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.
Where have you been all my life?! 🙂 We need one of these for each of the littles in my fam. We’ve used the Racko “board” (?) to help hold cards (up to 20?). This is a great idea. I also love the puzzle box idea. I have a few that I could re-purpose. Yay!
We partner up the oldest kid with the youngest kid (or grandparent lol) and that seems to help while the kids get the hang of the game.
Sequence is so fun and especially great with a homemade board so many players can reach & grandparents can see the board! Check out this eHow for those of you who haven’t ever played Sequence. It’s kind of like Bingo with partners, a deck of cards, and poker chips! lol Something like that… 🙂 http://www.ehow.com/way_5166187_homemade-game-using-playing-cards.html
Fun card link http://www.pagat.com/invented/
Love this idea! Thanks.
What a wonderful idea! I am going to have to make some of these for the little guys. In case you are not handy or don’t know anyone who is handy here is an idea for you. My grandpa, who only had one arm, used to use a shoe box flipped over, so cover side down, and use that as his card holder. It works great for little hands or when you are in a pinch to use something quick and on hand.
Brilliant! My daughter is 6 and loves to play cards but can’t hold them all. I just realized the base of my cookbook holder is just like the photo you have – with the slanted groves. I will now have her use that! Thanks for the great idea.
What a great idea!! I cannot tell you how many times I have to re-fan out the cards and place back in their hands – kills me! I will have hibs make these ASAP! THANKS SO MUCH!!
Thanks for the great idea! I will have to get my handy husband to make us some! We have the little hands card holder and it does work pretty well. However, it only holds up to maybe 8 or so cards, so it starts to lose its effectiveness after that. The card-board would be a great solution!!
FishPapa needs his own blog full of super-cool, handy tips… or at least a regular feature on your blog. 🙂 Such a great idea! My handy hubby would be able to do this, I’m sure.
There’s also a manufactured product called the Little Hands Card Holder. Haven’t tried it yet — but it’s low-priced enough that it should be free on Amazon with SwagBucks.
A friend bought us a set of these (I think she found them 1/2 price at Target last summer). One is very tight and hard to put the cards into, and the other works perfectly. It really helped our 4-year-old to hold her cards without showing them to us, and they worked for games with only 4-5 cards but also with a lot, like Old Maid. I wouldn’t spend a lot of money on a set, but they worked!
a large chip clip works pretty well too.
Thanks. Just sent this link to my own handy hubby! 🙂
What a great idea!