While the holidays are not looming, a lot of us like to get started early looking for gifts for those on our list. This can be an opportunity to help those people be a little more prepared for what might be thrown at them. In many cases these might be family or friends that have not made plans. A thoughtful gift could ensure they are a bit more prepared and maybe cause them to think over other ways to ensure they are planned for a disaster. I am listing just a few items of the many out there
One item that I am always surprised to see people not owning is an Emergency Roadside Kit for their car. These are not just for winter either. Most of us spend a good deal of time in the car and potentially far from home. Having jumper cables have been a life saver for me a lot of times. This Kit contains some basic tools to help if you are stranded due to a stuck or dead vehicle. Of course, these could also be used to offer a helping hand to others. Plus, those tools could be helpful in emergencies not related to their vehicle. Sort of like sneaking in a bit of preparation under the radar.
Another item that can be helpful in the car and at home is Power Pack that allows you to jump start your car, charge or run electrical devices, and even air up your tires. This could be put to use to “self-rescue” if you had a dead battery or flat tire. If you are unable to use it for that, you could charge you phone to call for help. It could even be put to use in a cheerier scenario to pump up those inflatables for the lake. The only thing that the giftee must do is to charge it periodically. While this tool would not be classified by most as “prepping”, it can very useful in short term disasters and requires very little training to use.
Portable Power Pack Jumpstarter
Another very practical gift that can be given but is a more deliberate attempt to help them prepare for disasters is to give them some type of emergency food stores. These are very important in lots of potential scenarios such as blizzards, economic collapse, floods, and long-term power outages. They are even a good standby in case of potential financial issues in the household. Explaining to them that this food is aimed at a longer shelf life than their average grocery store fare can help them to start to think about rotation of stored food and having sufficient stock on hand in case resupply is unavailable. While these kits are far from a complete solution, they provide a good base to build off of.
Harmony House Trail Ready Gourmet Soup and Chili Pack
Augason Farms Long Grain Brown Rice Emergency Food Storage Pail
Augason Farms 5-20100 72-Hour 4-Person Emergency Food Storage Kit
Along with this food, you might find that an alternate way to prepare it would be a good idea. I find that the best overall option for a wide variety of people is a camping stove. They are small. easy to store, easy to use, and portable. Plus, you can always use them for their intended purpose, camping.
Coleman Gas Camping Propane Stove, 2 Burner
Another benefit of this stove is clean and easy to use fuel.
Coleman Propane Fuel Case of 6
Another item that is good to pair up with food and a stove is cookware that is safe to use on the stove. Lots of coated pans and pots are not suitable for this use. A good basic kit would be a great help since it is also more portable than standard pots. The stove, fuel, and this take up very little room and can be a life saver.
There are some “stocking stuffers” worth a mention in this article too. Even if someone has some of them, often they find keeping them in handy places calls for multiples of each. One in each car, one in the bedroom, one in the kitchen, and one in the garage might be a good dispersal so they are at hand.
Lastly, for those that want to give someone a prebuilt kit to have on hand, we have one of those too.
EVERLIT 250 Pieces Survival First Aid Kit
Whatever you decide to go with, hopefully it is received well and it help prepare the receiver for whatever challenges they may face,