The Best Emergency Preparedness Gifts We All Need
I have listed some of the best emergency preparedness gifts we all need on my blog today. Let’s just say I’m a very practical person. When it comes to presents, my idea of giving is need over want. Wants will come and go, but needs will usually last way after the birthday or whatever holiday prompted the gift to be given. Of course, kids’ clothes will be outgrown; I get that.
By now, you know I’m talking about emergency preparedness to hopefully help people think about their gift-giving this year and every year after that. Let me add that the age group I am talking about here will be anyone over 16-18.
This is the age where we are grooming our kids to go to college, serve their church, learn a trade, get married, or otherwise pursue their dreams. If someone is 18 years old and just moving out to be on their own or attend school, they will soon learn that mom and dad aren’t in their room to help out. It could be a flashlight to hand to the student when the power goes out.
Some canned food may not be available when the stores are closed during a storm. If you have smart parents, they may have put together an emergency kit for you when you moved out of the home base.
Yes, I would have and did pack one for my daughters, but I am a prepper chick. LOL! My grandson loves his solar-powered e-book charger, and my son-in-law loves the solar-powered phone charger/iPad charger I gave him. He works at a hospital, and his phone must always be charged. That’s his line of communication with other hospital workers.
Okay, these items are fairly inexpensive but can be used in natural disasters or emergencies. Today, I want to discuss some essential items that could be bare necessities and a few more advanced emergency preparedness holiday gift ideas.
Emergency Preparedness Gifts
1. Water-Emergency Preparedness Gifts
Water can be purchased in cases of 24 bottles and stacked in the corner of your bedroom or in your closet. They can make you a nightstand with a tablecloth covering it. You can fill washed soda bottles that are ready for use in an emergency.
To prevent algae from growing, add eight drops of unscented bleach per gallon of water. Shake up and down before opening and boiling to be sure it is safe to drink. You can also buy Sports Berkey Water Bottles and filter/purify the water you stored in the soda bottles.
You can also buy WaterBricks. I promise that the gift of filled water containers for water storage would be awesome. You never know when your loved ones might need that clean water. Many of your local hardware stores and large chain stores carry those 55-gallon barrels as well. Add some Water Preserver and a hand pump, and you have generated great holiday gifts!
2. Communication/Contact Info
Put together a plan of communication with your family and friends. How will you get in touch with each other in an emergency? Hopefully, not every location will be without power. You could text your loved ones if you remember their phone numbers. Make a written list of your contacts. If your phone is dead, you might not remember your emails, phone numbers, etc. Here is a FREE Printable Contact Sheet.
I learned from a search and rescue guy to use walkie-talkies, not the old ones we used at Disneyland, as they don’t work over long distances. Of course, you are good to go if you have your Ham radio license. Here is the model the local Search and Rescue Team recommended to me: Motorola
I have a few neighbors with the same model as our walkie-talkies so that we can check on each other through houses several streets away. We have set our walkie-talkies on the same channel. These would be great holiday gifts.
It’s also important to stay in touch with the outside world with a radio. I recommend a hand crank radio in case the power is out. Consider a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) radio for the latest weather reports.
3. Food Storage-Emergency Preparedness Gifts
This is the fun part if you think about it. Challenge yourself to add two cans of something every week when you go to the grocery store between now and when the holidays start, which equates to 8 or more cans a month. Some cans can be soup, beans, or large #10 cans of soup base.
I would have loved having some #10 cans of soup base for a gift while raising my family. Augason Farms sells some at Walmart; it has a short shelf life but would be a great family gift.
These cost approximately $18.00 a can. You can make several pots of soup from each can. Add some onions, corn, green beans, etc., to make the soup healthier and flavorful. Snack Ramen is another inexpensive soup base. You can then add some canned chicken and vegetables for a tasty meal. Pancake mix is another great gift that almost everyone would like to receive. Augason Farms Soup
I would love to say that I make everything from scratch, but I don’t. We still buy a few convenience products. When my favorite pancake syrup is on sale, I buy six bottles at a time. I can fix pancakes or waffles in minutes. It would be awesome if you could buy some #10 cans.
