• Preparedness Christmas: Stocking Stuffer Ideas

    28 Nov 2008 /  Preparedness Christmas Comments

    This will be the first of a couple themed posts around having a “Preparedness Christmas”. With world and U.S. conditions being what they are, if you’re like me the last thing you can stomach right now is the idea of spending a bunch of money on silly toys and other frivolous items that will be either lost or destroyed (and somewhat unappreciated) within a week or so of Christmas. Christmas gift giving is a great time to think about sharing the security and comfort of being prepared with the rest of your family.

    Stocking Stuffers

    We Americans have this bizarre tradition of filling a once a year used sock with candy, junk, and usually one valuable gift as if “Santa” left it all there. For this first installment of a Preparedness Christmas, we talk about filling those stockings with prep related items. I’m sure everyone could easily sit down and make a list of things, but it’s the kind of thing that it helps to have a brain jolt to get started. So, here’s a quick list of preparedness related things that you could use as stocking stuffers.

    1. Backpack (If you don’t have 72 hour kits yet, you could fill the sock with tons of stuff needed for it, the backpack would be to hold it all)
    2. Flashlight (those $12 16 LED Tactical lights they have at the gas station would be great for this)
    3. Manual Can Opener – If you have a grocery store’s worth of cans in your storage room, manual can openers are critical!)
    4. Multi-Purpose Tool – These can be picked up at Wal-Mart for as little as $14.00
    5. Pocket Knife – a cheap one for kids can be as cheap as $5.00 – adults should always have a good $50.00 or so knife in their kit
    6. Compass – a functional cheap one will run about $8.00 and up
    7. Small First Aid Kit – can be found for $15 – $30 bucks
    8. Small Sewing Kit – A simple one can be bought or put together for around $10.00
    9. Toothbrush
    10. Floss
    11. Fishing Gear
    12. Mylar Blanket
    13. Toilet Paper – the small pack size ones
    14. Small toys for small kids – got to keep them entertained for 72 hours!
    15. pens/pencils/small notebook
    16. Metal cup (I recommend a Sierra Cup)
    17. Sturdy plastic ware – there is a great product that has a fork on one end and a spoon on the other that you can get for about $2.00
    18. Rope
    19. Extra light bulbs and batteries for the flashlight
    20. Hiking Socks
    21. Stocking Hat
    22. Mittens or Gloves
    23. Nail Clippers
    24. Strike Anywhere matches with a waterproof holder
    25. Light Sticks
    26. Handwarmers
    27. Hard Candy
    28. Miniature set of scriptures
    29. Water Filtration set
    30. MREs

    There are lots of other things you could put in there, hopefully this quick list will get you thinking! One of the great advantages of having a Preparedness Christmas is that you won’t be fighting all the lines at the “regular people” stores.

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    Posted by phil801 @ 1:48 am

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  • Great list, especially for a frugal preparedness Christmas. I would recommend baby wipes instead of toilet paper. They don't take up much room, have multiple uses and possibly require fewer for clean up.

    As for the flashlight, any light source is better than none. Darkness can have a huge effect on morale. However, when I was undertaking CERT training in Los Angeles one of the exercises we performed was Search and Rescue in a smoke house at the firefighters academy. In the complete darkness therein, I quickly found out that LED flashlights (in general) just don't cut it in that kind of darkness. They don't penetrate the darkness at all. I would say all they are good for is making sure your next step isn't off a cliff.

    If you are depending on a flashlight for survival, like any tool, it is probably best to obtain the best you can afford. Surefire flashlights are expensive, but for a reason. They REALLY work well. Now, that being said, I have used Surefire flashlights but don't own one, mostly due to price. I do however have two iNova flashlights. They are LED lights, and as such do have some of the problems I mentioned above. But, being a better quality light they are a better choice. I also carry with me a keychain LED light, a clip on LED light on my Murse/mini-BOB and a laser pointer with a gooseneck LED light.

    Maybe one of these Christmases I will receive (or more likely treat myself) to a better penetrating light like a Surefire or other comparable brand.
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