Practical and Affordable Gift Ideas for the Homesteaders in Your Life
Last updated: December 11, 2024
Here are the main gift giving topics that will be covered in this article:
- Homesteading Books for that special Homesteader on your List
- Homestead Kitchen Gifts – General Items
- Homestead Kitchen Gifts – Specialty Items
- Gifts for the Homesteader with a Wood Stove
- Gifts for the Homestead Gardener
- Gifts for the Homesteader who owns Livestock and Poultry
- Gifts for the Homestead Workshop
- Gifts for the Homestead Mechanic
- Gifts for the Homestead Water Supply
- Gifts for the Homestead Household
Disclosure of Material Connection: Some of the links in this page or post may be “affiliate links”. This means that if you click on the link, Pioneer Mountain Homestead, LLC may receive an affiliate commission at no direct cost to you. Pioneer Mountain Homestead, LLC only recommends products or services that the owners, managers, or employees of Pioneer Mountain Homestead, LLC use or believe will add value to the readers of this website. This disclosure is made with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”
Homesteading Books for that special Homesteader on your List
Every homesteader knows knowledge is power. I am including a link to several books we have and enjoy, but there are many more out there. Try to find out from your homesteader what might be on their “wanted book list”. It will make your shopping even easier. With rising costs, books are often reserved by homesteaders as “special purchases”. Filling their wish list would make their day.
Don’t forget about special interests your homesteader may have. Do they do sewing, knitting, crocheting, woodworking, or other special interest? Books aimed at your homesteader’s interest area are especially treasured.
Homestead Kitchen Gifts - General Items
The kitchen is the central hub of the homestead home. It is the room where the family gathers; food is prepared or preserved; and historically the center of warmth for the home. At our homestead, the kitchen is the most utilized room in the home.
As a homesteader, we like practical and simple items for our kitchen. Items like aprons, pot holders, dish towels, and dish clothes are always appreciated. You would not believe how many of these items get dirty doing canning and preserving! I dedicate one load of laundry per week to kitchen items, and I imagine other homesteaders are doing the same.
As for kitchen utensils, I would suggest they be stainless steel at the best quality you can find and afford. Homesteaders use their favorite utensils regularly. When we are canning and preserving, we often need items to be non-reactive. Stainless steel is non-reactive. Items cannot bend or break. Remember, homesteaders are preserving bushels of food. Something that will hold up is necessary. Your homesteader will think of you every time they use that great ladle or slotted spoon you bought them!
If you want to go a little pricier on a gift, go for cast iron cook wear. At our homestead, we buy Lodge brand. We have talked with the folks at Lodge and love the idea that we are purchasing from a company in the USA. Additionally, the quality and purity of the product is supreme. Contents within the cast metal are guaranteed to not contain dangerous metals like you might encounter with “no name” brands. (An important point for most homesteaders as most are very conscientious of their health and methods of food preparation).
At our homestead, cast iron receives daily use. It is virtually indestructible and can be handed down generation after generation. Can you imagine preparing food in a pan that may have once been in the kitchen of your great, great, great grandparent? That’s serious longevity!
Homestead Kitchen Gifts - Specialty Items
Specialty kitchen items include those items relevant to your friend and homesteader’s special interests. Are they a cheesemaker, a canner, a baker, a dehydrator, or a meat processor? With so many specialties, choosing the perfect gift may need a few sleuthing skills. Ask your homesteader if there is something they need for their special skill.
For example, I am a firm Ball brand jar user. I ONLY can with Ball brand jars, and I never seem to have enough. (What do you mean my 1,000+ collection of jars is enough)? I would always appreciate more. Your homesteader will feel grateful for having gifts that relate to their specialty.
Gifts for the Homesteader with a Wood Stove
Many homesteaders heat or cook with wood. Wood is an item that needs brought into the home to keep everything warm and is always needed. Items that help in the transport of wood, splitting of wood, or sawing of wood are welcome. If your homesteader doesn’t cut their wood, support a local business by purchasing a cord of firewood for their heat. (Cheap plug here….we sell firewood in the Lake Raystown region of Pennsylvania).
Other great accessory items are gloves for working with the fire (we use welder’s gloves), an ash vacuum for cleaning out the stove, wood stove kettles for adding moisture to the air, circulation fans for moving heat from the wood stove, or ash shovels and pokers for working with the wood stove.
For pre-season wood preparation, it is nice to have leather gloves, extra chainsaw chains, wedges for splitting, an axe for splitting kindling, a maul, or protective items when chainsawing (like chaps or ear protection). As a side note, there are never enough gloves at our homestead. Gloves are always an appreciated gift to the homesteader!
Gifts for the Homestead Gardener
Most homesteaders are gardeners. We love the dirt! Gifts for the gardening homesteader are plentiful. As stated earlier, gloves are always appreciated. I use the nitrile coated fabric gloves for gardening and love them. They have plenty of protection on the palm side to keep prickles from piercing my hands. The gloves are lightweight and not hot to wear in summer months.
