The Best Prepper Christmas Gifts [2023]

With the time it takes to order, ship, and wrap- now’s the time to finish up your gift lists! This post has been updated each year since our first Prepper Christmas Gift Guide which was first published in 2016. Check back yearly to find the best prepper Christmas gifts for that tough-to-buy-for prepper in your life (or to update your own wish list).

The gift of preparedness is one of the best gifts you can give someone. Whether you are looking for presents for the Average Joe or the most prepared guy you know, we have you covered this year. So instead of getting everyone you know a fruitcake, consider the best prepper Christmas gifts in the list below.

These are sorted by specific interest with a few options for every budget, so you can get the exact gift you are looking for with the right price range.


Contents (Jump to a Section)


Prepper Stocking Stuffers

Nothing quite like stuffing a stocking full of prepper supplies and survival gear to show that the big guy in red cares. If you need to fulfill your stocking-stuffing duties and have a survivalist or prepper in your life, we got you covered in this section.

Mylar Emergency Blankets

Mylar blankets are super versatile, small, and lightweight. They are an auto-include in almost every type of survival kit. They also happen to fit nicely in a stocking.

Grab one of these four packs and pop one into every stocking on the mantle.

Everlit Emergency Mylar Blanket

Bayite Toggle Hole Ferro Rods

Perfectly stocking-sized, the Bayite toggle ferro rods are meant to be added on any drawstring. The two holes on each ferro rod let you pop one of these on clothes and packs so you have a firestarter ready to go anywhere.

They instantly upgrade anything with a string on it, so it is easy to see why this was our portable pick in our latest review roundup of the best ferro rods.

Bayite Small Toggle Hole Ferro Rods

Everyday Carry (EDC) Loadout Gifts

Many preppers are into the EDC concept or keeping basic necessities close by on your person for everyday use. The items you keep with you can increase how prepared you are for many situations. Many of these tools double as great additions to bug out bags as well- another prepper staple.

Olight i3T EOS Flashlight

Our top pick for EDC flashlights is a staple for many people on the go. The i3T packs some serious power, with 180 lumens off just a single AAA battery.

It has a respectable throw distance of 60 meters and a battery life of 16 hours so it easily topped the competition when we reviewed the best EDC flashlights.

Pick one up here:

Olight I3T EOS EDC Flashlight

Rite in the Rain EDC Pens

Our favorite EDC pen is compact and reliable. It is pretty hard to beat a pair of them at this price and anyone would be happy to find these in their stockings.

This price is for a two-pack, so you could break them up and hit a few stockings at once.

Rite in the Rain EDC Pen

Rite in the Rain Weatherproof Notebook

This makes a great companion gift to the Rite in the Rain pens if you are looking to get or give a little more. Having a notebook that you can write on in any condition is perfect for EDC kits.

Rite in the Rain Weatherproof Notebook

Gerber Dime Multitool

This multitool can add a whole lot of functionality for its size and cost. There are twelve tools included in the small frame and it recently topped out our multitool review roundup as the top everyday carry pick.

Gerber Dime EDC Multitool

Benchmade Bugout Folding Knife

A well-made folder makes a great gift. Benchmade isn’t just a good survival knife company- they’re regarded as one of the top knife companies period.

The Bugout is one of their most popular models and swept our recent review of folding survival knives.

With premium CPM S30V steel, titanium thumb stud, and made-in-the-USA quality… this gift will amaze at a mere 1.8 ounces.

Benchmade Bugout Folding Survival Knife

Food and Water Storage Gifts

A basic disaster and preparedness kit is the cornerstone of any prepping plan. Food and water storage are a major part of these kits,

AquaPod Emergency Drinking Water Storage ($30)

The AquaPod is a huge bladder for storing water before an emergency. It’s very similar to the WaterBOB that was discontinued earlier this year. While you need a little head’s up to use it, it holds a ridiculous amount of water (65 gallons!) given how much it costs.

