12 Days of Prepper Christmas-Day 12

In a past year, Matt from KY Preppers did a series of posts entitled 12 Days of Prepper Christmas. My thanks to Matt and APN for allowing me use the title to do my own series of posts. I hope you found something here was that useful for your own Christmas!





Hi everyone!! Our last day, last gift, but certainly not least! Today's gift is probably more applicable to the men in your life





Is there a second amendment supporter in your life? If so, some things they would really appreciate are time at a gun range, a gun cleaning kit, or gift certificates to places like Cabelas, Bass Pro Shops, Gander Mountain, or whatever your local hunting store happens to be. Do you know if they're low on ammo for one of their guns? (Wouldn't a guy's guy just love to find ammo under the Christmas tree? Kudos to you ladies if you know what kind they need!) Do they need some new hunting camo?





For the fisherman in your life, the same stores mentioned above have fishing supplies. A new rod and reel? Lures? Bobbers? A fishing tackle box? What would that fisherman like to see under the tree?





Both of these gifts represent skills that are so useful to preppers. Like lots of prepper items, they're fun now, and more-than-useful when we end up in emergency situations.





Well, the 12 days are up! I had fun thinking of gift ideas, and I certainly hope you found something that you can use. Remember, though, that this season is not just about the gifts you give and receive, but about the reason we celebrate. May we remember to focus on Jesus' birth at this beautiful season!





Prep On!
Gen-IL Homesteader

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12 Days of Prepper Christmas-Day 11

In a past year, Matt from KY Preppers did a series of posts entitled 12 Days of Prepper Christmas. My thanks to Matt and APN for allowing me to use the title for my own series of posts. I hope that you will find something that will make your own Christmas more fun, frugal, and wonderful!





Hi everyone!! Today's gift idea is (again) one of my favorites! Plus, it's practical now and in an emergency situation. Basically, it's the gift of 'something to do'. In other words, games, puzzles, books! You know, "old-fashioned entertainment" to today's modern kids, because by games I mean board games!





Puzzles are great for the mind, everyone can work on them at once, and they take up ALOT of time! Every Christmas we put one out and it stays out until it's done. People work on it whenever they feel like it!





There are tons of old stand-bys when it comes to games: Monopoly, Backgammon, Scrabble, Yahtzee, MasterMind, Boggle, Battleship, PayDay, Tripoly. The list goes on and on. We've also fallen in love with some 'newer' games such as: Rummy-O, Apples to Apples, Sequence (one of my absolute favorites!), Wits & Wagers (we played this as a family at Thanksgiving), Mad Gab (another family favorite). Games can be hours of family fun now, and a way to have fun and make time pass quickly during a power outage or some other sort of emergency.





Books!! What can I say? I LOVE books! I for one, just can't fall in love with a machine that you load a book on to. My love of books isn't just for the words, but for the case it comes in! I love shelves of books! Anyway, some books that are good ideas for preppers or others are the Little House series by Laura Ingalls Wilder, Back to Basics by Abigail R. Gehring, a travel Bible, Harvesting the Wild from Backwoods Home Magazine, How To Hide Anything, Making the Best of Basics by James Talmage Stevens (one of APN's sponsors), 101 Things to do 'Till the Revolution, by Claire Wolfe, Living on Less from Mother Earth News. The list could go on and on! And don't forget, if you have a book-lover in your life, they would be happy with any book, whether it was new or used!





Under the reading category, two great gift ideas for preppers/homesteaders are subscriptions to Countryside and Backwoods Home magazines. Please note also, that both of these publications sell wonderful homesteading/prepping books!!





Prep On!
Gen-IL Homesteader

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12 Days of Prepper Christmas-Day 10

In a past year, Matt from KY Preppers did a series of posts entitled 12 Days of Prepper Christmas. My thanks to Matt and APN for allowing me to use the title for my own series of posts. I hope that you find something to make your own Christmas more fun, frugal, and wonderful!!


Hi everyone!! If you've noticed, some gift ideas in this series are presents that a prepper can give to someone else, while some gifts are things that only a preppers could love!! Today's gift idea falls under the last category. It's a cast iron dutch oven! These are great for cooking outside over and open fire. I have one and I absolutely love it! It is used now for pleasure (and practice) and it is one of my potential shtf cooking alternatives. Here is a link to the Lodge dutch oven sale page, but I'm sure you can find these locally at any hunting/camping/fishing store.


Since, the entire dutch oven gets hot while cooking outdoors, it would be great to include a thick pair of oven mitts. You could also add a lid lifter and a dutch oven cookbook if you wanted to.


