Most people default to buying everything off a shelf because it feels easier. In this episode, I break down why that’s often the wrong move. This is about knowing when DIY actually beats store-bought — not as a hobby, but as a smarter, cheaper, more reliable way to prep. Some things are absolutely worth buying. Others? You’re getting ripped off.

This kicks off a multi-part series on when it makes sense to build instead of buy, starting with a few high-impact examples you can act on immediately.

DIY isn’t about being cheap for the sake of cheap. It’s about value. There’s a sweet spot where building something yourself costs less and performs better than the commercial version. Once you cross into “twice the cost and twice the headache,” it stops being worth it — but a lot of prepping gear lives well below that line.

The trick is understanding where that bell curve is. Not everything should be homemade. But a lot of commonly purchased “prepper products” are overpriced, underpowered, or stuffed with filler just to justify a higher price tag.

Electrolytes are one of the clearest examples of DIY crushing retail. Store-bought packets are wildly expensive for what they are — salt, potassium, and maybe magnesium dressed up with marketing.

You can make a functional electrolyte mix with basic salt and light salt from any grocery store. Add magnesium if you want to dial it in further. For a few bucks, you get hundreds or thousands of servings instead of paying premium prices for flavored water.

This isn’t about being fancy. It’s about hydration, performance, and not burning money on branding.

Most commercial first aid kits look impressive because of item count, not usefulness. They’re packed with safety pins, alcohol wipes, and filler items while being severely underpowered where it matters most — stopping bleeding.

Building your own kit lets you prioritize blood control, real bandaging, and medications you’ll actually use. Containers are fine to buy. Contents should be intentional. A kit that can’t handle serious bleeding isn’t a survival kit — it’s a boo-boo box.

Just because you can build something doesn’t mean you should. Refrigeration is a perfect example. You could technically DIY cooling solutions, but most of them don’t perform well enough to justify the effort.

DIY shines when the materials are cheap, accessible, and scalable. When complexity spikes or reliability drops, buying makes more sense. The goal isn’t ideological purity — it’s effectiveness.

DIY isn’t about chasing collapse fantasies. It’s about being practical, adaptable, and less dependent on fragile supply chains. When you build things that actually get used, prepping stays grounded and sustainable.

This episode is just part one. We’ll keep expanding into more areas where making your own gear saves money, improves performance, and gives you real-world skills you can rely on.

Closing

DIY isn’t about doing everything yourself. It’s about knowing when doing it yourself is the smarter move. Start with the high-impact wins and build from there.

Listen now, and if you want to support the show and keep weekly episodes coming, join the Survival Punk Army at SurvivalPunk.com.

DIY to survive.

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Good morning, this is James from SurvivalPunk.com, and today we’re doing something way less flashy than predictions, doom charts, or crystal-ball nonsense. We’re talking about goals — real ones — and why the new year is actually a useful checkpoint if you don’t screw it up.

This episode isn’t about manifesting or pretending you’re a different person because the calendar flipped. It’s about taking an honest look at where you are, where you’re going, and how to stop sabotaging yourself every time you slip up.

Why Predictions for 2026 Are Mostly Garbage

I originally thought about doing a “predictions for 2026” episode. Then I tried. And honestly? It was dumb.

Most predictions are just:

repeating last year’s problems

slapping a new date on them

pretending that makes them insightful

Housing will still be expensive. Inflation will still exist. Systems will still be annoying. I’m not Nostradamus, and neither is anyone else making confident claims about the future.

Instead of pretending we can predict the world, it makes more sense to focus on what we can control — ourselves.

New Year’s Resolutions Get a Bad Rap (Sometimes Fairly)

A lot of people hate New Year’s resolutions, and I get why. Gyms fill up. People go hard for two weeks. Then they disappear.

But the problem isn’t the timing.
The problem is how people think about failure.

Most folks treat one bad decision as permission to completely go off the rails:

“I screwed up my diet today, might as well restart Monday.”

“Missed one workout, guess I’m done.”

That mindset is poison.

The correct move after a bad decision isn’t punishment or indulgence — it’s simply making the next decision a smart one.

Small Goals Beat Big Dreams Every Time

Big, vague goals kill motivation.

“Lose 50 pounds.”
“Prep for total collapse.”
“Get rich.”

Those don’t move you day to day.

What does work is breaking goals into tiers:

short-term goals you can hit quickly

mid-term goals that build momentum

long-term goals that give direction

If your goal is to lose weight, losing five pounds this month is powerful. It’s achievable. It gives you a win. That win fuels the next one.

The same applies to prepping. Thirty days of food is a real goal. It’s attainable. And once you hit it, you don’t feel like you’re wasting money prepping for something that never happens.

Prepper Burnout Comes From Chasing Fantasy Scenarios

A lot of burnout in prepping comes from aiming at events that may never happen.

Total collapse. Instant grid-down forever. Mad Max overnight.

Historically, those are rare. What’s common are slow squeezes, personal crises, financial stress, health problems, and temporary disruptions.

When you prep for realistic problems with achievable milestones, you:

see progress

stay motivated

actually use what you prepare

That’s how prepping stays sustainable instead of turning into a hobby you abandon out of frustration.

Personal Check-Ins Matter (Even When They’re Uncomfortable)

The start of the year is a good time to ask hard questions:

How did last year actually go?

What worked?

What didn’t?

What am I avoiding fixing?

For me, that meant reassessing health, diet, and long-term habits. If something is causing chronic pain, fatigue, or dependence, it’s worth stepping back and reevaluating instead of just pushing through it.

Goals aren’t just about adding things. Sometimes they’re about removing the stuff that’s dragging you down.

How to Tell If You’re Actually Making Progress

Progress needs feedback.

If you’re trying to build muscle and the scale goes up and your strength goes up, that’s probably muscle. If the scale goes up and nothing else improves, that’s likely fat.

If you’re saving money, you need check-ins. If you’re behind, adjust. If you’re ahead, reinforce what’s working.

Without checkpoints, goals turn into wishful thinking.

Final Thoughts

The new year doesn’t magically change you — but it does give you a clean moment to reassess. Goals don’t need to be dramatic. They need to be clear, measurable, and broken into steps.

Stop waiting for Mondays.
Stop waiting for perfect conditions.
Make the next decision the smart one.

That’s how real change actually happens.

This is James from SurvivalPunk.com.
DIY to survive.

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Good morning, it’s James from SurvivalPunk.com, and today we’re talking about something that quietly scares the hell out of people once they actually experience it:
how fragile the healthcare system feels when you’re the one stuck dealing with it.

This episode isn’t about conspiracies or miracle cures. It’s about reality — insurance headaches, administrative bloat, chronic health issues, and why more people are being forced to take responsibility for their own health whether they want to or not.

Because when the system works, you barely notice it.
When it doesn’t, you really notice it.

Insurance Isn’t Healthcare — It’s an Administrative Maze

One of the most frustrating realizations is that modern healthcare isn’t primarily about doctors and patients anymore. It’s about administration.

You see it the moment you need anything beyond a routine visit:

pre-authorizations

last-minute denials

endless phone calls

paperwork delays

“we’ll get back to you” that never comes

Even when insurance does cover something, it’s often a fight right up until the procedure happens. The doctors aren’t the problem. Nurses aren’t the problem. The system wrapped around them is.

The amount of money being burned on administration instead of care is staggering — and it’s one of the main reasons costs keep rising while outcomes don’t improve.

Why Self-Reliance Is Becoming Mandatory, Not Optional

This isn’t about rejecting doctors or pretending modern medicine doesn’t work. It’s about recognizing that the system is overloaded and unreliable.

That means:

you need to understand your own health

you need to know what you’re eating

you need to track patterns instead of guessing

you need basic medical literacy

If you blindly trust that “someone else will handle it,” you’re setting yourself up for frustration at best and real harm at worst.

Self-reliance in health doesn’t mean going off-grid medically.
It means being an informed participant instead of a passive customer.

Diet Fixes More Than People Want to Admit

Before supplements, before meds, before hacks — there’s food.

Most people don’t actually know what they eat in a week. They think they do, but once they track it honestly, reality hits hard. Calories creep in. Processed junk piles up. Portions balloon.

You don’t need a cult diet.
You don’t need to fear every ingredient.

You need to:

eat mostly real food

cook at home

reduce processed garbage

know how much you’re actually eating

Tracking your food for even one week exposes problems immediately. Not to shame yourself — but to see reality clearly.

You can’t fix what you refuse to measure.

Exercise Isn’t Optional Maintenance

Exercise isn’t about aesthetics. It’s maintenance.

Strength training, walking, basic cardio — these reduce:

inflammation

blood pressure

insulin resistance

long-term medication dependence

You don’t need a perfect routine. You need something consistent. Even small daily movement adds up over time and pays off in fewer problems down the road.

The goal isn’t becoming a fitness influencer.
It’s staying functional and independent as long as possible.

Supplements and Herbs: Some Work, Most Don’t

This is where people get burned.

There are supplements and herbal remedies that have legitimate effects. Modern medicine came from plants originally — refined, isolated, and standardized.

But for every useful supplement, there are ten that are pure hype.

A perfect example is wild lettuce. It gets marketed as “nature’s morphine,” but real-world testing shows it barely touches moderate pain, if at all. That doesn’t mean nothing works — it means you need skepticism and testing, not marketing promises.

If something sounds too good to be true, it probably is.

When People Start Looking Outside the System

When insurance fails, costs explode, or doctors won’t cooperate, people start looking elsewhere. That’s not recklessness — it’s desperation.

This is where prepping overlaps with healthcare:

understanding antibiotics

understanding chronic meds

knowing what’s controlled vs what shouldn’t be

knowing how supply chains actually work

That doesn’t mean abusing meds or ignoring real risks. It means acknowledging that access matters — and planning accordingly when the system doesn’t.

The Real Prep: Reducing Dependence

The most powerful form of medical preparedness isn’t stockpiling pills. It’s needing fewer interventions in the first place.

That comes from:

better diet

regular movement

weight control

stress management

basic tracking and awareness

Every problem you prevent is one less fight with insurance, one less prescription, one less point of failure.

That’s real resilience.

Final Thoughts

Healthcare isn’t collapsing — but it is strained, bloated, and increasingly frustrating. The people who do best aren’t the ones with the best insurance. They’re the ones who understand their own bodies and take responsibility early.

You don’t prep because you hate the system.
You prep because you can’t afford to be helpless inside it.

This has been James from SurvivalPunk.com — DIY to survive, including your own health.

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Good morning, this is James from SurvivalPunk.com, and today we’re doing something every prepper should do once in a while: a hard look in the rearview mirror. Not nostalgia. Not doom. Just an honest assessment of what actually hit people in 2025 and why so many folks feel worn down even though nothing “collapsed.”

Because 2025 wasn’t a disaster year — but it absolutely was a pressure year.

Housing Didn’t Break — It Locked People Out

Housing was the big deer-in-the-headlights problem of 2025.

Starter homes might as well not exist anymore. Inventory rose, but prices didn’t come down in any meaningful way. Interest rates weren’t historically insane, but they didn’t matter — because when the average starter home sits around $400,000, the math simply doesn’t work for most people.

This wasn’t an interest rate problem.
It was a price problem.

And the knock-on effects hit everyone:

property taxes climbed as valuations climbed

insurance costs rose alongside replacement values

people already locked into “good mortgages” saw payments creep up anyway

Housing didn’t just punish buyers. It quietly punished owners too.

Utilities Quietly Got More Expensive (With Worse Service)

One of the sneakiest changes in 2025 was utilities.

Electric, water, and other basics didn’t spike because of usage — they rose because rates changed. Approved quietly. Covered barely at all. Felt immediately.

People noticed:

higher bills

no improvement in reliability

in some cases, worse service

Paying more for less has become a recurring theme, and utilities are one of the clearest examples. You can’t shop around. You can’t opt out. You just eat the cost.

That’s a big deal for anyone living close to the margin.

Inflation Never “Went Away” — It Just Stopped Accelerating

There was a lot of victory-lap talk about inflation cooling off.

Here’s the problem:
Inflation stacking matters more than inflation slowing.

When prices jump hard for multiple years and wages don’t keep pace, that gap never closes. A “normal” inflation year afterward doesn’t undo the damage. It just locks it in.

This hit hardest for:

retirees

people on fixed incomes

anyone whose pay didn’t surge post-COVID

The cost of living ratcheted up — and stayed there.

Rent Got Brutal

Rent deserves its own callout.

It didn’t just rise. It skyrocketed, especially in areas already suffering from housing shortages. And unlike mortgages, renters didn’t have any buffer at all. When leases renewed, people just got hit.

For a lot of folks, rent became the single biggest destabilizing force of the year.

Energy Reality: Heating People, Not Buildings

One quiet lesson of 2025 is that comfort doesn’t require heating everything.

People who adapted did things like:

lower overall home temps

use electric blankets or heating pads

focus on heating people, not rooms

It’s not glamorous, but it works — and it’s exactly the kind of mindset shift preppers should pay attention to as costs climb.

Gun Laws: Surprisingly, a Good Year

This part surprised a lot of people.

Despite ongoing nonsense in certain states, 2025 was overall a strong year for gun rights:

favorable court rulings

hits to the NFA

progress on suppressors and machine gun regulation

forced compliance in hostile states

There were also positive moves toward firearm education, including safety training in schools — which is a net win whether people want to admit it or not.

Compared to the dark days of the early 2010s, this was real progress.

The Big Takeaway From 2025

2025 wasn’t collapse.
It was compression.

Everything got tighter:

housing

utilities

rent

food

insurance

People felt squeezed because they were squeezed.

And that’s exactly why prepping isn’t about panic — it’s about margin. Extra food. Lower bills. Backup systems. Skills that reduce dependence. All of that matters more in years like 2025 than in dramatic disaster scenarios.

Final Thoughts

If you made it through 2025 without losing ground, you did well. If you struggled but stayed upright, you still won. This year was about endurance, not explosions.

Tomorrow we look forward — and ask what 2026 might throw at us.

This is James from SurvivalPunk.com.
DIY to survive.

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Good morning, it’s James from SurvivalPunk.com, and today’s episode is a little different. This one isn’t about gear, food buckets, or backup power. It’s about something just as important for survival, especially when things feel shaky:
keeping traditions alive.

Specifically Christmas traditions — but this applies to any tradition that anchors your family and your sanity when life gets chaotic, stressful, or flat-out hard.

Because when everything else starts to feel unstable, traditions are the thing that tells your brain, “We’re still okay.”

Traditions Are Psychological Armor

Traditions aren’t fluff. They aren’t optional. They’re a form of mental and emotional preparedness.

During hard times, people don’t break first because they’re hungry. They break because they lose hope, routine, and normalcy. Traditions counter that. They provide comfort, predictability, and a sense that life still has meaning beyond the crisis of the moment.

History proves this. During the Great Depression, people didn’t cancel Christmas. They modified it. They substituted foods. They simplified gifts. But they kept the tradition alive, because letting it die would have meant letting morale die with it.

Hard times don’t end traditions. Giving up does.

Your Kids Shouldn’t See the Duct Tape and Baling Wire

As a parent, part of your job is being a magician.

Your kids should see:

food on the table

something under the tree

familiar routines

normalcy

They should not see:

panic

financial stress

how close things might be to falling apart

Even if you’re struggling, even if money is tight, even if the future looks uncertain, traditions tell kids, “The world is still safe.” That matters more than almost anything else.

You can be scraping by and still create stability if the rituals stay intact.

Almost Every Tradition Has a Prepper Workaround

One of the biggest takeaways from this episode is simple:
almost everything you care about has a shelf-stable, low-cost, or DIY alternative.

Christmas dinner?
You already covered that in the Christmas-from-your-preps episodes.

Gifts?
You covered that with DIY gifts — food, crafts, tools, skills.

Movies?
Licensing, streaming platforms, and power issues make relying on modern streaming a bad idea.

If a movie matters to you — like the original animated Grinch — then prep for it:

physical media (DVD, Blu-ray, even VHS)

a small player

a tablet or laptop with files stored locally

minimal-power playback options

If it’s important, you make sure it doesn’t disappear.

Stories, Audiobooks, and Low-Power Traditions

Some traditions don’t even need screens.

Listening to A Christmas Carol as an audiobook became a new tradition for you — and honestly, the book version hits harder than most movie adaptations. The narration, the tone, the personality of Dickens himself comes through in ways film never quite captures.

That’s a perfect prepper tradition:

low power

deeply meaningful

easy to store

easy to repeat

Books, audiobooks, music, and radio programs are traditions that survive blackouts, depressions, and rough winters just fine.

Traditions Keep People Human

This episode isn’t about forcing everyone to love the same holidays or rituals. Your traditions aren’t mine, and mine aren’t yours.

But whatever your traditions are — religious, cultural, family-based, or personal — they matter. They’re part of what makes life worth preserving in the first place.

If you reach a point where survival means abandoning joy, celebration, and ritual, then something has gone very wrong.

You don’t prep just to exist.
You prep to live.

Final Thoughts

Food, power, and gear keep you alive.
Traditions keep you human.

Don’t let hard times erase the things that make life feel normal and meaningful. Adapt them. Simplify them. Prep for them. But don’t abandon them.

Christmas didn’t die during the Great Depression.
It doesn’t need to die during whatever comes next.

This has been James from SurvivalPunk.com — DIY to survive, and don’t let your traditions die.

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Good morning, it’s James from SurvivalPunk.com, and it’s one of those cold, gray mornings where power outages feel just a little too plausible. Today’s episode tackles a question a lot of people quietly stress about but don’t get good answers on:
how do you do real backup power when you live in an apartment or rental?

You can’t install a Generac.
You can’t modify the panel.
You probably can’t even touch the breaker box without violating your lease.

So let’s talk about what actually works, what doesn’t, and how to think about power the right way when you don’t own the building.

Why “Whole Home Backup Power” Is the Wrong Goal for Renters

A lot of people start with the wrong mental model. They think, “I need whole-home backup power,” then get frustrated when reality shuts that down.

If you live in an apartment:

you cannot tie into the panel

you cannot install a transfer switch

you absolutely should not backfeed power into an outlet

you cannot safely control upstream power

And let’s be crystal clear:
suicide cords are called suicide cords for a reason.
They’re dangerous. They can kill you. They can kill linemen. Don’t do it.

For renters, the goal is not “whole home.”
The goal is critical loads and smart layering.

Solar Generators: Useful, But Often Misunderstood

Portable power stations like the Blue Yeti look cool. They’re flashy. They feel like “real prepping.” And they are useful — just not in the way people expect.

A smaller unit is great for:

charging phones

running lights

powering small electronics

topping off a fridge intermittently

What it is not good for:

space heaters

coffee makers

cooking

continuous loads

Running a space heater off a battery is a fast way to turn stored power into nothing. Electric blankets, on the other hand, use a fraction of the energy and make way more sense.

Battery power should be treated like gold. Spend it wisely.

Test Your Setup Like This Guy Did

One of the smartest things in this episode is what the Reddit poster actually did right.

He shut off his power for 24 hours and lived on his battery system.
That’s huge.

Most people buy preps and never test them. This guy learned:

what drained power fast

what worked

what wasn’t worth it

what he actually missed

That kind of testing teaches you more in one day than a year of YouTube videos.

If you live in an apartment, this is exactly how you should approach power: test, learn, adjust.

Heating Without Electricity Is the Real Solution

Here’s the hard truth:
battery power should not be your primary heat source.

Much better options include:

propane heaters like the Mr. Buddy

layered blankets

electric blankets used sparingly

bed canopies to trap heat

People stayed warm long before central heat. You don’t need to heat the entire apartment — you need to heat people.

A small propane heater plus good blankets will outperform any battery-based solution every time.

Lighting: Cheap, Efficient, and Easy

Lighting is one of the easiest wins.

Best options:

rechargeable headlamps

LED lanterns

flashlights

plug-in night lights with built-in batteries

Those little emergency night lights that stay charged and turn on automatically during outages are fantastic. Put them in bathrooms, hallways, and kitchens and you’ve solved 90% of the lighting problem without touching your main battery.

Let batteries handle lighting, not heat.

Refrigeration: Use It in Cycles

Your fridge does not need constant power.

Smart strategies:

keep freezer full (add water bottles for thermal mass)

run fridge for 20–30 minutes every few hours

move frozen items to the fridge to keep it cool

use outdoor cold as temporary storage when possible

Treat your fridge like a cooler. With smart cycling, you can stretch battery power far longer than you think.

Cooking Without Killing Your Battery

Cooking with electricity is one of the worst uses of stored power.

Better options:

butane stoves

propane camp stoves

boiling water for French press coffee

pour-over coffee instead of drip machines

Electric coffee makers are power hogs. A French press gives you great coffee for almost zero energy cost.

Save electricity for what actually needs it.

Entertainment and Morale Matter

This was one of the more interesting ideas in the episode:
emergency radios that accept SD cards.

You can preload:

audiobooks

podcasts

music

During an outage, that’s huge. Morale matters. Silence and boredom make outages feel longer and worse than they are.

You don’t need TikTok to survive.
You need something to occupy your brain.

Final Thoughts

Apartment backup power isn’t about building a mini power plant. It’s about:

realistic expectations

layered solutions

smart energy use

testing your gear

separating wants from needs

If all you want is to scroll your phone forever, buy battery banks.
If you want to stay warm, fed, and sane during an outage, build a system that makes sense.

This has been James from SurvivalPunk.com — DIY to survive, even when you don’t own the building.

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Good morning, it’s James from SurvivalPunk.com, and holy hell — it’s cold. Like ten degrees, why do I live here cold. That makes today’s episode even more fitting, because we’re continuing the DIY Christmas gift series with Part 2, and this time we’re getting into non-edible gifts — the stuff you can make with your hands that people actually use, appreciate, and remember.

Part 1 was all food. This one is about skills, crafts, and practical items that quietly make people more prepared without slapping them in the face with “SURVIVAL.”

Let’s get into it.

Sewing, Knitting, and Fabric Skills Are a Cheat Code

If you can sew, knit, crochet, or do anything with fabric, your gift options are basically unlimited.

If someone made me a pair of handmade socks? I’d be genuinely stoked. No one has ever done that for me, and it would absolutely get used. Same goes for mittens, hats, scarves, or anything warm that took actual effort.

One of the best examples you brought up was knitted cast iron handle covers. Those things are fantastic. They’re better than the silicone garbage you can buy, they look good, and anyone who uses cast iron will actually appreciate them. That’s the key.

Fabric gifts that work especially well:

socks

mittens and gloves

hats and beanies

pot holders and cast iron handle covers

aprons

simple bags or pouches

These are gifts that feel personal, not mass-produced. You can’t just walk into a store and buy that exact thing, especially not in the colors or style someone likes.

Quilts and Big Projects Mean Something

Quilts are becoming rare, and honestly, that makes them more meaningful.

They’re labor-intensive. They take time. And getting a quilt as a gift is basically someone saying, “I love you enough to spend a ridiculous amount of time on this.”

You don’t see a lot of young quilters anymore, and when you do, they’re usually deep into homesteading or old-school skills. If you’re one of those people and you gift a quilt, that’s a forever item. That’s not a throwaway Christmas present.

3D Printers: The Modern DIY Superpower

If you own a 3D printer, you are sitting on a ridiculous DIY gift machine.

You don’t even have to design anything yourself. You just:

find a useful file

print it

clean it up

hand it to someone who didn’t even know they needed it

You gave a great example of a custom disc golf marker with the Survival Punk logo on it. That’s perfect. It’s small, useful, unique, and impossible to buy in a store.

Other great 3D-printed gift ideas:

tool organizers

drawer dividers

phone stands

hooks and mounts

bottle openers

simple toys

small survival accessories

Even basic prints can be meaningful if they solve a real problem or are tailored to the person receiving them.

DIY First Aid and Trauma Kits

This is one of the most underrated DIY gift ideas out there.

If you’ve ever built a first aid or trauma kit, you know the drill:

That means you can easily assemble additional kits and give them as gifts.

For most people, a full-on trauma kit might be a bit much. But a general first aid kit with:

bandages

antiseptic

allergy meds

basic pain relief

gloves

…is something they will absolutely use. And it quietly plants the seed that being prepared is useful.

This is a great “gateway prep” gift. You’re not yelling about collapse. You’re just helping someone handle normal life a little better.

Soap, Salves, and Herbal Projects

Homemade soap is one of those gifts that always lands.

Everyone uses soap.

If you make soap, you already know this. If you don’t, it’s actually not that hard to get started, and it makes a great experiment — especially with kids. It’s part chemistry, part craft, part old-school skill.

The same goes for:

salves

balms

herbal tinctures

elderberry syrup

fire cider

These blur the line between food, medicine, and self-reliance. They’re thoughtful gifts, especially for people who appreciate natural remedies or homestead skills.

Why These Gifts Work

DIY gifts work because:

they save money

they build skills

they’re useful

they’re personal

they don’t feel disposable

You’re not giving clutter.
You’re giving capability.

And that’s what Survival Punk is all about.

Final Thoughts

DIY gifts aren’t about being cheap. They’re about being intentional. Whether it’s a sewn item, a knitted piece, a 3D print, a first aid kit, or homemade soap, these are the gifts people remember — and actually use.

They don’t end up forgotten in a drawer.
They don’t get returned.
They don’t feel generic.

They matter.

This has been James from SurvivalPunk.com — DIY to survive, and give gifts that actually mean something.

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The post DIY Christmas Gifts That Actually Matter (Part 2) | Episode 565 appeared first on Survivalpunk.

Good morning, it’s James from SurvivalPunk.com, and we’re continuing the Christmas run with something that hits harder than anything you can grab off a shelf:
DIY, homemade Christmas gifts.

These are the gifts that save money and mean something.
They’re practical, personal, and they say, “I gave a damn,” instead of “I panic-bought this at Target on December 23rd.”

This might turn into a two-parter — because once you start talking about food, tools, and handmade skills, it’s hard to shut up. Let’s get into Part 1.

Why DIY Gifts Hit Different

There’s a big difference between:

something you grabbed off a shelf
and

something you made

Homemade gifts feel intentional.
They feel thoughtful.
They feel old-school — in the best way.

And honestly? Gift cards are the laziest possible option. I’ve got gift cards that are probably a decade old sitting in a drawer somewhere. Half of them may not even work anymore.

If you want to give something memorable, DIY wins every time.

Canned Goods That Make Perfect Gifts

I’m not talking about handing someone a can of corn like a psychopath.

I’m talking about:

jams

jellies

preserves

caramel sauces

cowboy candy (candied jalapeños)

pickles

These are gifts people actually love.

I grew up getting homemade jams and jellies for Christmas. That wasn’t weird — it was normal. My grandparents canned. Their friends canned. That stuff showed up at holidays all the time.

And guess what?
It’s coming back.

Canning is having a serious resurgence, especially with people rediscovering “granny skills.” Decorative jars, homemade labels, and a little effort turn pantry food into something special.

The Infamous “Slut Sauce” (Caramel in a Jar)

If you’ve been around canning circles, you’ve seen it.

You take sweetened condensed milk and turn it into a thick caramel sauce by slow-cooking it. If you do it in a jar and properly can it, you end up with a shelf-stable caramel sauce that looks amazing and tastes even better.

It’s:

insanely easy

dirt cheap

wildly impressive

Put it in a small decorative jar and people lose their minds over it. Drizzle it on apples, desserts, pancakes, ice cream — it’s a killer gift.

Meals in a Jar (Know Your Audience)

There are complete meals you can safely can:

soups

stews

chili

meat-and-veg combos

Some people are weird about this.
Some people are absolutely not.

Personally? If you hand me a sealed, properly canned meal, I’m eating it without hesitation. You just need to know who you’re gifting to.

For the right person, this is an incredible gift:

convenient

comforting

practical

shelf-stable

For the wrong person?
They’ll stare at it like it’s radioactive.

Know your market.

Pickles, Cowboy Candy, and Trend Foods

Pickles are having a moment.
Honestly, they might be the next pumpkin spice.

Pickle-flavored everything is everywhere — burgers, chips, drinks, slushies, even ice cream (which should be illegal).

That means homemade pickles are a perfect gift for the right person. You can:

control the spices

control the vinegar

dial in the flavor

Same goes for cowboy candy. I bought a jar from a former coworker who side-hustles it for about ten bucks a jar, and it was worth every penny.

That’s the kind of gift people remember.

Homemade Seasoning Blends

Custom spice mixes are one of the most underrated DIY gifts.

Stores are packed with overpriced seasoning blends full of sugar and filler. If you can make a good homemade blend, people will burn through it fast.

Case in point:
My sister-in-law created an absolutely incredible Greek seasoning. I use it on:

roasts

burgers

vegetables

damn near everything

Once she gave me a big batch, I went through it constantly. Now my wife makes a copycat version because I refuse to live without it.

If you’ve got a killer seasoning recipe, jar it up and gift it. That’s a win.

Vanilla Extract: The Long Game Gift

Vanilla extract is one of those projects we always talk about doing… and forget.

But it’s simple:

vanilla beans

vodka

time

Let it sit for a few months and you end up with incredible homemade extract. It’s perfect for baking, desserts, and gifts.

Yes, it uses alcohol.
No, it doesn’t matter once it’s cooked or baked.
And no, you’re not getting drunk off cookies.

This is a great project to do with kids and a fantastic long-term DIY gift.

Baked Goods and Food Gifts That Always Win

If you can bake, you’re dangerous — in a good way.

Things that make excellent gifts:

homemade cookies

pies

bread (especially sourdough)

preserved meats

summer sausage

homemade ham

You want to impress someone who can buy anything they want?
Give them something they can’t buy at a store.

Homemade food beats expensive junk every time.

Final Thoughts

DIY Christmas gifts aren’t about being cheap.
They’re about being intentional.

They save money, build skills, and create traditions that actually matter. Whether it’s a jar of jam, a custom seasoning, homemade bread, or something you preserved yourself — these gifts land harder than anything with a barcode.

This has been Part 1 of DIY Christmas gifts.
Part 2 will dig into non-food gifts, tools, crafts, and other homemade ideas that preppers and normal people alike will actually use.

This has been James from SurvivalPunk.com — DIY to survive, and give gifts that actually mean something.

48pcs/24Set Regular Mouth Canning Lids Bands Split-Type for Mason Jar Canning Lids (red and white)

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The post DIY Christmas Gifts That Actually Matter (Part 1) | Episode 564 appeared first on Survivalpunk.

Good morning, it’s James from SurvivalPunk.com, and today we’re finishing out the Christmas dinner series with Part 2 — the stuff that actually makes the meal feel like Christmas:
side dishes, breads, and desserts, all made from long-term storage and everyday pantry preps.

This isn’t about pretending canned food is gourmet.
It’s about proving that even when money is tight or life goes sideways, you can still sit down to a real holiday meal without running to the store.

Let’s wrap this thing up properly.

Side Dishes Are the Easiest Win

If there’s one category preppers already have dialed in, it’s side dishes.

Green bean casserole is basically designed for food storage:

canned green beans

cream of mushroom soup

crispy fried onions

All shelf-stable.
All cheap.
All familiar.

Macaroni and cheese is another no-brainer. You already store pasta. You already store cheese powder or boxed mixes. You probably store powdered milk. That’s Christmas comfort food right there.

Most holiday sides aren’t fancy. They’re nostalgic. And nostalgia is easy to recreate with pantry food.

Bread: From Box Mix to From-Scratch

Bread is where people think things get complicated — but it doesn’t have to.

On the easy end:

boxed quick breads

biscuit mixes

scone mixes

bread mixes in #10 cans

Add water or milk, bake, done.
That alone gets you through most holiday meals.

Cornbread deserves a special mention. Jiffy cornbread mix stores well, and here’s the trick that saves you when eggs are scarce:

You can replace the egg with mayo.

If you store condiment packets (which you should), mayo works as a substitute. Powdered eggs also work. Chickens work best if you’ve got them.

If you want to level up:

store flour

store yeast

learn one simple bread recipe and master it

You don’t need to be a sourdough wizard. One solid, repeatable loaf is enough.

Whole wheat berries ground fresh are fantastic, but let’s be realistic — most disruptions don’t last forever. A year of rotated flour gets you through almost anything without turning bread into a lifestyle project.

Desserts: Where Preppers Usually Forget to Prep

This is the part that separates survival from morale.

Freeze-dried desserts exist — cheesecake crumbles, ice cream, pudding — and they’re fine in a pinch. But let’s be honest: nobody wants rehydrated gloop for Christmas if they can help it.

Better options:

boxed cake mixes

brownie mixes

muffin mixes

Most just need water or milk. If you store powdered or freeze-dried milk, you’re set. Even water works if you have to sacrifice a little flavor.

These mixes are cheap, easy to rotate, and perfect for:

snow days

power outages

morale boosts

holidays during tight times

You can also pre-make your own mixes in jars if you want to go full prepper nerd. Flour, sugar, baking powder, cocoa — it’s all doable.

Pies Without the Grocery Store

You don’t need a bakery to make pies.

Options include:

canned pie fillings

home-canned fruit

dehydrated apples or berries

foraged fruit if you’re lucky

Pie crust can be:

homemade from flour and fat

stored in the freezer if your freezer game is strong

learned once and repeated forever

Master one easy pie recipe and you’re covered. You don’t need variety — you need reliability.

If you want inspiration, Amish dessert recipes are gold. They’re designed around limited refrigeration and simple ingredients, which makes them perfect for SHTF cooking.

Rice Pudding and Bread Pudding: The Prepper Desserts

Rice pudding might be the most underrated prepper dessert of all time.

You already store rice.

That’s it.

Same goes for bread pudding. Old bread, milk, sugar, maybe some canned fruit — and suddenly leftovers become dessert.

These are the kinds of dishes that feel warm and normal when things aren’t.

This recipe assumes no fresh milk, no fresh eggs, no refrigeration.

1/2 cup white rice
(long grain works best; jasmine/basmati are fine too)

2 cups water

1 cup powdered milk, mixed with 1 cup water
(or reconstituted freeze-dried milk)

1/4 cup sugar
(white, brown, honey powder, or maple sugar all work)

1 tablespoon butter or margarine
(optional, but highly recommended)

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

Pinch of salt

Dehydrated apples or raisins

Canned fruit (drained)

Vanilla extract or vanilla powder

Nutmeg

Sweetened condensed milk (replace sugar + milk for ultra-rich version)

Bring 2 cups water and a pinch of salt to a boil.
Add the rice, reduce heat, cover, and simmer until fully cooked (about 15–20 minutes).

Do not drain. You want soft, starchy rice.

Stir in:

reconstituted powdered milk

sugar

butter (if using)

Keep heat low. Rice pudding burns fast if you rush it.

Simmer gently for 10–15 minutes, stirring often.
The mixture should thicken into a creamy consistency.

If it gets too thick, add a splash of water or milk.
If it’s too thin, keep cooking — it thickens more as it cools.

Stir in:

cinnamon

optional vanilla

optional fruit

Taste and adjust sweetness.

Serve hot for cold nights and morale

Serve cold if fuel is limited (it sets up like pudding)

Sprinkle extra cinnamon or sugar on top

This stuff sticks to your ribs and feels like a hug when everything else is chaos.

Uses cheap, common staples

Works on camp stoves, rocket stoves, or propane

No eggs required

Scales easily for families

Turns boring calories into comfort food

Great for kids, elderly, and stressed adults

Rice pudding is the kind of food that reminds people life is still normal, even when it isn’t.

Final Thoughts

Between Part 1 and Part 2, you can now build a full Christmas dinner from your preps:

main dishes

sides

breads

desserts

This isn’t about “end of the world cosplay.”
It’s about resilience during hard seasons — layoffs, medical bills, tight budgets, or unexpected setbacks.

You don’t lose tradition just because times are tough.
You adapt it.

This has been James from SurvivalPunk.com — DIY to survive, and yes, you can still have Christmas dinner when life punches you in the mouth.

Buttermilk Biscuit Mix Can Emergency Food Supply, 29 Servings, 10 Year Shelf Life – Biscuit Mix Just Add Water and Baking Powder

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The post Cooking Christmas Dinner From Your Preps (Part 2) | Episode 563 appeared first on Survivalpunk.

Good morning — it’s James from SurvivalPunk.com, and it’s a crisp 40-degree December morning. Today we’re kicking off Part 1 of a new holiday series:
how to cook a full Christmas dinner entirely from your preps — no grocery trip required.

Because when we talk about “the shit hitting the fan,” we don’t always mean global collapse. Sometimes SHTF is extremely personal:

losing your job right before Christmas

a medical bill

reduced hours

a sudden layoff

a surprise hit to income

When money gets tight, the preps you’ve built become your safety net — and yes, they can absolutely become your Christmas dinner, too.

Let’s get into how to turn canned meat, freeze-dried goods, and back-of-the-pantry staples into a legit holiday meal.

Canned ham is not glamorous.
It is not spiral-cut, honey-glazed, artisan anything.

But with the right technique?
You can turn canned ham into something legitimately good.

Here’s how:

Pop it out of the can.
If it wiggles like cat food… welcome to prepper cooking.

Sear both sides in a skillet.
A hard sear adds flavor and texture fast.

Make a quick glaze using whatever you have:

brown sugar

butter or margarine

maybe some pineapple rings (prepper classic)

Throw it in the oven at 350°F for ~20 minutes.
You’re not cooking it — just letting the glaze caramelize.

And boom:
It won’t be grandma’s holiday ham, but it also won’t taste like sadness and compromise.

No, you’re not carving a drumstick.
No, you’re not getting that Norman Rockwell vibe.

But the flavor of Christmas turkey?
Totally doable.

Options include:

Heat-and-Serve:
Just warm it, make a gravy, and pour it over potatoes.
It’s exactly what school cafeterias served during holiday lunches — and honestly, it slaps.

Turkey/Chicken Loaf:
Mix the canned meat with binder (breadcrumbs, oats, stuffing mix), shape it, bake it, and cover with gravy.
Your store literally used to sell a pre-made turkey loaf — people loved it.

Freeze-Dried Poultry:
If you’ve got freeze-dried chicken breast in storage, this is the time to bust it out.
Rehydrate gently, season well, and serve it like shredded roast turkey.

Go Hunting:
Look — you’re surrounded by wild turkeys in your area.
Not everyone is that lucky, but hunting absolutely counts as “cooking from your preps.”

And, for the record, you still desperately want a Christmas goose.

Nobody is pulling a prime rib from their prep closet.
But canned beef works well when:

warmed in gravy

served over potatoes

mixed into a holiday shepherd’s pie

used in a beef loaf roast

It’s not sexy, but it’s hot, filling, and festive enough for a rough year.

Green bean casserole is basically designed for preppers.

Ingredients:

canned green beans

cream of mushroom soup

crispy fried onions

That’s it.
Three shelf-stable items.
Zero work.
Christmas classic.

Even if you don’t love green beans (you sure don’t), this dish is pure comfort food.

Instant potatoes are good, nostalgic, and cheap — but the package instructions are wrong.

Instead of just adding hot water:

add half water, half milk

add a big chunk of butter or margarine

stir aggressively

That turns them from “survival food” to “actually pretty damn good.”

If you hate instant potatoes?

Dry-can your own potatoes.
Dry-canned potatoes are:

better texture

more flavor

more cooking options (pan fry, roast, mash)

Store-bought canned potatoes also work great in a pinch.

Another holiday classic you can make entirely from storage food:

canned sweet potatoes

brown sugar

dehydrated or homemade marshmallows

maybe cinnamon, nutmeg, or vanilla extract if you’ve got them

Rehydrate your dehydrated marshmallows if you’re fancy, then toast them on top.
Boom — holiday dessert (or side dish, depending on where you’re from).

This is Part 1, and you’ve already seen how much of Christmas dinner you can make from nothing but the pantry:

ham

turkey

chicken

beef

casseroles

potatoes

sweet potatoes

You don’t need a grocery store to pull off a holiday meal.
You just need the creativity and confidence to cook with what you’ve prepped.

Part 2 will cover vegetables, breads, and desserts — and how to make each one from long-term storage food.

This has been James from SurvivalPunk.com — DIY to survive, and yes, you can celebrate even when things suck.

Iberia Boneless & Skinless Cooked Ham, 16 oz

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The post Cooking Christmas Dinner From Your Preps (Part 1) | Episode 562 appeared first on Survivalpunk.