With Christmas right around the corner, hopefully you've got all of your shopping done, but if you're still searching for that special gift for the survival enthusiast in your life - you've come to the right place. My friends are a particularly hard bunch to buy for, as they've been prepping for many years and likely have two of whatever-it-was you were planning to buy them anyway. Damn. So I went round the team here at APE Survival and asked them what they'd like to find under their trees Christmas morning. Most of these gifts are rather thoughtful, and would all make a good present for anyone interested in preparedness and learning to survive.
The gift of self-defense
One of the most valuable skills you can hone is the ability to defend yourself. Get out to your local community center and find a course that teaches self-defense techniques, or buy them a gift certificate for kickboxing classes at a nearby gym. In addition to being fun (and good for their health), they'll learn real fighting moves that may just come in handy one day. The gift of a skill
In a similar note, see what other courses are available in your area. One that the team here at APE Survival would all love is advanced shooting classes. We'd get a chance to hone our skills at the range under the guidance of true experts, and it's usually a gift we wouldn't treat ourselves with. If guns aren't your thing there may also be basic woodcraft skills or survival training available locally too. The gift of ammunition
Find out what your loved ones shoot with and stock up their ammunition supplies. It's a thoughtful gift that is immensely practical, as we all burn through far too much ammunition every time we hit the range. Trust me on this one, your survivalist friends will love it. The gift of protection
Being able to protect yourself in any situation is usually a result of having key items at your fingertips when you need them. Buy your survivalist friends a taser with at least a million volts, and they'll be able to stop any attacker right in their tracks. Just be sure to go with quality. Spending a little more to buy a reliable device is good common sense. Pepper spray is another great gift, and you can get anything from a single use dispenser to take jogging, to larger dispensers which are good for up to five sprays. For stocking stuffers, keychain defensive items are one of my favorites, just a small metal attachment which you can slip your fingers in to give you an advantage when striking an attacker. The gift of food
There are a number of different suppliers offering emergency food supplies, just make a judgment call to ensure it's going to go down well for your loved ones. Most families only have a few days stored, and anyone with prepper-like tendencies is going to see the practicality in having a ready supply of food on hand. Even just one bucket with a month's supply can do wonders in surviving a localized crisis. The gift of vehicle preparedness
You can highly personalize this one to the area you live, putting together an emergency kit for your loved ones vehicle that may just save their life. If you're in dry, arid conditions consider supplies to prevent heat exhaustion and dehydration, while those in cold climates will need to ensure they've got what they need to stay warm. I'd include basic gear like a tow-cable and jumper leads, flashlights and a fire-starting kit, as well as fix-a-flat, and any other necessities you believe they'll need in an emergency. The gift of information
Knowledge is just as valuable as skills, and there are a number of great survival-themed guides you can pick up to help anyone along on their journey to survival. One of my favorites is the Prepper's Blueprint, which teaches sustainability and off-grid living, and is aimed at beginners who don't have a lot of experience in this field. Prepper Survival Hacks is another great one, because it focuses on developing a survival mindset instead of sending you to the store with a list of items to buy. If checklists are more their thing, check out Prepare Your Family For Survival, which is one of the most organized approaches I've ever seen on the subject. Finally, if they haven't got one already, grab a copy of the SAS Survival Guide. It's more of a how-to book, explaining many of the most common emergencies you will come across, and what you need to do to deal with the situation. A must have. The gift of a trip
Finally, this is also a favorite of mine. Take the time to plan a weekend away to put all of their training and preparedness to the test. Bonus points if it's a total surprise and you take them on Christmas day to ‘survive’ the scenario you've devised. Head out into the wilderness and see just how well their planning, bug-out-kits and training have paid off. Christmas really is the season of giving, so give your loved ones something that inspires, trains, or helps them on their journey to preparedness, and may just help to save the lives of those you truly care about. From all of us here at APE Survival, have a great holidays. Now it's your turn. Did we miss anything? What would you like for Christmas and what gifts have you got for your loved ones?
