Create a stand for your iPad or tablet from a piece of cardboard

In my 12 tips for a virtual Christmas infographic I shared how you can use a simple stand made from cardboard to hold your iPad or tablet at the table and allow everyone to see you as you gather for a virtual meal at Christmas.

Here’s how you can create this type of stand from cardboard that you likely have around the house from one of your online shopping purchases.

Find the right size of cardboard

You want the stand to securely hold your iPad or tablet in landscape mode. A good guide is to find a piece that is twice as long as the tablet and at least half to two-thirds the height of the iPad.

Mark where the holder notches will go

Fold the cardboard in half and hold it so the two sides are at about a 90 degree angle. Hold the iPad above the folded cardboard. Move the iPad away from the fold along the two sides until the bezel of the iPad is above the cardboard on each side. Mark each side of the cardboard at that spot.

The depth of the notches will be approximately one-third the height of the iPad so that the camera is not blocked. Lay the cardboard flat to measure how deep the notches need to be.

Mark the width of the notch you will need based on about twice the width of the iPad including the case.

Cut the notches and adjust if needed

Cut the notches based on the marks. Fold the cardboard and test sliding the tablet into the notches. You may need to cut them a little wider or deeper if the iPad doesn’t fit. You can just fold the cardboard notches down.

Check what the camera will see

Check that people will be able to see everyone at the table by checking what the camera on the iPad sees.

If you need to raise the iPad so it better shows the table and people, put the stand on an overturned box so that the stand is fully supported. A stack of books may not be large enough.

You can also use the stand to position the iPad in the room with the tree so you can show everyone opening their gifts.

 

Use this hack to create a stand for your iPad or tablet so you can have a safe virtual Christmas celebration this year.

 

P.S. You can use this stand to hold your iPad for other work or family calls at any time of the year.

By Dave Paradi

Dave Paradi has over twenty-two years of experience delivering customized training workshops to help business professionals improve their presentations. He has written ten books and over 600 articles on the topic of effective presentations and his ideas have appeared in publications around the world. His focus is on helping corporate professionals visually communicate the messages in their data so they don't overwhelm and confuse executives. Dave is one of fewer than ten people in North America recognized by Microsoft with the Most Valuable Professional Award for his contributions to the Excel, PowerPoint, and Teams communities. His articles and videos on virtual presenting have been viewed over 4.8 million times and liked over 17,000 times on YouTube.