The 12-year-old gets a furnished backyard shed filled with puzzles.

Aiming to create the ultimate “man cave” — or at least one deemed ultimate in the eyes of a 12-year-old — the Make-A-Wish Foundation built a structure in the backyard of a La Jolla Shores home complete with furnishings and all the puzzles a child could want. “It can take a village to grant a wish, but in this case it also took a team of skilled contractors,” Working with the Association of General Contractors of America and its philanthropic arm, AGC Charities, the team built and painted a freestanding shed, added shelving and furniture, filled it with puzzles and planted landscaping. Through the Make-A-Wish Foundation, young children and teenagers who have been diagnosed with a critical illness that has placed their life in jeopardy are eligible to be granted a wish by volunteers. “Christopher loves puzzles; that was a big part of his wish.” “When looking to grant a wish, we meet with the child and assess what makes them happy. He wanted a space for himself or for him to spend time with his friends, so we wanted to make the man cave to be a little retreat with every type of puzzle you can imagine.” Wishes in the San Diego area often are for “a play structure or a bedroom makeover or transforming the backyard into a different setting.” Past requests that Make-A-Wish has granted include one similar in that a girl wanted a “she shed.” Another child wanted to catch a bank robber (that one was carried out in partnership with a local bank and the San Diego Police Department).“There are so many things that need to come together to make a wish come true.” “Everything we do, our whole organization, is about granting wishes for kids with critical illnesses. Having strangers come together to do some good in the world is a pretty amazing thing. These kids go through so many various challenges, so being part of the solution is amazing.”