Useful and fun gifts for a homesteader

I love my hori hori knife and I have it listed on the blog post as an awesome gift for a homesteader.

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Gifts for Homesteaders

It's that time of year again and people are asking me what stuff I'm interested in getting for Christmas. This question has really started to stump me and this year is no different. As a homesteader I find I just don't have much need for a lot of stuff.

Honestly, I would be thrilled if someone bought me a dump truck load of good wood chips - or fall leaves...

But there are some gifts that could be useful on the homestead beyond mulch. In this special mid-week blog post 10 Awesome Gifts for the Homesteader in Your Life I share 10 items that I think are great gifts for a homesteader.

This is a special mid-week blog post. Most weeks I only publish 1 blog post - but when there is a topic that does not exactly fit my normal how-to style or is not for a broad audience I publish those mid-week.

I'm not going to list the 10 items here - my goal is not to be spammy - if you are interested in seeing what the gifts are then please check out my blog post. The 10 items are made up of tools, books, and fun items for little homesteaders and/or the homesteading family.

What I would love to hear from you all in the comments is do you also struggle with the gifts question? And what gifts do you think would be great for a homesteader?

A Quick Promotion - 2 Awesome Permies Related Gifts



While I'm not going to list all the products here I do want to give a shout out to Permie's very own Nicole Alderman's Fairy Grove Creations.

Nicole makes these fantastic hand-made dragons, fairies and other felt creations - even a Paul Wheaton action figure!



Speaking of Paul... I want to give 1 last shout out to Paul's awesome Permaculture Playing Cards.

If you have not seen them yet I highly recommend checking the cards out. Each card features a different topic or person related to permaculture. The artwork is amazing and there are some great tips on each card.

The cards are a fantastic way to start a conversation about permaculture with family and friends.

Here is a picture of the cards.



You can buy individual decks through Amazon or follow the above link to purchase a digital copy through permies and find links to buy a box of multiple decks.

What Do You Think?

Okay, back to the question - do you struggle with the "what gifts do you want" question? And what stuff do you think would make a great gift for a homesteader?

I would also love to hear from you all who makes their own gifts to give to family and friends! My wife and I made some berry preserves this year from berries we harvested and we have given away other homemade gifts in the past.

I think homemade gifts are a great option. What do you think?

I would love to hear from you! Please leave a comment in this thread and if you are interested check out my blog post that this thread was based on.

Thank you!

I should add that my answer to the question about what gifts I would be interested in getting for Christmas was mulch (kinda joking, kinda not...) and a bunch of science fiction ebooks since I love to read and that way I won't have extra stuff lying around.

Ooooh, the flat-free tire is a great suggestion--Just make sure you get the right size!

We ended up buying the wrong size wheel (two small) for our two different wheel barrows. The first time, we returned it. But the second time (which was years later with our second wheelbarrow), my husband refused to return it (in his logic, it was his fault that he'd bought the wrong size, and so should just deal with having the wrong size). But, because the wheel is too small, you can't raise the handles up high enough without the bar that's in front of the wheel scraping on the ground. It's really frustrating! So, like with clothes, if you're buying someone else a flat-free tire, make sure it's the right size!


I LOVE my bedding fork! I actually had no idea that that was the name for it--I just always call it a "pitchfork." That thing is wonderful for turning bedding (for about 6 months, we made do with a normal rake and using a metal pipe to turn our bedding, but the bedding fork is 100 times easier!). I'm also impressed with how much better it moves mulch than a shovel. It takes a good 5 times less time to move mulch with a the bedding fork than it does to move the same amount with a shovel.

For kids, the wheel barrow is a HUGE hit. I ended up with the True Temper wheelbarrow for my kids, and they love filling it with water and dirt and toys and all sorts of other things. I like that the True Temper is deeper and can hold more than the shallower body of the metal wheelbarrows, but the metal ones sure seem nice and durable--and are plastic free!

Another great gift for kids is the Bond Mini-D Handle Shovel. We got one for our son, and he LOVES it. It's just the right size for a 3+age kid. He got it when he was two, and now he's so good with the thing that he can dig some serious holes. I love that it's made for adults, so it's actually durable, unlike so many shovels marketed to kids. My daughter loved my son's shovel so much that, at the age of 1.5, she got her own. She can't use it too well yet, but loves dragging it around and trying to use it! I frequently steal their shovels, too, when I can't find my larger ones, or when I'm trying to apply mulch to a bed or dig compost out of a barrel. It's great for that more detailed work that, if you didn't have a little shovel, you'd end up using your hands or trying to use a giant shovel without very good results.



