Emergency Kit Christmas Gifts for a Prepared 2021 -

An emergency kit isn’t so festive as a gift of goodies, cocoa mix or bubbly cider. But 2020 changed my thoughts about neighbor gifts.

This year showed me that anything can happen — pandemics, earthquakes, floods, wind and snow storms, and more. This year I assembled emergency kits for my neighbors to keep in their cars, for “just in case” moments.

You can add the tag line, “Emergency! And you’re prepared! Because of some of us who cared. Have a Merry Christmas and a Prepared New Year.”

I did a small version for neighbors, with 16 handy items in a quart-size ziplock bag. I assembled a larger, more extensive version for immediate family members, using a 2-gallon bag.

I placed a list of all the items inside the bag, so you can see what you’ve got, add anything else that you think you’ll need, and easily re-stock.

About 10 years ago, I made kits to keep in my car just after Hurricane Katrina happened. Watching TV footage of evacuees stuck in New Orleans’ Superdome was my motivation.

I’ve used my kit fairly often, even though I’ve not had to evacuate. For instance:

-I pulled out the rain poncho while covering an rainy outdoor Bob Dylan concert.

-My grandkids ate the snacks when they were hungry after a hike, and we were an hour away from a grocery store.

-On a road trip, I used the toothbrush and toothpaste when I forgot to pack mine.

-At a church activity, I offered Advil and Pepto Bismol when one of the leaders became ill.

-I gave the hand warmers to a tennis friend whose hands got icy cold while we were playing.

– I used the band-aid when I scraped my knee.

– I used the matches to light a birthday cake, when we were celebrating at a park.

When assembling my 2020 kits, I made sure to include the year’s indispensable items: a disposable mask and mini-bottle of hand sanitizer. I didn’t have room in the bag that other prized possession — a roll of toilet paper, but I did include a small pack of Kleenex.

What should go in an emergency kit? I consulted several “preparedness” lists, and chose items that seemed most useful. I found travel-size items like toothbrush and toothpaste, hand sanitizer, Kleenex, and hand lotion at Walmart, which also had flashlights, glow sticks, washcloths, and rain ponchos. I also ordered a lot of mini-size items online — little soaps, individual packets of Advil and Pepto Bismol, scissors, hand sanitizer, masks, reflective blankets, whistles etc.

If you’re doing multiple kits, compare prices, as costs can add up quickly.

Here’s my list for the large kit:

LARGE CAR EMERGENCY KIT

PLACE EVERYTHING IN A 2-GALLON ZIP-LOCK BAG

Glowstick or flashlight/batteries

Matches in ziplock plastic bag

Hand warmer

Gloves

Rain poncho

Reflector blanket

Toothbrush & toothpaste

1 bottle water

Eating utensils in a sandwich-size bag

Whistle

First aid bag (quart size Bag)

Cotton balls

Bandaids

Scissors – small

Hand sanitizer

Mask

Q-tips

Kleenex

2 safety pins

Hygiene bag (sandwich size bag)

Washcloth

Soap

Lotion

Meds bag (snack size ziplock bag)

1 benadryl

Aspirin

Cough drops

Pepto bismol or Tums

Advil

Food bag (sandwich size ziplock bag)

Small beef jerky

1 bag nuts/trail mix

1 pack crackers

1 granola bar

*Switch out the food every 6 months

Keep this list in bag to re-stock.

SMALL EMERGENCY CAR KIT

(PLACE EVERYTHING IN A QUART-SIZE ZIPLOCK BAG

Hand sanitizer

Disposable mask

Glow stick/flashlight

Hand warmer

Advil packet

Cough drops

Washcloth

Soap

Safety pin

Spoon

Granola/protein bar