… or the hope-to-be prepared. If you have friends or relatives who talk about preparedness but who either don’t have the money or the oomph to move ahead, this is a good time to get them started.<\/p>\n
It’s also not a bad time to gift yourself with some special item that you’ve been wanting.<\/p>\n
So here are some preparedness favorites.<\/p>\n
1. The Big Berkey water purification system<\/a>. Which comes in several configurations<\/a>. Yes, they’re pricy. Yes, people buy them regularly and love them despite that.<\/p>\n 2. Boxes of MREs<\/a>. Or those nice Mountain House freeze-dried foods<\/a>, which come in a wide variety.<\/p>\n 3. Hand warmers<\/a>. Toe warmers<\/a>. Or a box of assorted hand, toe, insole, and body warmers<\/a>.<\/p>\n 4. The Boys’ Book Of Survival (How To Survive Anything, Anywhere)<\/a>.<\/p>\n 5. A good fisherman’s vest<\/a>. Or a shooter’s vest<\/a>. Both are the most handy-dandy things on earth for carrying a ton of gear while leaving hands free.<\/p>\n 6. A ready-made grab-n-go kit<\/a>. Sure, you and I know these aren’t ideal for serious preppers. But one may very<\/i> well be ideal for that person who talks about prepping and doesn’t get around to it.<\/p>\n 7. A first aid kit<\/a>. Ditto.<\/p>\n 8. A Steripen UV water purifier<\/a>. More than just a “poor man’s Berkey.” A Steripen is a wonderful traveler’s companion and a fine emergency tool. Just be sure to stock lithium batteries<\/a> in the right size. (Or choose a hand-cranked model.)<\/p>\n 9. Or give a traditional gift that’s more subversive than most people know: fruitcake!<\/a> (Those ones from the Collin Street Bakery are delicious. Yes, fruitcake that’s actually good! Which I know, thanks to that Texan friend who sent me several.) Why fruitcake on a preparedness gift list? Aside from the fact that the stuff does last pretty much forever, long-time readers of the Mental Militia Forums (formerly the Claire Files Forums) know why<\/a>.<\/p>\n 10. Finally, don’t forget that, this year, Amazon has special deals on gifts for the survivalist<\/a> in its Tools and Hardware section.<\/p>\n There you go. That’s the last of the Amazon shopping lists for this year.<\/b> If you hated them, thanks for your patience. If they helped you, then thanks again for using my Amazon links for your Christmas and year ’round shopping.<\/p>\n —–<\/p>\n And the earlier lists …<\/p>\n VII. Pets and animal lovers<\/a><\/b><\/p>\n VI. Cyber Monday Week Deals<\/a><\/b> in electronics and related things (some of which are going on until the end of the year).<\/p>\n V. Tools and home improvement<\/a><\/b><\/p>\n IV. Gunstuff!<\/a><\/b><\/p>\n III. Maple bacon stuff!<\/a><\/b> (Lots of good stocking stuffers.)<\/p>\n