Surprises big and small: how to please your woman for the New Year

The New Year is closer than it seems. This is a false feeling that gifts are not worth thinking about while tangerines are green, Christmas trees are not cut down, and snow is easily confused with rain. It's no secret that New Year's discounts are nothing more than marketing tinsel. In the second half of December, most stores — and they can be understood — on the contrary, inflate prices to festive heights. But still in November, few people care about presents. We propose to break this tradition. Moreover, we just have an idea for an original gift that will appeal to a representative of any generation.

UGEARS 3D puzzles are a new word in the world of modeling and joint recreation of children and their parents. To date, the brand has no analogues and copies all over the world. Wooden parts, carved from eco-friendly wood with surgical precision, without glue, are folded into models equipped with ingenious movable mechanisms. At the same time, no special skills and tools will be needed.

Wood and movement are a rare combination, right? Thanks to this feature, UGEARS designers are fascinating not only during assembly, but also after it.

The birth of the brand took place on kickstarter. The concept of a wooden constructor interested tens of thousands of people. In total, more than 400 thousand dollars were collected. This was more than enough to launch production and gain international popularity in a couple of years. This summer, the company once again used the services of a crowdfunding platform and raised funds for the release of fresh kits.

The pearl of the line was the Hardy-Hardy model. A unique thing, I must say: the world's first prefabricated musical instrument made of plywood. In fact, this is a new interpretation of the medieval wheel lyre, a stringed instrument with which minstrels traveled through the cities of Europe, singing songs and ballads.

Don't be surprised if you feel Antonio Stradivari's breath behind your shoulder during the assembly. It is very rare to create something so refined with your own hands. But we'll have to try, of course. Despite the fact that the instructions are as detailed as possible, it is unlikely that even those who have experience with UGEARS will be able to solve the puzzle for one or two. Still, the set includes as many as 292 parts (they, by the way, do not leave splinters due to the fact that they are cut by a laser machine, and not stamped). 4-5 hours of self-forgetful assembly are guaranteed.

To play the lyre, you need to rotate the handle with one hand, like a hurdy-gurdy, and with the other press the six keys corresponding to the six notes. The seventh will sound if you leave the buttons alone. The gearbox installed in the handle makes the sound more melodious. The ability to adjust the timbre of the strings and tablature, prescribed in the instructions, will help you perform your favorite tunes. And don't forget to rub the moving wheel, against which the strings rub, with a piece of rosin carefully embedded in each set.

If "Hardy-Hardy" is a universal gift, then a box with a secret (190 details), of course, should be presented to a beloved woman. It is made in steampunk style and is a combination of sophistication of design and inquisitiveness of engineering thought. But you should not give the box already assembled, depriving the beautiful person of the opportunity to enjoy the design process on her own.

In a carved casket exuding a captivating smell of wood, any fashionista will be pleased to keep her jewelry or some little secrets. And the secrets of this product, of course, can be trusted, since the contents of the box are protected from prying eyes by the original puzzle. The box opens with a sophisticated key built into the lid. In order to extract this key, it is required to turn it in a special way, which is known only to the owner of the box. As soon as the gears are in the right position, the lock will open.

The working mechanism in almost all designers from UGEARS is located in plain sight. In the casket it is a lock, in the lyre it is a rotating wheel. Watching how the parts that you put together interact is almost as fascinating as unwrapping New Year's gifts.

Please note that in the official distributor's store, where UGEARS kits are sold both retail and wholesale, all models can be purchased with a 20% discount using the picture18 promo code.