What better way to show someone that you care about them than to give them a gift that will help them be more prepared in case of an emergency. Many people avoid buying these type of things for themselves as they get too overwhelmed by the processes of emergency preparedness and food storage. So why not help your friends and family out by giving them a kick-start in the right direction? Read below for great ideas to give your family and friends, some neighbordhood gift ideas, as well as some good things to ask for if you need gift ideas for yourself.

The first year my husband and I were married my mother-in-law gave us the following items for Christmas:

• A crank radio
• A crank flashlight
• A propane lantern
• Emergency blankets
• A car shovel
• And a backpack

Needless to say I was a little disappointed. NOT the typical thing I was used to getting in MY family. However, over the years I have come to respect and appreciate those gifts more and more. She continues to give us emergency items each year and I now look forward to adding things to my disaster kit without having to purchase them myself.

Perhaps someone in your family knows they should start to gather some of these items but doesn't know where to start. Maybe it is too much of a time commitment for them to put together a good 72 hour kit even though they know they need one. You can help kick start your loved ones into thinking about emergency preparedness by giving them a little boost.

If you have family and friends who are already actively involved with food storage and emergency preparedness there are some great items available that you can grab for them that you KNOW they will appreciate. Check out the links to the right to find some great ideas for emergency preparedness and food storage gifts.

It's ok to think of yourself a little bit at this time of year. People are always asking me what I would enjoy getting for Christmas and every year I feel as though I really don't NEED anything. Well this year (since I have been so involved in food storage and emergency preparedness) I automatically had a huge list in my head of things I would love to receive.

Some of the items are "big ticket" items that I couldn't justify buying out of my family budget. Others are just small things on my list that I need to purchase but haven't gotten around to it yet.

If you are looking for some ideas of things to ask for this year, check out some of the wish lists to the right as they can give you a great starting point for your own list.

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