Building Santa’s Sleigh

Santa just got some bad news in the morning mail and he’s frantic with worry. It appears that the manufacturer has recalled his sleigh for repairs and the replacement of defective parts. With less than 60 days before Christmas, the manufacturer can’t guarantee that it’ll be ready by Christmas Eve. To add to his woes, Rudolph, Prancer, Donner and Blitzen, recently back from a tour of the Continent, have all come down with a severe case of hoof and mouth disease. Your mission, should you accept it, is to build Santa a new sleigh and reindeer. As usual, if you get a sliver or hurt your back, the state department will deny…

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1. Drawing the pieces
2. Cutting the pieces
3. Assembling the reindeer
4. Assembling the sleigh
5. Painting
6. Installing the sleigh on your lawn
A simple, do-it-yourself project that will light up your yard, “Building Santa’s Sleigh” is fun, easy and inexpensive. Now that Halloween is over, Christmas is the next major event on the calendar. In the spirit of the season, this attractive and simple sleigh and reindeer project may set the tone for all your future outdoor decorations. You’ll need some skill with a jigsaw, but otherwise it’s straightforward and will give the kids the opportunity to participate in the assembly, colour choices, painting, installation and decoration.

1. Drawing the pieces

As shown in the diagrams on pages 2 and 3, you’ll be able to fit all the major pieces onto two sheets of select plywood. To facilitate this, start by drawing a grid on the plywood sheets. The page 2 diagram is divided into 1" squares and by following this method, you’ll be able to accurately draw the shapes. To make it easier to find your position as you go, mark off the grid with “bold” lines in 12-inch increments, ex. 12 across and 12 down, 24 across and 24 down, etc. When you’re finished drawing, you should have the following:
  • 4 reindeer bodies (Figure 1)
  • 16 reindeer legs (Figure 2)
  • 32 mitred pieces 31 degrees, 1" × 2 1/2", from balance of plywood sheets (Figure 3)
  • 2 sled sides (Figures 4)
  • 1 front panel (Figure 5, straight), 30" × 16"
  • 1 front panel (Figure 6, inclined), 30" × 8"
  • 1 back panel (Figure 7), 34" × 30"

2. Cutting the pieces

Since most of the components are irregular shapes, you’ll need to use a jigsaw to cut them out. Drill starting holes in the areas where you can’t begin sawing from an outer edge (the legs for example). Use the scrap pieces to cut out the 31 degrees mitres.

The 2" × 2" boards are support structures. You’ll need to cut them in the following lengths and quantities:
  • 2 pieces × 14", (Figure 8)
  • 2 pieces × 7", (Figure 9)
  • 2 pieces × 30", (Figure 10)
  • 6 pieces × 16", (Figure 11)

Before assembly, sand the sides of the plywood pieces to prepare them for painting.

3. Assembling the reindeer

Starting with the four reindeer, first prepare the legs by installing, with the 1 1/2" screws, two mitres per leg, positioned at the 11 3/4" center and 13 3/4" centre marks as shown at the top of page 4. Be sure to fasten the mitres’ flat sides to the leg sides, as the angled sides are adjacent to the sleigh. Next, attach the legs to the reindeer bodies with 4" carriage bolts, washers and wing nuts as shown at the bottom of page 4. Pre-drill the holes. The reindeers should be able to stand unaided.

4. Assembling the sleigh

Next comes the sleigh. Place the 2" × 2" supports (items 8, 9 and 10) on the inner sides of the sleigh and screw in with 1 1/2" screws as shown on page 5. Note that piece # 9, above and abutting on #8, is at a 45° angle. Next, install the three rectangular panels (items 5, 6 and 7), using the 3" carriage bolts, washers and wing nuts. Pre-drill the holes. By using carriage bolts, the sleigh and reindeer can be disassembled for storage.

5. Painting

Now’s the time to bring the young ones into the project. Paint the entire project with an exterior grade sealer, as this will help protect it and serve as a base for the finishing coats. Finishing coats should also be exterior grade. From there, the sky’s the limit, but here are a few hints that may be helpful:
  • If you wish to add coloured lights to the unit, install small, threaded hooks to hold the wires. A red light at the end of each reindeer’s nose will fit nicely into the décor.
  • Place a Santa, a Christmas tree, wrapped and ribbon tied boxes and reins made of wide, coloured ribbon to connect the sleigh to the reindeer.

6. Installing the sleigh on your lawn

To fix the sleigh solidly in place on your lawn, drive short, sharpened 2" × 2" stakes into the ground and screw them to the bottoms of the sleigh and reindeer. Install at least 4 on the sleigh and 2 on each reindeer.
So now you have it. A decorative sleigh and reindeer that will last for years and serve, if you get the urge in the future, as a centrepiece to which you can add other outdoor Christmas items or even entire scenes. You never know, your house may even become “the” Christmas reference for the entire neighbourhood. In the meantime, all you’ll have to do is wait for Santa to do his thing in the wee hours of Christmas morning!
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