CHRISTMAS GIFTS: Can You Give the Gift of Preparedness?

Can You Give the Gift of Preparedness?

Last year, I wrote an article about giving the gift of preparedness. In the article, I suggested that instead of buying your friends and family a bunch of useless crap, it might be a better idea to give them the gift of preparedness. It can be a great way to introduce preparedness into the lives of your unprepared friends and family.

I want to challenge our readers to do that again. Instead of buying a bunch of random gifts, why not give the gift of Preparedness? It can be something direct, like a survival book or survival kit; or it can be something a little stealthier, like an emergency vehicle kit.

Survival & Preparedness Books

Everybody loves a good book, and it’s one of the best ways to introduce your friends and family to the topic of preparedness. The skills that they’ll learn from reading one of these survival books will far outweigh anything you can buy them from your local Big Box Store.

THE SAS SURVIVAL HANDBOOK

The SAS Survival Handbook, by former British SAS member and instructor John ‘Lofty’ Wiseman, is one of the top-selling survival books of all time.

The book is filled with real-life strategies that can help you survive in just about any situation. This new version of the SAS classic has been revised to include the latest survival knowledge and tips to help survive in any situation, anywhere in the world.

When All Hell Breaks Loose: Stuff You Need To Survive When Disaster Strikes

When All Hell Breaks Loose: Stuff You Need To Survive When Disaster Strikes, by author and survival consultant Cody Lundin, is a great survival guide for the younger generation. I don’t say this to take anything away from the book; it’s packed with 450 pages of hardcore and up-to-date survival information. In my opinion, the book is great for just about anyone who wants to learn about survival and preparedness topics. Why I recommend it for the next generation, is how the book’s formatted.

It’s filled with hundreds of uniquely entertaining illustrations, loads of informative pictures, and a myriad of funny little stories that make reading the book an experience that everyone will love. The book’s not only essential to your survival, but it makes the subject of preparedness uniquely entertaining.

Emergency Vehicle Kits

Emergency Roadside Vehicle Kits are a great gift idea for those stubborn family members that are resistant to the preparedness message. I like giving them as gifts for a couple of reasons.

• They’re something everyone should have; even people who don’t like talking about preparedness should understand the need for an emergency vehicle kit.
• They’re not as threatening to those who might shy away from preparedness topics as something like a survival book or survival kit.
• They can help spur a deeper preparedness conversation. Once the person realizes how cool and essential the gift is, you can then subtly ask them, “Hey have you thought about getting an emergency kit for your home?”

Gifts that are Cool, but Still Drive Home the Preparedness Message

The following gift ideas are great “under the radar” survival gifts that can help prepare your clueless friends, without running the risk of them being turned off. These are all gifts that are great introduction items that can eventually lead to them becoming more survival and preparedness minded.

Survival Knives

Ask a survivalist what’s the one item they couldn’t live without, and more often than not, they’ll tell you their knife.

Knives are a practical tool that most people can use in their everyday life; they also make a great way to introduce those reluctant friends to preparedness. I mean come on, who wouldn’t want to receive a nice new knife?

Here are 5 Great Survival Knives that you can give as a gift:

• The Sog Seal Pup Elite
• CRKT S.P.E.W.
• Ka-Bar Becker BK2
• Benchmade CSK II
• USMC KA-BAR

Mulittools

Multitools are another one of those cool gifts that the Average Joe might not think of as a survival item.

It’s a great “under the radar” survival tool that prepares your clueless friends without running the risk of them being turned off. It’s another one of those introduction items that can eventually lead to them becoming more survival minded.

I recommend any of these Mulitools:

• Leatherman Skeletool
• Leatherman Wave
• Leatherman Surge
• SOG POWERLOCK