Santa Never Misses

Twist the candy cane. The roof drops out from under Santa's present, and the present lands in the chimney.

The split second, slowed down.

One rooftop, one present.

Snow on the roof, a crooked chimney, and Santa's present waiting on a post at the high end. Keep scrolling to watch the drop one beat at a time.

A candy cane holds it all up.

The roof is hinged at the house end and tipped up 28°. Its only support is a small tab resting on the shelf of the candy cane's crook.

A quarter turn of the cane.

Twist the cane clockwise and its shelf swings out from under the tab. Nothing holds the roof up any more.

The roof falls faster than the present.

The weighted roof swings down on its hinge, and the post at its far end drops at 1.19 g, quicker than anything can fall on its own. The present is left hanging in the air.

The chimney gets there first.

The roof meets the table about 0.11 s after the twist, with the present still 1.2 in above the chimney's rim. It drops straight in.

A loose block kills the bounce.

The present is a rattle box. The block inside lands a moment after the box does and stops it hopping back out.

Lift, set, go again.

Lift the roof, turn the cane back under its tab, push the present out through the hole under the chimney and set it on its post.

Up close

Candy stripes from the table to the chimney top.

Set up, it stands 7.6 × 3.6 × 6.1 in and weighs 4.0 oz: about as long as a new pencil, small enough for a desk, a windowsill or the end of a mantel. The present is a 0.9 in cube you can close your hand around.

The toy set up on a wooden desk next to a keyboard and a coffee mug
Next to the keyboard it looks like a tiny house. Then someone twists the cane.
The toy from the house end: two dormers by the hinge, the roof rising toward the chimney and the present
From the house end: the dormers sit by the hinge, the chimney near the high end.
Close view of the candy cane: the shelf of its crook sits under the roof's tab
The whole trick starts here: the roof's tab resting on the crook of the cane.
Side view of the toy set up: the roof a long slope from the hinge to the present's post
Side on, set to go: the present at the top of the slope, the cane holding everything up.
The roof down flat after the drop, the present inside the chimney and the cane turned aside
After the drop: roof down, cane turned, present in the chimney.

Why the present always ends up in the chimney.

A board falling on a hinge does not fall like a dropped stone. It turns, and its far end can swing down faster than anything falling freely. The roof is built for that: the dormers and the thick eave by the hinge are solid weight, so the end carrying the present whips down and the present cannot keep up with its own post.

The chimney is set exactly where the present comes down, and leans so the box slides to its floor. We dropped it 3,000 times in a physics model of these exact parts, at two levels of bounce, and the present stayed in the chimney every time.

0.000 s
Side view, one outline every fiftieth of a second after the twist. The red roof outruns the present; when it lands, the chimney is under the falling box.
Looking down into the crooked chimney: the present sits on its floor, tucked against the leaning wall
Where it lands: the chimney leans, so the present slides down against the wall and settles on the floor.

A December toy that gets played with.

  • Christmas Eve

    Set it up on the mantel and let the kids send Santa's present down the chimney before bed. Recommended for ages 6 and up.

  • The office desk

    A holiday decoration that does something. Anyone who walks past ends up twisting the cane.

  • The science class

    The classic "faster than gravity" demonstration, made into something a kid wants to repeat twenty times.

The toy on a wooden kitchen table on Christmas morning, roof down after a drop, beside a mug of cocoa with marshmallows
Christmas morning, roof down, present in the chimney. Lift it and go again.

Santa Never Misses

A snowy rooftop, a candy-cane prop and a present that never misses the chimney.

Two pieces in the box.

1
The rooftop: a base with its gable post, the hinged roof with dormers and the crooked chimney, and the turning candy cane
1
Santa's present, a box with a loose rattle block sealed inside
Size, set up
7.6 × 3.6 × 6.1 in
Weight
4.0 oz
Present
0.9 in cube
Material
PLA, candy-cane red and white
Power
None: gravity and a quarter turn of the cane
Ages
6 and up
The toy set up: roof tipped on its candy cane, present on its post

Good to know

Does it need batteries?

No. There is no motor, no battery and no switch. Gravity does the work once you give the candy cane a quarter turn.

What is it made of?

PLA, in candy-cane red and white stripes that run around every piece, the present included.

How do I set it up again?

Lift the roof, turn the cane so the shelf of its crook points under the roof's tab, and rest the tab on it. Push the present out through the hole under the chimney and stand it on the post at the high end.

Why doesn't the present bounce out?

It is a rattle box. A loose block inside lands a moment after the box hits the chimney floor and soaks up the bounce, so the present stays put.

What age is it for?

We recommend it for ages 6 and up.