Christmas Preparedness Gifts

I have another Christmas thought for you.  Have you considered preparedness items as Christmas gifts?  Really.  I’m serious.  What better way is there to say “I love you” than to want someone to be safe and taken care of in an emergency?  I know I’m a little unusual but I think a case of beef stew or a #10 can of dehydrated apples is a very thoughtful gift.  Even very traditional preparedness foods like dried milk and grains may be appreciated by someone working at actively stocking up on food storage items.  And, of course, who wouldn’t appreciate a #10 can of chocolate pudding, or the fixings for no-bake cookies—oats, cocoa, sugar, etc., are all great preparedness foods! 

Plan Not Panic, Larry Salsbury

Preparedness isn’t limited to food, though.  Here are some other terrific items that fill the bill for both emergency preparedness and Christmas giving.  LED flashlights for home, garage, closets, and car.   A small, battery-powered radio (a must item for every household for emergency preparedness), a portable butane stove and canisters of butane (one of the best stoves to have since it is safe to use indoors).  Sleeping bags.  First-aid kits.  Emergency blankets and/or ponchos.  Seventy-two-hour kits or some of the components to make one.  (I can recommend a great book on preparing the most complete and personalized 72-hour kit: It’s Time to Plan, Not Panic.  Guess who wrote it?) A hand grain grinder.  Lanterns—battery operated or butane.  An emergency kit for a car—this isn’t the same as the traditional car tools kit with jumper cables and flares, etc. though those are good too.  This is a kit with items to take care of YOU in an emergency, not your car; things like food, emergency blankets, and bottles of water.  I recently did a podcast on emergency car kits.  You can listen to it here for car-kit-inspiration. 

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If you are willing to dig a little deeper into your bank account, you might want to consider a portable home generator as a gift for your family or someone you love.  This is a fairly big decision, so you’ll want to do a little research before you shell out the bucks.  Consumer Reports agrees with me: “A growing number of hurricanes, tornadoes, ice storms, and other natural disasters in recent years have probably put preparedness on your radar screen. Along with an emergency plan and a three-day supply of food and water, you might want to consider adding backup power at your home” (Generators, 2011).   Their website offers a wattage calculator to help you determine the right size generator for your home, along with a buying guide and safety recommendations.  This video clip only lasts a minute and a half but it gives a nice little overview of generators. 

Have a very merry prepared Christmas!

Video Clip from http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/home-garden/safety-security/generators/overview/index.htm

Works Cited

Generators. (2011, March). Retrieved November 27, 2011, from ConsumerReports.org: http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/home-garden/safety-security/generators/overview/index.htm

Podcast,  http://test.blogtalkradio.com/doctorprepper/2011/11/11/preparedness-solutions