Just remember, dehydrated foods are cheaper but have a short shelf life, so I rarely buy dehydrated items and use freeze-dried foods instead. They are proving more costly, but keep your eyes open for some sales.
I DO buy dehydrated carrots and potatoes, that’s it. Everything else is freeze-dried because of its long-term shelf life. My pantry is also stocked with cases of canned goods I use regularly. The fall is a great time to look out for case lot sales of canned veggies, fruits, and meats. A manual can opener is a must for opening all those cans!
4. Light Source-Emergency Preparedness Gifts
I need to start with flashlights. Please give family members or friends good flashlights that don’t need batteries. If they have a crank and a solar panel, that rocks! These are my favorite flashlights: Goal Zero “Buy right the first time” is my motto. I like all of Goal Zero’s products. If you watch the Costco roadshows, you can find cheaper products and purchase these holiday gifts. Oflashlights and Goal Zero Lanterns
I have solar flashlights on my window sills, which always stay charged. If you feel more comfortable with battery-powered flashlights, have some extra batteries. Bushnell Lanterns
5. Heat Source-Emergency Preparedness Gifts
If you have a fireplace or wood-burning stove, you are set. If it’s okay to store wood where you live, gather some wood, and you’ll have heat available when needed. I can plug a small space heater into my Goal Zero Solar generator power source.
Blankets/quilts would also be excellent gifts. If your loved ones lose power, they can layer warm blankets to keep them warm. A small space heater is great as a holiday gift. So is a Mr. Buddy Heater: How To Heat Your Home In An Emergency
6. Cooking Source/Fuel-Emergency Preparedness Gifts
One reasonably inexpensive cooking stove is a butane stove. It uses very little fuel, and the fuel is pretty cheap. These can be used for cooking when you go camping if allowed in your area. If you can invest in a SunOven, it requires zero fuel. Sun Oven or a Kelly Kettle
A thermal cooker is excellent, too, but you need another fuel source to bring the food to a boil for 4 minutes before placing the food in the cooker to continue cooking. They can keep food hot or cold for a few hours, too! These would be great holiday gifts! Butane Stove and Butane Fuel
These are great for bringing water to a boil and cooking some meals.
Thermal Cooker: These are awesome because you can bring the food to a boil and let it finish cooking your meal in the Thermal Cooker. How to Make Bread In a Thermal Cooker
Check out this post about foods you should consider giving to others as they prepare for the next emergency.
Survival Food Storage by Linda
Some Other Items for Holiday Season Stocking Stuffers
- Dust and N95 Masks
- Duct Tape – has many uses, including plastic sheeting to make a shelter
- Loud Whistle – lets you notify people where you are
- Gloves of all kinds
- Hand Sanitizer – small bottles for the car or purse
- Tools like pliers, crescent wrench, screwdriver assortment, and hammer
- Ponchos
- Waterproof matches – small lighter
- Small first aid kit
- Wool socks to wear in those sturdy shoes or galoshes
Final Word
This is a straightforward list of emergency preparedness gifts. My heart tells me to simplify and minimize our needs. Please spend money on emergency preparedness gifts; you’ll be glad you did. I promise. Thanks for being prepared for the unexpected. May God bless this world, Linda
Copyright Images: Christmas Wrapping Gift Items Depositphotos_92459188_S By urban_light
These are all great ideas, but if I was giving a “prepping” gift to a non-prepper I would not just buy them a case of water bottles. They would be like “What the heck? I could have bought this myself any day.” But a water FILTER, like a Katadyn, would be a great idea.
Hi Lindsay, I know what you are saying about the cases of water. I totally had to laugh because thats what I would say if someone brought me some cases of water. I do appreciate that comment. I was thinking more of some students at school that need to store water somewhere in their dorm. The filter would be awesome if they had to evacuate and find some water to filter. There are a lot of young couples that would love to have 6 cases of water for a gift to have stored for a disaster and replace as they use them. Older couples would also love to have several cases as a gift and have them carried into their homes who are on a very limited budget. Thanks for stopping by and your great comment, Linda
I used to get my water delivered the delivery man to me to get distilled water for storage in an emergency, I was told the water would last 20 years or outlast the 5 gallon container.
