The 12 Days of Prepper Christmas

Day 12

We're finally at Day 12 of the 12 Days of Prepper Christmas and Christmas is nearly upon us. Hopefully you've got most of your shopping done but if not, now is the time to get your last minute orders in. I've talked about a lot of potentially great holiday gifts over the past couple weeks and today is going to be no different. Having a bug out bag or get home bag is a pretty important part of your preparedness gear. Not only that but it's a great way to get started on the path to preparedness.

One great gift you can give is the gift of a get home bag. Not getting your friends or family the whole kit but a few items to go into their kit along with a full list of bug out bag items would hopefully motivate them to complete the bag. One important item for a bug out bag that would be cheap enough to purchase is some 550 paracord. Amazon sells 100' of 550 paracord which is very strong cordage with a strength of up to 550 lbs for around $10 shipped.

Paracord is a great addition to your get home bag but you also need something to eat and drink. Emergency food bars are great to keep in your bug out bag. They are high in calories and nutrients, and make grabbing a quick meal on the go very easy. Amazon sells 3600 calorie bars for less than $5 and a few of these you would have all your food covered for the 72 hour kit. A good water bottle is also important and my favorite is the Nalgene bottles. Amazon also sells the 1 liter Nalgene for around $10 and a must for any bug out bag.

For the bug out bag list make sure you check out my post on the same subject for a pretty complete 72+ hour kit. Make this holiday the one to remember by getting friends and family on the path to preparedness. The more prepared everyone is the better off we all will be in the event of any disaster.

The 12 Days of Prepper Christmas

Day 11

We're almost ready to wrap up the 12 Days of Prepper Christmas and Day 11 brings us to vehicle emergency items. Everyone needs an emergency kit in the automobile. Lots can happen out on the road and if your car breaks down you want to have the proper equipment with you to make it easy when waiting for help to arrive. You can give your friends or family members a few items that would be important to keep in a car emergency kit, along with a complete list of items they might need. This would hopefully motivate them to finish the list and get a good car emergency kit together.

One thing you can get that's important for all to have available is jumper cables. Jumper cables can save you from a pickle and also allow you to help someone else out in need. If you leave a light on in your car or somehow end up with a dead battery you can jump start your car and make it home or to a location where the issue can be fixed. Jumper cables can be purchased from any supermarket or auto part store. They are pretty inexpensive and when in need they're worth their weight in gold.

For a good list of what items you might need in your car emergency kit you can check out my post on that exact subject. If jumper cables aren't enough an emergency blanket is something inexpensive that can also be purchased to go with the cables. The goal is to show that you are concerned about your friends and family and want them to be on the path to getting prepared. Hopefully by getting them items that relate to prepping it will jump start (no pun intended) them onto the prepping scene.

The 12 Days of Prepper Christmas

Day 10

In an emergency or disaster there are some things you need to handle right away. This includes shutting off the gas and water to your house. This was true for me when a tornado destroyed our neighborhood, getting the gas lines shut off was one of the first priorities. Knowing this everyone should have a gas and water shutoff tool handy in case something like that where to happen. The emergency tools are made just for shutting off gas and water and makes it easier than trying to find the right wrench.

This makes a great gift for any prepper or non-prepper, and every home needs to be equipped with one of these tools. Amazon sells a variety of these tools that are made for shutting off gas valves and water mains. They fit standard and Texas Gas valves. Orbit makes a quality emergency tool that features a glow in the dark grip for easy access. Amazon sells this tool for around $10. A great stocking stuffer or secret santa gift. This tool would also make a great conversation piece about prepping for disasters.

The 12 Days of Prepper Christmas

Day 9

Water storage is something that is often overlooked in a lot of preparedness plans.  Most people who are getting started with prepping can get their food stored up but don't store up enough water to go with the food storage.  Water is more important than food because you can go for weeks without food but only days without clean water to drink.  You could say water is the backbone of any preparedness plan. 

This is why giving the gift of water storage is a great way to show friends and family you would like to see them get prepared.  There are lots of different options for storing water and lots of vendors who sell jugs.  Some of the best jugs you can buy are made by Reliance.  Reliance calls them Aqua-Tainers and you can look at Amazon and see all the different models of water jugs they make from small 1 gallon jugs up to 8 gallon and larger.  The best deal you can get is on the 7 gallon Aqua-Tainer. 

Wal-Mart sells the Reliance 7 gallon Aqua-Tainer for around $12.  Without having to pay shipping this is a great deal.  These are durable, and made from food grade BPA free plastic.  They're blue in color, come with an on/off spigot for easy access and will safely hold water for years.  These are a great deal and I have quite a few of these stored up.  Tap water comes out of the faucet treated and ready for long term storage.  No need for bleach or other additives.  If you want to give the gift of preparedness this holiday season these water jugs are a great way to do just that.

The 12 Days of Prepper Christmas

Day 8

Day 8 of the 12 Days of Prepper Christmas is already here. One gift that would go over well with a prepper or avid shooter is a box of ammo. Ammo is a great gift and also a great stocking stuffer. For a prepper or firearm enthusiast you can't have enough ammo. Ammo can be a great gift because it has a lot of different uses not just for shooting.

