Clever Gifts For the Non-Preppers in Your Life

This article has been updated, September 2026.

Not everyone on your list wants a bug-out bag for Christmas, and that’s fine. The gifts below are practical enough to actually get used, without asking your recipient to sign up for a whole survival lifestyle first. Think of it as prepping in disguise, the kind of thing that ends up in a closet or a car and comes in handy someday when it will be even more appreciated!

3 Considerations to Select Great Gifts for Non Preppers

When choosing presents for people who don’t buy into prepping consider these things:

1. The location of your recipients, including weather and likely challenges
2. Their lifestyle, perhaps including skill level, experiences, or interests
3. Any unique needs they have

When I did this exercise for my family members, I discovered that survival-minded gifts would look very different for each of them! Here’s what that looked like.

For my family in Texas

For this region, the weather is generally above freezing, but tornadoes are frequent. They also deal with heat and floods. The loss of electricity is a real possibility with any of these events.

For this gift, assemble a power-outage kit — flashlights and extra batteries, some yummy energy bars, and add enough canned food (with a can opener!) to last 2-3 days. A solar battery charger and a good-sized power bank can help ensure small electronics and even something like a HotLogic can cook a hot meal, powered up by the power bank.

In this part of the country, most people don’t have basements, so storage is typically in a garage. Packing these items in a tub for the garage or a truck might be the best bet.

Think about the location and potential emergencies your own loved ones might encounter, and assemble a gift basket or bin equipped to see them through a crisis.

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Children

For kids, I would suggest packing something in each of these categories and adding them to a small, colorful bin or a backpack.

• Treats: Something individually packaged so their parents can bribe or distract them. For example, I keep fruit snacks in my tornado kit in our basement. Read more about why comfort food is important in emergencies.
• Warmth: Ensuring kids’ physical needs are met will go a long way toward meeting their emotional needs during a scary time. Pack a small fleece blanket or cozy sweatshirt (a size too big) for each child.
• Games & Books: Again, distraction is going to be key. Consider a read-aloud chapter book, like Stuart Little or one of the Chronicles of Narnia. A lot of familiar board games come in travel sizes, perfect for an emergency kit.
• Light: Rechargeable glow sticks, flashlights, and headlamps are all kid-friendly. Allowing kids the ability to control the light and what they see can be a comfort to them during an emergency.
• Soft things: Even the toughest teen or pre-teen will feel better clutching something soft. A few small stuffed animals for the younger kids, or maybe some foam stress balls for the older ones.
• Sanitation: Baby wipes and more baby wipes! If your tiny relatives might still be in diapers, include a package of next-size-larger disposable diapers or training pants, too. Ziploc-type bags will also be valuable for putting dirty diapers in.

For the loved ones in cold country

These regions can experience significant weather swings in hours — 50 or 60-degree swings on the same day are common. In winter, blizzards with several feet of snow can result in being stuck at home for a few days. And wildfires can mean evacuation is a real possibility during the summer.

The lifestyle there tends to be outdoorsy, so portable is key for this gift. Everything should fit in a backpack. Add a waterproof poncho for unexpected weather, and consider including a pair of hiking socks. A rugged knife with a built-in fire starter is a great versatile tool. It is lightweight and takes up little space. Some Clif bars and powdered sports drink mix would easily fit too.

Family Far Away

For the family member who is “isolated” in another state, away from the rest of the extended family, you might consider making them a special evacuation kit.

They’ll need a way to communicate, (use this post to make a written communication plan) and get information, so a Kaito emergency radio helps with that. It’s pricey, but Garmin makes a SOS satellite communicator — might be worth checking out.

Tossing in a photograph of everyone together, in happier times would be a nice touch. My book all about emergency evacuations provides the best information about planning an emergency evacuation and includes numerous checklists.

Housebound in Minnesota (super cold country)

The upper Midwest region is famous for snow and cold. It also gets its share of tornadoes in warmer weather.

Most people in the Midwest have basements, so space usually isn’t an issue. Pack everything in a brightly colored waterproof tub for storage. It will likely be stored in a basement. In the tub, add duct tape, a small collapsible shovel (high quality only!), and one or more fleece blankets. 

For the colder months, hand/foot warmers would be essential. Extra wool socks and knit gloves would also be a good idea, and in this article, I detail the perfect cold-weather clothing choices from our family camping trip to Iceland. Include some freeze-dried backpacking meals and hot drink packets. For quick heating, include some fire starters or sternos.

Retired in Arizona

It’s hot, and water is a real concern at any time of year. However, it’s also dry, and the nights can get cold.

Space is an issue in many retirement communities. Most residents in these areas have recently downsized, so the thought of adding extra “stuff” doesn’t appeal to them in the least. A very small tub or even a backpack might be the best bet to hold a selection of useful, compact supplies.

Water is the primary concern. This is another great opportunity to include a Life Straw or a filtering water bottle that combines the filter and a handy container. Tarps and bungee cords would be useful both for shade and collecting water if it did rain. Some other useful items include:

• A rechargeable flashlight and solar charger would work well with the often sunny days.
• Some lip moisturizer, sunscreen, and some hats, bandanas or shemaghs can help protect the face.
• Pack dried fruit or survival bars for snacks.
• Add a thermal blanket for each person for those unexpectedly cold nights.

Pets

If your loved one has pets, you might consider including some basic items for their pets. They’ll undoubtedly be touched that you thought about their fur babies, without ever realizing it falls under the heading of “gifts for non-preppers.”

If you don’t know what the critter needs, just include a list with your tub or backpack gift. A great list for pet prepping can be found right here.

• Water: A collapsible bowl fits well in an emergency kit.
• Food: Small packages of treats or canned food would mean Fido or Fluffy could eat something if their owner was stranded.
• Pet first aid kit
• A leash and collar: Normally, the owner probably wants something specific, but including these could mean the difference between being able to keep the animal or not if the pet owners end up in a shelter.
• Packet for documents: The simple office-meeting ID pouch would work to keep the animal’s paperwork. Again, this is something the owner must provide, but a brightly colored note inserted where the documents should go can be a great reminder.

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Related Gift Ideas Content

• Recommended Survival Books for Your Collection
• Gifts for Preppers: Practical, Creative and Buy-It-for-Life Ideas
• Great Gifts for the Prepper-Minded Men in Your Life
• Skill-Based Gift Ideas to Suit Every Survival Kid
• Adventure & Survival Books for Kids

Final Thoughts

Opening a fancy gift bag to discover you’ve just received a bug-out bag might not be the best way to let your loved ones know you’re thinking of them. Instead, consider what types of emergency situations they might encounter, and then assemble a customized, thoughtful gift that will almost certainly come in handy.

To help them further, you might print out and include a general list like this one from FEMA’s website of suggested items every household should have. Or include my fun-to-read Survival Mom family survival manual. That way, if they want to work on being prepared, it’s easy to take the next step.