Hi Carole, wow, that’s awesome!! I love learning about this, thank you! Linda
I just completed a Christmas gift for our adult kids, each of which has a child. I prepared a two-week emergency food kit. It includes dehydrated fruits, pasta sauces, eggs, and vegetables that I dehydrated; freeze dried meats that I ordered, and flour, sugars, salt, baking powder and baking soda, yeast, honey, oatmeal, rice, black beans, hard candy, and a whole bunch of other stuff I can’t recall at the moment. However, it is enough food to feed each of our kids and their children for two weeks.
Hi Karen, what a wonderful Christmas gift for your family…just the peace that give us as parents is so calming. Thanks for sharing this wonderful gift idea! Blessings, Linda
I found down throw blankets on sale at Costco getting one for each of the family. Can be used camping, boating, fishing, hiking etc, throw in the back of the car for driving in Montana in snow for emergencies. In college my old mini van broke down 2 times driving on icy snowy roads and I was stranded and cold. The blanket would have been very handy. Also good for a bug out bag. Lightweight with a stuff sack and under 1 pound.
They don’t realize it’s a combo prep item and great use item.
Hi Kimmy, thanks for that great tip! That’s an awesome idea for a gift! I’m going to go check out Costco this afternoon. Emergency blankets are a great gift. I can only imagine how cold you were in your broken down minivan. This is why we all need blankets in the car. Great comment, Linda
The blankets are called Double Black Diamond packable Down throws. They come in sets of 2. The red is more burgundy. All have a shiny and dull side, I like all the 4 colors blue, green, silver and red. Great gifts for sure! And yes getting stranded in the middle of no where back in the day with no cell phone was scary and I was so cold! That won’t happen again now!
Hi Kimmy, thanks for the brand name, that is awesome. Oh, and no cell phone, yikes, I remember those days! I remember being pregnant and my car slid off the side of the road just barely from ice but I was not stranded, thank goodness. I was in downtown Salt Lake City, Utah and several people helped move the good old station wagon back on the road. LOL! Memories, yes we will never be caught without a blanket! Linda
We’re into the heart of the holiday-shopping season–no, actually I shall bravely proclaim it, the “CHRISTMAS” shopping season.
For those of us involved in crisis preparedness sales, being tossed into the frothy stir of mall-churned humanity is not as scary as it could be. You see, t here’s a certain familiarity in the chaotic spirit of it all, since we’ve been slogging through our own rush of frenzied buyers for months already.
We get busy when folks out there startle to the lateness of the hour, realizing they’ve been letting their household readiness slip to seriously vulnerable levels. Hurricane Katrina was perhaps the biggest wake-up call of many lately.
Our sales tend to ebb and flow a bit, but they are not so much determined by the calendar as by unexpected developments piercing the collective human experience.
Hurricanes, terror strikes, disease outbreaks, geo-political upheavals … those are the types of triggers for OUR long hours as we work to provide customers with some sorely needed peace of mind. Believe me, business has been good lately … and unfortunately that means, a lot of folks out there have been losing sleep over their tiny place in the world.
Emergency Preparedness Gifts
1. Water-Emergency Preparedness Gifts
Water Storage
55 Gallon Water Barrel
30 Gallon Water Barrel
55 Gallon Rain Barrel
AquaDrum Water Filtration System
Water Filters & Purification
Berkey
Propur
Lifestraw
Katadyn
Solar Hydro
Waterwise
Survival Still
MSR
2. Food Storage-Emergency Preparedness Gifts
Mountain House
Military surplus
Yoders
Future essentials
Numanna
Augason farm
Lindon Farm
XMRE
MRE Star
Eversafe
3. Cooking Source/Fuel-Emergency Preparedness Gifts .
Cooking Equipment
Tools & Lights
Powers
4.Emergency Supplies
Emergency Power
Emergency Packs & Bags
First Aid And Medical
Linda,
Well, I used the link in your post and ordered another Bushnell Lantern for our daughter and SIL for Christmas. Amazon has the big one on sale right now for $29.99 which is 40% off of regular price. Had to resist ordering two at that price. We already have two for ourselves. They are so good because they give great lantern light and have the built-in flashlight. Hard to beat!!