Ammo (if stored properly) won't ever go bad. You can store it up for future bartering, or store ammo as an investment. We all know how much ammo prices have went up in the last couple years, imagine if you had a large stockpile from 5 or 10 years ago and were able to sell it today at a very hansom profit. I think that in tough times ahead ammo prices are going to continue to rise and one would be able to make a return on their investment of ammo.

If you know what type of firearms your friend or family member owns get a box of ammo for it as a gift. I'm sure they would appreciate the gift. Like I said you can never have too much ammo lying around. This series is about getting practical gifts for your friends and family, gifts that they can use not something that they won't use or already have. Ammo is something thoughtful and something that myself along with most preppers would enjoy.

The 12 Days of Prepper Christmas

Day 7

This post falls right inline with the 12 Days of Prepper Christmas series and also goes along with the Dealing with Waste in an Emergency series of posts. Phil801 from Utah Preppers has arranged a group buy for waterless GottaGoToilets. Here's the excerpt from Utah Preppers:

Their system is called the GottaGo Toilet system. It’s basically a cardboard disposable (after about 100 uses) emergency toilet that uses biodegradable bags and a microbial sand. Once you’ve filled up a bag you can dig a hole and bury the bag – yes, bury it – within 30 – 90 days it will be completely broken down. You can also burn your toilet once you’re done with it. Basically you can go on a family campout and have everyone use this toilet system and not have to carry any of it home to dispose of it.

These toilets are great for any prepper needing some off the grid sanitation options.  The group buy is for 25% off all GottaGoToilet's products with the coupon code: prepxmas.  This is a great deal and not only would be good for a prepper but a great gift to give for the holidays.  Every prepper needs some way to deal with their waste off the grid and this is a great option.  Phil801 has used these products and can vouch for them.  If you're needing a waste disposal method this is something to consider.


coupon code: prepxmas

The 12 Days of Prepper Christmas

Day 7

General safety is an important part of being a prepper, and there are many gifts that would be great to give related to home and general safety. One thing that a lot of people including some preppers might not have is a good first aid kit. First Aid Kits might be the most overlooked prep. Guns, ammo, food, and water are usually at the top of the list, but often times first aid supplies are left out. First aid supplies are important to anyone whether they are a prepper or non-prepper which makes it a great gift to give.

There are a lot of different kits out there from family size kits to small personal kits. There are two kits that I personally own and would recommend and one is the 326 piece First Aid Center. This kit features a rugged hard case, and enough first aid supplies for a whole family, a small business or office. This kit also includes some instructions on what to do with different issues and comes with the supplies to handle most minor issues. Coming in at around $30 is really a great price for the amount of supplies you get. (I personally have two of these kits in my preps.)

For something smaller to use as a stocking stuffer or an individual there is the Johnson & Johnson 170 piece first aid kit. I've seen these kits on sale at Wal-Mart or Target for less than $8.00. These are great to keep in your automobile, keep in a school locker, in your bug out bag, or keep in the desk at work. A first aid kit can really come in handy if you get a cut, scrape or burn yourself. These make great gifts to give so consider giving the gift of safety this holiday season.

The 12 Days of Prepper Christmas

Day 6

Breaking away from gadgets for a change one great prepper gift is simply giving canned goods.  Any prepper or wannabee prepper is going to appreciate canned goods to add to their stock.  There is no better gift than the gift of food.  Without food we would starve, and the base of any good preparedness plan is a food storage.  Food might seem like an unlikely gift but to a prepper it's one of the best gifts you can give.  To the non-prepper the gift of food shows that you want them to get prepared and consider building up a storage for emergency's and disasters. 

What type of canned goods is going to be variable.  Hopefully you know what the person you're giving the food to likes.  If not there are things that are pretty much universal, such as canned vegetables, fruits, beans and even rice.  The cans of Veg-All are a great gift and a great thing to store.  They contain a number of different vegetables all in one can.  Great for soups, casseroles, or just eating with a main course dish.  Cans of mixed fruit are also great to give.  Everyone loves mixed fruit and is great for a desert after dinner or a between meal snack.  Fruit is healthy and good for you and one of the best types of sweets to be eating.

Bags of rice and beans are also great to give as gifts.  As unconventional as these things may seem think about how much this would help someone as opposed to getting them a sweater or a pair of socks.  Getting your friends or family something that they're truly going to be able to use and something that could potentially save their life is a gift you can't put a price on.  At the time it might seem like a drag, to get a bag of white rice or black beans for Christmas but if the time came and they needed those items to stay alive they would be glad you gave them. 

The 12 Days of Prepper Christmas

Day 5

A weather radio is something that everyone should have whether you're a prepper or not. Weather radios that are made for the NOAA alert system will sound an alarm when a storm watch or warning is issued. These radios can and have saved lives before by alerting people to danger and giving them time to take shelter. There are a number of different radios out there. From desktop style radios to hand held radios.