Other good outdoor toys for kids are large dumptrucks for filling and dumping and just plain driving around. When we made the gravel play area for our kids, my son helped fill it with gravel by using his shovel to fill his dumptruck with gravel and then driving it over and dumping it in the play area. Hand trowels are also great fun for the kids!

Can I add the suggestion of quality food storage containers to this.  If you are avoiding plastic then it can take a long time to accumulate enough, especially in bulk sizes.

I keep most of my food in clear glass jars and canisters.  I have yet to reach an upper limit on these.  Keeping them all the same color makes all the disparate styles look coordinated on the shelves.

An assortment of organic seeds in a pot or tied to a trowel could be a good gift for a big or small gardener. Maybe a gift card for a fruit tree.

If money is tight, give a coupon for x hours of free labor.

A scything use and maintenance course.

Casie Becker wrote:Can I add the suggestion of quality food storage containers to this.  If you are avoiding plastic then it can take a long time to accumulate enough, especially in bulk sizes.

I keep most of my food in clear glass jars and canisters.  I have yet to reach an upper limit on these.  Keeping them all the same color makes all the disparate styles look coordinated on the shelves.

I told Santa i wanted asparagus canning jars! Great size for stuff like deer jerky.

When we had our homestead, I wanted books.  I was given a set of the Fox Fire Books though I wanted books about gardening, bugs (pests), plant disease, animal, animal health and canning.

Here are a few suggestions from the The official permies.com Book Review Grid

Resilient Farm and Homestead by Ben Falk

Resilient Gardener by Carol Deppe

DVDs, movies, videos and documentaries would be great to have:  DVD-Film-review-grid

I am a book fiend and often have my eye on a few. Also, I try to find them used.

I got a gift from some friends when I left my job that was perfect. They wrote a really thoughtful card and included an amazon gift card.  They wanted to get me some books on gardening and canning but didnt want to duplicate what I might have since I dont live near any book stores. From what they wrote, I knew it was not a "quick cover your butt" type gift, but it was a well thought out gift for me.

Sometimes a gift card may seem too simple, but it is the exact right gift. Just include a card and mention why you chose it. The recipient will see how well you truly know them. Of course this only works if you do know them well😀

Awesome ideas everyone! Thank you all for sharing!

The single greatest gift this homesteader could receive would be a tractor with front end loader.

Daron, what a great blog post and thread! I have three items, wait four items to add. IMHO, these are an excellent homestead gear item.

The Sun Oven - a solar oven that is by far the most popular of the three we have here at wheaton labs
The Solavore Sport - a more affordable option and my personal favorite to use here
The GoSun Grill - this one gets the HOTTEST of all three and tends to be the favorite for those who like grilled meats
black cookware for solar ovens - interesting discussion on what might work best for cooking inside your solar oven

Not only are solar ovens awesome or even necessary for off-grid living, even if you're not off-grid, they keep the cooking heat OUT of the house and kitchen. As if that wasn't enough, they save on electric, gas, or propane bills; plus, they often retain more moisture and nutrients in the food, and are less likely to burn the meals they cook.

I highly recommend solar ovens. If you cook with crock pots, cooking in these can be really similar.

Edited to add:  Bryant, that was funny (and true)! :-D

I knitted a couple of scarves from scrap wool for two Aussie friends who are spending their first Galician winter having moved here from Sydney.  They were well received!

Bryant RedHawk wrote:The single greatest gift this homesteader could receive would be a tractor with front end loader.

That's what I keep telling my rich brother!

I agree with all the suggestion, Bryant, ay I have a back hoe on my tractor as well? I just found this site today called Chipdrop https://getchipdrop.com, It meets you up with arborist in your area who are seeking places to drop off wood chips. They will also drop some logs if you check that block.  I would like some wood chips for paths and help with filling in some low areas, What ever logs they drop can be added to a huglebed. I signed up, but they don't have any arborists in my area yet. We will have to wait and see. They have some youtube videos expanding who wouldn't want them, and who would want them. Things like possible debris mixed in, etc.