Prep On!
Gen-IL Homesteader

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12 Days of Prepper Christmas-Day 9

(Isn't that smile adorable??!!)

In a past year, Matt from KY Preppers had a series of posts entitled 12 Days of Prepper Christmas. My thanks to Matt and APN for allowing me to use the title for my own series of posts. I hope that you will find something that will make your own Christmas more fun, frugal, and wonderful!!


Hi everyone!! Today's gift idea is another homemade item. (Homemade gifts are my favorite!!) Jerky!! That's right! Beef jerky, goose jerky, venison jerky, whatever kind of meat you have available can be turned into fabulous jerky that is as good as, if not better than store-bought! I'm sure there are bajillions of recipes out there, but I'm going to give you ours. We have made it for years, tweaking it here and there, and we think we've got something pretty good now!! Enjoy!


Jerky
Meat (beef, venison, goose, etc.)
soy sauce
water
brown sugar
garlic
ginger root (or ground ginger)
liquid smoke
crushed red pepper

Slice your meat very thin. Hubby always does this part as he is somehow able to get the meat thinner than I can. In a large baking pan mix the ingredients. I know, I know, I don't have amounts listed! Well, the amounts depend on how much meat you have, and how big your pan is. We never measure; we just mix up what we think looks good! Layer your meat in the marinade. Let sit at least 24 hours. We've gone as much as 48 hours before! Lay meat strips on top rack in oven with a cookie sheet below for 8 hours at 200. Check it every now and then. If you have a dehydrator, lay meat on trays and dry at 145 until pliable. Check it after 8 hours or so. You don't want meat chips (I've done that before). You want them at that perfect dryness where they won't go bad in storage, but where they still have a little bit of 'chewy' left in them! Mmmm!



Prep On!
Gen-IL Homesteader


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12 Days of Prepper Christmas-Day 8

In a past year, Matt from KY Preppers had a series of posts entitled 12 Days of Prepper Christmas. My thanks to Matt and APN for allowing me to use the title for my own series of posts. I hope you find something that will make your Christmas more fun, frugal, and wonderful!


Hi everyone!! In the beginning God said, 'Let there be LIGHT!' And that's what our prepper gift for today is--light! When the electricity goes out, everybody has to find another way to light their homes. The easiest way to accomplish this, and it disguises itself as a normal Christmas gift, is candles! Shelly from Ohio Preppers said she gave these to her non-prepping family one year, and none of them knew they were being given a prepper gift!


One of my favorite ways to light is to use an oil lamp. Many times, inexpensive oil lamps can be found at Walmart or another 'everything' store. Lehman's, which caters to Amish families in Ohio, carries lots of oil lamps, many more expensive, and even the coveted Aladdin lamp. (Well, coveted by oil lamp lovers, anyway!) Don't forget to purchase lamp oil, and some extra wicks, while you're at it! (Lehman's has some really fun stuff, so you might want to take a look around their site and get some more gift ideas!)


For the person who is a prepper, something practical like a camping lantern would probably be appreciated. These can be found almost anywhere that camping/hunting/fishing supplies are found.


Last but not least, is outdoor solar path lights. Whoever you buy these for will have NO idea that these are a prepper item, so they're great for the non-prepper. When the electricity's out, these lights, which charge by the sun all day, can be brought in and placed in a container to be used as dim lighting indoors! I just have to say, that I hope we shed a little light on the situation today!! (Oh, I know that was bad, but I just had to!!)



Prep On!
Gen-IL Homesteader





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12 Days Of Prepper Christmas-Day 7

In a past year, Matt from KY Preppers did a series of posts entitled 12 Days of Prepper Christmas. My thanks to Matt and APN for allowing me to use the title for my own series of posts. I hope that you will find something useful that will make your own Christmas more fun, frugal, and wonderful!


Hi everyone!! Today's gift ideas are all about learning new skills. Learning skills, to me, is one of the cornerstones of prepping. Learning how to do for yourself is key to staying afloat when things go 'south'.


This first item is one that is on my own wish list this Christmas. A cheese making kit! Here is a link to New England Cheese Making Supply Company. They have all kinds of cheese making kits and supplies. And, they're cheaper than you think! Homemade cheese, if you haven't had it, is FABULOUS!!! It's also a great way to use extra milk, if you happen to have any.


The next two gift ideas are a soap making kit and candle making supplies. I haven't bought either of these online (I've bought candle making supplies from a local craft store), so I'm not going to put up links. I know that by googling either of these, you'll find lots of links to follow. I would also suggest your check with your local craft supply store as they might have just what you're looking for.


Any of these ideas are ones that would be good for those who are anti-prepping, as they will think you're just giving them a fun, crafty gift. Little do they know you're thinking of the prepping side of the gift!