HI Harry, well, I have a special friend that sent one to Mark and I, you! LOL! That’s the best lantern I have ever had. I bought two more to add to the one you sent us! It’s amazing! I think with the three I could pretty well light up my entire living room! Plus, you told me about the Sam’s Club Member Mark’s batteries, they are the best batteries ever! I joined the Plus membership and they ship almost everything for free! Best tip ever! Before we moved into thei home I used the one you sent as a “Lamp” on my side table! I love those lanterns! Linda
We have two antique wooden ladders holding 5 soft heavy wonderful blankets. Every time I wash them they are as good as new. Have you ever met someone only once a year, but they become a dear friend? That is Lucy, a vendor I met decades ago at a Christmas Craft show. Her blankets and puppets and soft stuffed animals are the best. .i have gifted them to everyone She owns Lucy’s Toys. This is the first year she wasn’t there. I miss her, but her blankets warm my heart.
Hi Chris, oh my gosh, those tow antique ladders holding 5 soft wonderful blankets sounds awesome!!! I love hearing her blankets warm your heart! Isn’t it wonderful when you meet someone face to face and you click immediately? Blessings aka friends! Linda
I love the idea of prepping gifts. One thing I would add to Karen’s 2-week food kit for a family – Include recipes IF your recipient is a non-prepper!! They might not know what to do with all of the FD foods.
I am asking my daughter and SIL for a Mr Buddy heater this year!!! I don’t really have any idea what the winter might hold for the power system here where I live now. I have a single butane burner with lots of butane so I can cook but heat is another ball game!! If they don’t get me one, I will get my own!
I love the idea of the down blankets as gifts – light, easily stored.
Thanks to SafeCastle for the list of items – great to print out.
Hi Leanne, oh the Mr. Buddy would be awesome, be sure and get the parts/attachments that Harry and Matt told me to get. Walmart sells them. Linda
I try to give my girls and their families a prepper gift every year. Past gifts have included: first aid kits; one burner butane stove with case; stuffable blankets to keep in their cars; a car emergency kit with tools to cut seatbelt, break windows, pry bar to open door, etc all in a sling backpack to easily store under car seat; a lights out kit with flashlights, lanterns, and headlights. This year they are getting an emergency food supply in a 1 gallon water pitcher. My oldest daughter is getting enough to feed her family of 3 for one day. My youngest daughter is single and a recent college graduate looking nationwide for a job. Her pitcher has a couple freeze dried vegan meals, a couple cans of soup, some packaged vegan meals that can easily be heated on the stove (or microwave), oatmeal and some other items. It could easily feed her for several days.. ie, a drive to California or the East Coast when relocating for her new job. I saw this on pinterest but packaged in a plastic jar. I decided to use the pitcher so if needed in an emergency they would also have something to hold water. I included a Thrive freeze dried meal for my oldest daughter and bought the vegan freeze dried meals on Amazon. Everything else was bought at Aldi and I tried to get expiration dates that were 18 months to 2 years. I was delighted to find the vegan items there. Life is interesting when two omnivors managed to produce a vegetarian and a vegan. Since neither daughter is a prepper, they can use the day’s food supply while camping. My son-in-law thinks he knows everything about being a prepper (I would love to get him talking to Matt or others here) and I’ve been giving him a book every year. I started last year with Linda’s book, this year I think I’m giving him the Boy Scout Survival manual and for his birthday I’m going to give him Ray’s book. Hopefully this will help him develop a better plan than “getting my wife and child and heading to the hills.”
I forgot to add that there is a small can opener in each pitcher. A past gift was a mess kit for everyone with a zippered pouch with silverware.
Hi Topaz, oh my gosh, thats a great idea, a mess kit and a can opener! I love those gifts! The pitcher is an excellent idea! Linda
Hi Topaz, it sounds wonderful how you have carefully planned out what each family member can use for their own needs. It is funny when so many of our family member are vegan, vegetarian, omnivores, and carnivores! Who would have guessed. Our world is changing that’s for sure. Linda