They are meant to be disposable, so even if you are buying one for a seasoned prepper, they will appreciate duplicates if they already own one.

Nesco Snackmaster Dehydrator

Stock up with a dehydrator! Besides making snakes like dried fruit and beef jerky, you can extend the shelf-life of a wide variety of foods.

This one comes in at a great entry price for those just starting with dehydration and secured the budget pick in our dehydrator review.

Nesco Snackmaster Dehydrator

Augason Farms 30-Day Food Bucket

The 30-day bucket from Augason Farms is a great food storage gift since it packs in some variety in the massive 307 servings. Squirreling these away in the pantry is a surefire way to always have food on hand. 30-day buckets have always been one of the easiest ways to grow your long-term food storage quickly.

Augason Farms Food Bucket

Harvest Right Home Pro Freeze Dryer

A freeze dryer is a big commitment with a big price tag, but it is unique in what it can do for your kitchen, pantry- or even side hustle. Freeze-dried food offers unparalleled shelf-life, so having a freeze dryer available to stock your pantry is a luxury for any prepper.

Harvest Right is the clear leader in our review of home freeze dryers, and their Home Pro Small model had some serious throughput upgrades this year.

Harvest Right Home Pro Small Freeze Dryer

Home Security Gifts

An underappreciated facet of prepping is home security. Everyone can benefit from bumping up their level of home security, and these gifts are sure to please both preppers and people just looking to make their homes a little safer.

ADT Yard Sign

Why pay all that money for a security service when you can just get the name recognition from the yard sign? Even the best-rigged home security setups don’t have the name recognition that the big guys have, so the sign is where it’s at.

I’ve given these to non-preppers as well since they are such a great deterrent, regardless of how robust your actual security setup is.

Diversion Safe

Nobody steals a dictionary. While you don’t want to trust it for firearms or important valuables, this diversion safe is a great way to hide things in plain sight. When you give it as a gift, it’s always a nice touch to add some extra gifts stashed inside.

If a dictionary is off the mark, there are plenty of other diversion safes to pick from ranging from shaving cream to planters.

Diversion Safe

Door Armor MAX

Door reinforcement is something that everyone can agree is a huge bang for your buck. You can get a simple deadbolt reinforcement, like our budget pick in our door security review, or you can go all out with our top pick- the Door Armor MAX kit. If you want an impenetrable door, this is the way to go.

Door Armor MAX Jamb Reinforcement Kit

Bug Out Bag Prepper Gifts

Whether it is for a specialized kit to prepare for a specific disaster or specialized gear for a bug out bag, specialized prepper gifts are a sure bet to get for the prepper that has everything.

Morakniv Companion Knife

For the prepper who is also into bushcraft, or in need of a good knife. Moraknivs are known to be some of the best bushcraft knives in the business, and the Companion makes a great addition to bug out bags or backpacking gear.

Morakniv Companion Carbon Steel Knife

Rite in the Rain Waterproof Laser Printer Paper

I am not sure what kind of voodoo magic keeps printed material on the paper and water off, but this set of 50 pages of printer paper is amazing. Use them to create custom checklists or local maps that you can pack as small as regular printer paper.

There are plenty of free local maps that you can print provided by National Geographic and the USGS. You do need a laser (rather than an inkjet) printer, so you might need to snoop around to find out (or just ask) what kind of printer they have.

Rite in the Rain Paper

Sawyer Mini Portable Water Filter

The most well-known personal water filter brands are Lifestraw and Sawyer, and the Sawyer Mini outperforms Lifestraw Personal slightly with more versatility.

It’s a solid pick for any prepper and is useful in almost any survival kit. Check out our water filter review roundup if you need a larger size.

Sawyer Mini Water Filter

Silver & Gold

Another Johnny Marks classic, the song can easily get stuck in anyone’s head and was made even more popular by Burl Ives and the stop-motion Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer. It’s very relevant for preppers, as most of us would very much appreciate a precious metal gift, but not in jewelry form.

