For true princes and princesses: build your own children’s coat hook

To ensure the coat hook is befitting of your little prince or princess’ regal status, you first need to make it into a crown. First, use a pencil to draw the outline of your crown template on the plywood. This will make the sawing part as easy as A, B, C.

Before you start sawing, secure the wood firmly to your work surface using screw clamps. If you don't have anything to secure the wood, ask for help! Two helping hands can apply firm pressure to the top of the wood to stop it slipping as you saw. Just take care to ensure that your helper’s hands aren't too close to the part you’re sawing. Next, attach the jigsaw blade and, without applying too much pressure, begin sawing around the outline of the crown. Both you and your helper should wear protective gloves for safety.

To ensure your creation is truly child-friendly, you need to make sure there aren’t any splinters of wood sticking out. Sand down the crown thoroughly using either an abrasive sponge or multi-sander. This will enable you to also sand down those small, hard-to-reach places, like the round tips of the crown. Sweep up the sawdust afterwards, or use a sponge to wipe it up. To prevent any sawdust from getting into your eyes, it’s best to wear protective goggles.

Now that your crown is nice and smooth, you can drill the holes in the back for hanging it on the wall.

Drill two holes on the reverse of the wooden crown, around 5 cm beneath the edge. Make a note of how far apart the holes are – you’ll appreciate that later when you come to fix the screws to the wall. Feel free to choose a drill bit size that’s bigger than the screw. Note: position the drill at a slight diagonal so that you’re drilling from bottom to top. Only drill halfway into the wood - otherwise you’ll have a hole at the front of your crown too!

Every coat hanger needs hooks. To apply them, first use a pencil to mark the points where you want to drill. Then fix the wood drill bit to the combi drill and apply pressure to drill the holes. The diameter of the drill bit should be the same as the diameter of the screws you’ll use to secure the hooks.

Now it’s time for the finishing touches! First, apply some colour using a paint roller and brush. Make sure to paint along the edges of the crown too. If you like, you can even paint the hooks. Then just leave it to dry and ... done! For princes and princesses who enjoy glitter, you can also use a hot glue gun with a glitter cartridge. Or why not let your little ones decorate the crown themselves?

Now it’s time to hang your masterpiece on the wall. First, drill two holes in the wall where you would like the coat hanger to be mounted. Remember, it should be easy for your kids to reach. Choose a suitable drill for your type of wall. Then simply affix the anchors and turn in the screws – but leave a little bit of the screw sticking out.

Now you can mount your coat hook on the wall – and everything is ready for your royal visit!