If I get the cheese making kit, I'll update you on the results in the new year!


Prep On!
Gen-IL Homesteader
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12 Days of Prepper Christmas-Day 6

In a past year, Matt from KY Preppers did a series of posts entitled 12 Days of Prepper Christmas. My thanks to Matt and APN for allowing me to use the title for my own series of posts. I hope that you will find something useful that will make your own Christmas more fun, frugal, and wonderful!!





Hi everyone!! I know I've said this on another post (or two!), but I LOVE today's gift idea! My all-time favorite hobby, the thing I spend sooooo much time doing, the thing that occupies my time and my thoughts almost all-year long is dirt! Well, not dirt exactly, but gardening! Know a newbie who wants to start gardening? You've got someone who will enjoy this simple practical gift!





Find an appropriate container. You can use a large gift bag, a basket, or a flower pot, which would be uber-fun packaging! Find a few simple, but strong garden tools, some peat pots, a few packages of seeds, some potting soil, and a pair of garden gloves. They'll have everything they need to start the gardening season off right!





Well, maybe they won't have everything they need. Gardeners need books! Garden books! And the ones with pictures of beautiful gardens are the best! Any book by John Seymour will be sure to delight and inform. (Many of these books are out-of-print, but will be a fabulous gift if you can find one!) One of my other favorite veggie gardening books is 'Growing Fruit & Vegetables' by Richard Bird. If you're a gardener, I'm sure that you have a favorite garden book or author that would delight a new gardener.





Prep On!

Gen-IL Homesteader




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12 Days of Prepper Christmas-Day 5

(A view of some of our trees covered in our first major snowfall today!)

In a past year, Matt from KY Preppers did a series of posts entitled 12 Days of Prepper Christmas. My thanks to Matt and APN for allowing me to use the title for my own series of posts. I hope that you will find something useful that will make your own Christmas more fun, frugal, and wonderful!

Hi everyone! Today's prepper gift ideas is one that doesn't require any work on your part, as the first 4 days have. But, it is just as enjoyable to give and could be needed as much as any other gift. It's the gift of canning! If someone you know has just started canning, you can help them along by purchasing some canning supplies for them. A couple boxes of quart or pint jars is invaluable! You can purchase a few other inexpensive supplies such as jar lifters, plastic 'bubbling' tool, or a magnetic lid lifter. You can purchase a big stock pot which can be used for cooking foods to be canned, or for water bath canning. Depending on how much money you're willing/able to spend on this person, you could even purchase a pressure canner. (I'd make sure this person is definitely going to continue in the canning adventure before spending the money that a pressure canner requires!)

The other great item to add to this kind of gift is a good canning book. The Ball Blue Book, which is updated all the time, is a great basic canning/dehydrating book. Another canning book that I really enjoy is Jackie Clay's book, Growing and Canning Your Own Food. Jackie's book has alot of different recipes including many meal-in-a-jar recipes.

Prep On!
Gen-IL Homesteader

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12 Days of Prepper Christmas--Day 4

Hi everyone!! In a past year Matt from KY Preppers wrote a series of posts entitled 12 Days of Prepper Christmas. My thanks to Matt and APN for allowing me to use the title for my own series of posts. I hope that you will find something useful that will make your own Christmas more fun, frugal, and wonderful!

Today's gift idea is simple. Food! If you know someone who is a beginning prepper and you want to help them out, consider a gift of food. You can take cans from your own pantry or go to your local grocery store. Buying a few cans of veggies and fruits, baking goods, or dried foods will be a great boost to their own pantry.

You may also want to consider purchasing some freeze-dried foods from a mail-order company. If you look at the side-bar on this blog, you'll see some companies that sponsor the APN blogs. Freeze Dry Guy, Emergency Essentials, and The Ready Store are three of the companies listed there.

Stocking someone's pantry for the holidays. It's a good thing!

Prep On!

Gen-IL Homesteader

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12 Days of Prepper Christmas--Day 2

Hi everyone!! In a past year, Matt from KY Preppers did a series of posts entitled 12 Days of Prepper Christmas. My thanks to Matt and APN for allowing me to use that title for my own series of posts. I hope that you will find something useful that will make your own Christmas more fun, frugal, and wonderful!


So, today's gift might not appeal to all of you, but I am really excited about it! I'm making my own kahlua! That's right. Homemade kahlua! A few months back, we had a taste of this when a friend of ours, Brian, shared his. Oh my, was it good! I just knew I had to try the recipe myself and share it with you here! This recipe would make a great, frugal, homemade gift. (I'm giving it to you now because it needs to set for 4 weeks!)

