments section. What do you think?
This post was originally published on June 29, 2010. It has been updated for content and clarity.
What a great idea. I think I will show my husband and see if we can make a couple. I can see these being useful for card games but also school activities
Love this idea, could totally use some of these! You should totally sell these!
Another idea would be to cut a phone book binding off to about 1 1/2 inch width. The binding holds the cards very well and is CHEAP! You can make enough for all the neighborhood kids!
Great idea for reusing old books!
My mom used to do that when we were kids!
I had a thought, and I am a quilter. I have one of those that holds all my quilt rulers. If you didn’t have anyone who could make you one for you, you could get one at your local quilt store that holds quilt rulers, they come in single, double or more rows…the more rows the higher the price, but 10 dollars would be worth it for my little one. Thanks for the idea! Now I’m not just taking things from the kitchen into my sewing room, LOL.
As the kids get a little older… try the game “Five Crowns” (It has elements of rummy so they need to understand of-a-kinds and runs). It’s a BIG hit with DH and I. (DS is only 19m, so he doesn’t get to play yet.) We also like most of “Looney Labs” games, Fluxx specifically.
These are WONDERFUL – putting on hubby’s to-do list right now!!! This will make family game night soooo much less stressful 🙂 Thanks for sharing!!!
You should totally sell these on Etsy. I would buy them!
Can one make any money on Etsy?
Here’s the info on how to sell on Etsy:
http://www.etsy.com/sell?ref=so_sell
You sell handmade items- they host a storefront for you and take 3.5% of what you sell them for.
This is such a great idea. Thanks for sharing!
Thanks for the directions. That would work well for the elderly as well.
We use a large chip clip. FishPapa’s creation is really cool.