The desktop radios usually require electricity from a wall socket, or batteries. Some of the hand held models come with a dynamo crank motor so you're able to crank it to build electricity, or even a solar panel. If you're wanting to get a radio you can use on the grid, or off during a power outage it would be best to go with one of the hand held radios such as the Midland ER102 Emergency Radio.

The Midland ER102 radio is an emergency radio with all 10 NOAA weather channels and an alert function. This radio has a big advantage over a simple desktop weather radio because it has more features. It also features AM/FM reception, a clock with an alarm function, along with a built in flashlight. It has a USB port for charging a cell phone, and a rechargeable battery with a dynamo hand crank for emergency power. This can not only serve you at home, but can be taken on road trips, camping trips or anywhere else that knowing the weather might be important. This radio is budget friendly coming in at around $30.00, and a weather radio is something that every home should have.

Need more Gift Ideas?

Do you need more prepper gift ideas? In conjunction with our 12 Days of Prepper Christmas Angela from Adventures in Self Reliance is having a Preparedness Stocking Swap where you can compile a stocking full of preps and exchange with another prepper. Head over to her blog for more details, or click on the widget below.






As Angela points out in her post, some of our friends in the blogosphere are also posting some great holiday gift ideas. MD Creekmore at The Survivalist Blog posted a top 22 list of prepper stocking stuffers. Some of the same things we're talking about here at KPN. Nomad at Survive the Worst also posted a top 30 prepper gifts for under $15.00, another great list to find some good gift ideas. Lisa at The Survival Mom also has a great list of stocking stuffers. And don't forget Kellene at Preparedness Pro she has a post detailing some different gadgets and potential prepper gifts.

There's no lack of ideas for good prepper gifts for your friends and family. Stay tuned for more ideas from Kentucky Preppers Network.

The 12 Days of Prepper Christmas

Day 4

Today makes Day 4 of The 12 Days of Prepper Christmas series and we're going to be switching gears a little bit. There are a lot of great prepper gifts out there and one cheaper gift, yet still very important is a firesteel. A fire steel is something that everyone should have a couple put back. They're great for lighting fires when camping or any other outdoor activity, but also in a survival situation they're worth their weight in gold when trying to get a fire started without matches or a lighter.


Firesteels are very simple. They usually feature a magnesium alloy rod, and an attached metal striker. Rubbing the metal across the magnesium alloy rod will create sparks that can top 3,000°F. They will work in the rain, snow, at high altitudes, and will light any tinder as long as it's dry. These would make a great gift for any friend or family member whether they are a prepper or not.

A quality firesteel can be purchased from a number of vendors. The cheapest I've found has been eBay, getting them shipped straight from Hong Kong. Amazon might be a better route to go, they offer the actual Swedish Firesteel along with generic firesteels for reasonable prices. Amazon's firesteels will run you around $10, but if you're willing to wait a couple extra days and get it from Hong Kong you could get it from eBay for around $5. I do own one of the eBay firesteels and I must say the build quality is just as good as the more expensive ones, and it creates the same spark. Happy shopping!

The 12 Days of Prepper Christmas

Day 3

Day 1 and Day 2 I discussed how a flashlight or a headlamp would be a great gift or stocking stuffer for the holidays. But as I mentioned in those posts these things do require batteries. Some people might not have flashlights or headlamps let alone the batteries to power them, (and having some put back for an emergency) so batteries themselves would also be a great stocking stuffer. Batteries sold in stores are extremely overpriced. Even at the best deal you find you're going to be paying $.40 per battery and that's just too much.

The internet provides a true free market where people can shop around and find the best deal, which drives the price of goods down. Batteries are a good example. There are lots of websites that sell batteries (in bulk) for $.30 a piece or less. The internet is the only place to buy your batteries because you can get them in bulk for a lot cheaper and just store them until you need them.  Most batteries will last for up to 5 years so don't be afraid to build up a good stock of them.

When dealing with batteries there are two main options. Alkaline batteries that are one time use, and NiMH batteries that can be recharged with a charger. It's good to have some alkaline batteries stored for times when you wouldn't be able to wait for rechargeables to charge.  But it's also important to have some rechargeables stored  because they are cheaper and would last a while.  They could also be used off grid with a solar charger and give you batteries for your devices.  A pack of alkaline batteries along with a pack of NiMH batteries and a charger would be a great addition to the headlamp or flashlight you purchased.

Meritline sells their brand of batteries and if you're buying them in bulk they can get pretty cheap. I have experience with these batteries and they are just as good as the expensive ones you buy in the store. All-Battery sells some batteries that are even cheaper than Meritline. From what I've read most batteries are the same so I'm sure the batteries on All-Battery are quality. All-Battery also has great deals on NiMH batteries and chargers.  Sadly they don't offer any solar chargers but there are lots of other vendors online that sell solar chargers including Amazon.  A solar battery charger with a few NiMH batteries would also be a great stocking stuffer.  Whatever your preference is batteries are an important part of your preps.  Getting some for your friends and family would hopefully help them get on the path to preparedness.