Hasta La Ideas

For high school graduation, my uncle bought me an emergency kit for my car. At the time, I thought it was the most boring gift ever. I tossed the kit in the trunk of my car, wrote my uncle a generic thank-you note, and quickly forgot about the kit.

When my car broke down the winter of my freshman year of college and I was stranded on the side of the road, I didn’t even remember the emergency kit was in my car. In an act of desperation (remember, only the very wealthy had car phones back then), I opened up the trunk, and was surprised to see an emergency kit ready to help me.

I lit a flare, put up a “Driver in Distress” orange sign, wrapped myself in the silver blanket, and crawled back into the car to wait for someone to drive down the quiet country road. While I waited, I snacked on the granola bar that was also in the pack, and did some word searches from a game book my uncle had put inside the kit. Two hours later, an elderly woman drove by and said she’d call a tow truck for me when she got home. Half an hour after that, the tow truck driver and I were on our way to the mechanic’s shop down the street from my dorm. The emergency kit from my uncle turned out to be an amazing gift, one that I didn’t appreciate until I desperately needed it.

A kit can be an extremely practical gift, one that could make a real difference in an emergency situation. Some of the items in these kits overlap, so I can’t imagine that you would give more than one of these kits to one person. However, a gift like this could be a lifesaver to someone you love:

1. AAA’s Road Assistance Kit, a practical gift for anyone who has a car and doesn’t already have a kit like this.
2. Total Resources’ Emergency Medical Kit is nice for the home, office, boat, RV, and on a camping trip. The convenient carrying case makes transporting it with you extremely simple.
3. SurvivalKit’s Disaster Emergency Kit is perfect for someone who lives in an area prone to natural disasters.
4. For someone moving into his or her first place, a Stanley Tool Kit is a good starter tool kit. The carrying case also makes these items easy to store in an organized way.
5. A bike enthusiast in your life might enjoy a Bicycle repair kit in a nice travel bag. These kits can be strapped to the bike so they’re available when they’re needed.

These specific kits might not work for someone on your list, but you can build one tailored to your recipients’ specific needs. If you do, aim for practical and utilitarian items, and be sure to include a storage case so all of the kit items can be stored together.

Check out our complete listing of items in Unclutterer’s 2010 Holiday Gift Giving Guide.

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