Kneeling boards are another item that is welcome. I can’t have enough of them. It’s great to have a couple on hand when your friends come to visit. It makes it easy for them to HELP WEED (ok….I’m kidding here). But hey, they are great for protecting your knees.
Items like baskets for harvesting, watering cans, seeds (we recommend open pollinated varieties), seed starting trays, gardening hand tools, and row markers are always appreciated.
Gifts for the Homesteader who owns Livestock and Poultry
For homesteaders that have made the leap into livestock and poultry, many options are available to make their day. But, with livestock and poultry, many homesteaders are particular about their animal management. Not to fear, there are many items that aid in raising animals. Buckets, gloves, rubber boots, heavy or lined shirts, coveralls, overalls, feed scoops, boot scrapers, hand cleaner and hand moisturizer.
Remember, barn work requires clothing made to last. Look for good quality material, double or triple stitching to prevent seam separation, and durable zippers. You want your homesteader to use your gift for a long time so they think about you often.
Gifts for the Homestead Workshop
The homestead workshop should always be stocked with basic tools. For someone starting out in homesteading, tools such as a general purpose hammer, drill, circular saw, measuring tape, level, square, various screwdrivers, pliers, and wire cutters would make a wonderful starter set as a gift. Place the tools inside a handy toolbox to make toting those tools around easier. Another option is the bucket organizer which my husband uses on a near daily basis and has found to be a better organization method for him.
For the established homesteader, an assortment of hardware is always a welcome need at the homestead. Five pound boxes of deck screws are always a safe bet and are used regularly around the homestead. Buy them in 2” to 4” lengths. Boxes of assorted nails are great for the homesteader, as well.
Staplers and staples are regularly used at our homestead. The 20 volt battery powered Dewalt tools are used nearly daily around our homestead and are highly recommended by us. We recommend at least having a battery powered drill, screw driver, circular saw, keyhole saw, and flashlight at a minimum. Crowbars in various sizes are also handy.
Gifts for the Homestead Mechanic
Homesteaders are at minimum basic mechanics (whether they want to be or not). Equipment will break and repairs will need to be done. Most homesteaders attempt to fix their own equipment not only to save money and time, but also because they have a need to be self reliant.
A basic socket set would make a great gift. Other great ideas for the homestead mechanic include gloves for working on equipment (often made of nitrile or a rubberized material), a hydraulic lift, a creeper, mechanics light, or oil pan.
Gifts for the Homestead Water Supply
If you ask a homesteader what they need to survive, you will get the answer, “water, food, and shelter”. Good water is very important to a homesteader. At our homestead, we have used two Berkey water purifiers for our drinking water. Containers for water are also important. We recommend stainless steel as it does not impart a taste into the water. Klean Kanteen is one brand of water container we recommend.
Gifts for the Homestead Household
Most homesteaders grow, raise, or harvest their own food, but not everything is grown or raised in every environment. Here at our homestead in Pennsylvania, we must buy items like salt, sugar, coffee, tea, cocoa, spices, and citrus fruits.
A basket of food items that the homesteader could not produce would be a nice gift. How about an assortment of teas with a new tea ball? (We recommend buying organic). Or a basket of citrus fruits? One of my favorite is a basket of organic spices or seasonings.
Baskets of food items allow you to get creative and can be tailor made for your homesteader.
This list should give you a good idea of the mindset of a homesteader and what they would appreciate as a gift. When choosing a gift, think about practicality, minimalism, longevity, and basic needs of a homesteader. Homesteaders are unique. They are more pleased in self reliance and less influenced by money, prestige, or materialism. If they receive a gift, it is special. Give them something useful and they will think of you every time it is in use.
What have I missed? Do you have suggestions. I would love to hear them. Happy gifting! – Bren
Thank you so much for your support!
We are full time homesteaders at Pioneer Mountain Homestead in the Appalachian Mountains of south-central Pennsylvania. We have a sawmill, produce garden, honeybees, layer hens, laying ducks, pigs, and goats. We provide boat and camper storage to nearby visitors of Raystown Lake and sell firewood and lumber in south central Pennsylvania. Our journey is to be as self-reliant as we can be; to live as much as we can from the resources we have at hand; to effectively be productive with as minimal environmental impact as possible; to raise food in an organic manner; and to give back to our community through education or demonstration. We are always learning, as well. Life is always an adventure! We enjoy learning from others and seeing what other people are doing as well. – Bren and Chuck
Pioneer Mountain Homestead
16477 Sharman Lane
James Creek, PA 16657
814-505-6426
"Embracing Everything Farm and Forest"
Disclosure of Material Connection: Some of the links in this page or post may be “affiliate links”. This means that if you click on the link, Pioneer Mountain Homestead, LLC may receive an affiliate commission at no direct cost to you. Pioneer Mountain Homestead, LLC only recommends products or services that the owners, managers, or employees of Pioneer Mountain Homestead, LLC use or believe will add value to the readers of this website. This disclosure is made with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”