Bullion is one tool preppers use to diversify their financial preparedness, and many preppers collect and store silver and gold as part of that plan. There is a wide range of options and prices, but aiming for coins close to spot value is always a good choice. We dove into both silver and gold and have top picks and entire comparisons in our silver review and gold review.

Silver is much more affordable and can work great anywhere from a stocking to a gift bag, whereas gold is a large gift:


Prepper White Elephant Gifts

The White Elephant gift game, also called Yankee Swap or Dirty Santa is popular at offices or any gift exchange that involves plenty of people. Many of them have spending caps, and gifts are expected to be either general use, strange, or dirty (especially in the Dirty Santa version).

Survival I-Shield Sunglasses

These things may turn some heads, but who knows? Maybe that White Elephant gift recipient can pull them off!

These survival sunglasses have zero cares about how they look. They are for one thing and one thing only: functioning for survival situations. They are surprisingly durable and don’t rely on a frame that will inevitably break.

Pick up your next pair of cool shades while you are at it:

Survival I-Shield Sunglasses

Brondell GoSpa Travel Bidet

While it may seem outlandish at first, this one is very practical from a prepping standpoint. Plus, all that stored toilet paper does nothing if you need to bug out and leave your residence.

A travel bidet is perfect for a bug out bag, and is not common on many lists. It also is a little awkward as a gift, making it a great white elephant gift.

Brondell GoSpa Travel Bidet

The Final Word

Whether you are polishing up your own list or looking for prepper Christmas gifts for a friend or loved one, hopefully, you have found something that will work great. Preparedness makes a great gift, but just spending time with your loved ones is more important than gift-giving. If you need more help crushing your Christmas list, check out our other holiday round-ups:

We wish you a Merry Christmas here at TruePrepper and hope it is filled with family and joy.

Keep exploring, stay prepared, and be safe.


You’ve Been Missing Out

Join the 2+ million preppers that rely on our prepping advice by subscribing to TruePrepper.
  • Practical guides and tips
  • Useful survival giveaways
  • Free, forever
  • < 0.4% of people unsubscribe
Thanks for subscribing, reading, and welcome to the club.
2023 Prepper Christmas Gift Ideas

Sean Gold

I am an engineer, Air Force veteran, emergency manager, husband, dad, and experienced prepper. I developed emergency and disaster plans around the globe and responded to many attacks and accidents as a HAZMAT technician. I have been exposed to deadly chemical agents, responded to biological incidents, and dealt with natural disasters. Check out my full story here: Sean's Story

4 thoughts on “The Best Prepper Christmas Gifts [2023]

  • We should note that the TerraSlate 4 Mil Waterproof Printer Paper is for laser printers, not ink jet printers that are more common in most homes. The same “kind of voodoo magic [that] keeps water off” will also keep ink jet printer ink off as well.

    Also, the TerraSlate paper is only available in a 50-sheet package that is listed as “USED” whatever that means for $20 or a 1000-sheet crate for $524. That’s 40¢ a sheet for “used” paper or over 52¢ a sheet in the 1000-sheet package.

    The well known Rite In The Rain paper is also available for laser printers, at $33 for 200 sheets or $12 for 25 sheets (which is still less expensive than TerraSlate. Or if someone wants the ultimate in fully waterproof printer paper, Rite In The Rain offers their Waterproof Duracopy Laser Paper at $71.45 for 100 sheets.

    Even when you discard the bad reviews for TerraSlate from clowns who tried using an ink jet printer, there are still quite a few reviews that identify problems with TerraSlate paper in some laser printers – apparently the TerraSlate paper doesn’t like laser printers where the fuser runs hot (like most older laser printers and many office laser printers)

    Reply
  • I’m hoping Santa recognises how good I’ve been this year and brings me a tactical pen, it’s not even like I have a real obvious use for one but they are just so cool and I’d find uses for it. :)

    Merry Christmas everyone and thanks for this post Sean.

    Reply
  • I got this knife in a free giveaway. I’m using it for EDC now.

    Reply

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *