By M.L. Lewis

Tis the season to be jolly. Nothing quite makes the holiday season better than gathering around with loved ones over good food and great cheer. Just thinking about the holiday brings back memories of gathering around my grandma’s piano and singing carols until the sunset.

Once the holidays are over and the food starts digesting in your stomach you might want to look over these after Christmas sales to see what you can use to give yourself a prepping edge.

Wrapping Paper

During the holidays’ people around the world will pay for seven billion dollars worth of this paper. Four million dollars worth of it will end up in the landfill by nightfall. It’s because of this landfill issue that many people are either skipping it entirely this year or thinking of creative uses with the remains instead of tossing it after a gift is open.

Wrapping paper is just large thin paper and can be used as tinder or a fire starter of some kind. You can use it to draw out a map or store layout to help with navigation. The tube is also useful and can be crafted into a sheath for knives and swords.

Ornaments

Ornaments are the second most bought item during the holidays. Every year people spend twenty-five thousand dollars on this product alone, and it’s reported that thirty-five million people around the world are avid collectors. Don’t let the prettiness of the ornaments fool you they are very thrifty if you think outside the box.

You can set the glass ones on windowsills so they fall and shatter if anyone tries and climbs through the windows. You can open them up and store candy or small bits of food in them to protect them from pests. The hooks also serve a variety of purposes like fishing hooks and small snares. They can even be a good substitute for bobby pins and can help aid you in lock picking.

Garland

Whether they are fuzzy or with beads nothing is more frustrating to put up than garland. Just like the lights, these things get tangled up real easy. Garland does, however, serve many uses despite being a nuisance. Garland makes for a good rope substitute for tying down tarps or for building a lean too in a pinch. You can also use it to mark your trail so you’ll never lose your camp. You can also use it to set up a temporary security fence with a couple bell ornaments.

Gift Sets

We all have those people on our list we have no idea what to get them. Even though you don’t know them that well you have to give them a gift, so why not end the suffering early and grab a gift set. Almost all gift sets can be helpful in the zombie apocalypse if you think creatively.

Spa kits have soaps and body washes in them that are travel size and fit conveniently in your go bags. Besides shelf-stable foods, snack sets can come with little serving utensils and kitchen equipment that require no electricity. Manicure kits come with nail clippers and tweezers to assist in first aid needs.

Real Trees and Wreaths

Once the holidays are finish people will be tossing those beautiful pine trees they spent hours at the beginning of the month painstakingly picking out. Every year thirty million people will buy a real tree for there home. Before you throw yours to the curb consider repurposing it into firewood.

I’m sure if you ask nicely the neighbors won’t mind you hauling their trees away as well. The needles can be dried out and used as tinder. The homemade wreaths can also serve a purpose because what is holding them together is floral wire. The wire can be used to strengthen your shelter, help hang potted plants, and help improve radio frequency as an antenna.