The ingredients list is simple: 2 3/4 cups sugar, 3/4 cup dark karo syrup, 3 tbsp. instant coffee granules, 3 cups boiling water divided, 2 oz. vanilla, 750ml vodka. As you can see, I chose the cheap coffee (yes, it is the Walmart brand) and cheap vodka. It's okay to do that in this recipe!

The first step is to place 2 3/4 cups sugar plus 3/4 cup dark karo syrup in a bowl. Into this, add 2 cups boiling water and stir until the sugar is dissolved. In another bowl, place 3 tbsp. instant coffee granules and add 1 cup boiling water. Stir (I just realized my next 2 pictures are backwards. *sigh* You understand, right?)

Combine your sugar mix, coffee mix, vanilla, and vodka. Stir. Now pour this into containers. You can use old cleaned-out liquor jugs if you have them. I used canning jars, because that's what I had available. Put lids on; date your jars.

Now you just need to cover these and put them in a dark location for the next month. Brian says that he believes his kahlua always turns out better when it's in a completely dark location. Shake your jars once a week. At the end of 4 weeks open your jars and enjoy! A single batch only made 2 quart jars and one almost-filled pint jar. My suggestion would be to make a double batch. I'm going to be giving some of these as Christmas gifts in a box with instructions to keep it in a dark place for a few more days (till the 29th) and then Enjoy!

Don't know how to use kahlua? Lots of folks splash it in their coffee. Kahlua 'n cream is a great drink that is equal parts kahlua and cream. My group of girlfriends has adopted a shot as our own. Since this is a family blog, I won't say it's real name. But, mixing equal parts kahlua and butterscotch schnapps in a shot glass will get you the most tasty drink. You'll be wanting to lick the glass!

Prep On!

Gen-IL Homesteader

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12 Days of Prepper Christmas--Day 1

(Since I showed you my frugal fall window boxes, I figured I should show you my frugal Christmas window boxes. The only thing that cost money was the ornaments!)



Hi everyone!! In a past year, Matt from KY Preppers did a series of posts entitled 12 Days of Prepper Christmas. My thanks to Matt and APN for allowing me to use that title for my own series of posts. I hope that you will find something useful that will help make your own Christmas more fun, frugal, and wonderful!


Can you sew, crochet, or knit? If so, you have the ability to make some wonderful Christmas gifts in your own home, with your own hands! And what better kind of gift is there!! Crocheted dishcloths (like the ones I made, pictured below) only take a few minutes of your time. You can find a few patterns here, or do I like I did and use the pattern provided with the skeen of yarn you purchase. These dishcloths, made with cotton yarn, are so thick and scrumptous to use. I absolutely LOVE them and continue to make more to replace my worn out ones. I'm sure that anyone who receives a gift like this, made with love, will appreciate it immensely. Obviously, if you knit, there are patterns for dishcloths, including those found at this link.

If you sew, I would suggest a gift of homemade cloth napkins. Some of my own Christmas napkins are pictured below. Cloth napkins not only save trees, save money, and reduce trash and waste, but they make people feel so special when they use them. I always feel that life is a bit more refined when I use a cloth versus a paper napkin. (I have a nephew who, after living out of state for 1.5 years, had a meal with us and remarked how much he always loved using my cloth napkins!) If you have some leftover fabric pieces laying around, you're ahead of the game because you have free supplies! I'm sure there are patterns out there somewhere, but all I did was cut out my fabric in squares that looked 'about the right size' and hem the edges. (All of our napkins sets are different sizes as I had more of some fabrics than others! They're unique!) If you have a serger, hemming the edges will be even easier! (Remember to keep some paper napkins on hand, though, for emergencies!!)

One of the best homemade gifts I've received was a homemade matching apron and hot pad. My sister made these for us 'girls' one year based on the pattern of one of our mom's vintage aprons. It is a delight to use, so pretty and comfy, and I think of my sister everytime I use it! If you're a prepper who has committed to cooking largely from scratch, you know how valuable an apron is! (And doesn't it just make you feel so wonderful to wear one! I sure love it!) You might find an apron you'd like to make from this list of patterns.

Lastly, if you do know how to crochet, knit, or sew, think of giving a gift of free lessons to a friend who is wanting to learn this skill. This will cost nothing to you but your time, and will be wonderful skill to pass on to someone else. One of the skills I wanted to learn in 2010 is knitting. Well, 2010 is quickly drawing to a close and I haven't learned yet! But, my sister is taking her first lesson this week from a friend and she said that when she (or her daughter) have it down, they'll teach me! It might not happen in 2010, but it is on the radar!

Prep On!
Gen-IL Homesteader

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