Buying gifts for homesteaders isn’t easy. Most people who follow this lifestyle value minimalism and prefer to own fewer possessions. But there’s no reason to despair; with a little foresight, you can still choose the perfect gift.
This guide will share the 46 best gift ideas for homesteaders so you can share some joy this season.
And if you are looking for a DIY gift idea, take a look at our article here: 15 Delightful DIY Gifts For Homesteaders & Gardeners.
Books and Resource Tools
The best gift is often knowledge, and these books and resource tools are sure to delight any homesteader.
1. Mini Farming: Self-Sufficiency on ¼ Acre by Brett L. Markham: Space should never be a limitation for your homesteading dreams. This bestseller shows you how you can do more with less to achieve your goals of personal self-sufficiency.
2. The Backyard Homestead Guide to Raising Farm Animals by Gail Dameror: Whether you’re looking to start a small flock or begin milking your own cows, this straightforward guide shares what you need to know to get started with a variety of livestock.
3. The Nourished Kitchen by Jennifer McGruther: For those looking to tap into traditional styles of cooking, the Nourished Kitchen offers an approachable guide for farm-to-table cuisine that helps you learn to use homesteading staples with less waste.
4. Small-Batch Preserving by Ellie Top and Margaret Howard: Gift the potential for a full pantry to your homesteading friend with this book dedicated to preservation methods for the family-scale. It includes over 300 recipes for year-round use.
5. The Four Season Farm Gardener’s Cookbook by Barbara Damrosch: Putting summer’s bounty to use isn’t hard, but what is the homestead cook supposed to do in the leaner months? This engaging cookbook will inspire you to find uses for the produce that’s in season throughout the year for a garden that keeps on giving.
6. Homesteaders of America Membership: HOA is an engaging community devoted to improving personal self-sufficiency and cultivating a love of the land. A year-long VIP membership to makes an excellent gift with unlimited access to an online resource library, complete with videos, ebooks, virtual courses, and more.
7. Homesteading Magazine Subscription: Consider treating your homesteading friend to a full year of inspiration with a magazine devoted to back-to-the-land living like Mother Earth News, Capper’s Farm, Grit, Heirloom Gardener, and more. You can extend the benefits further with a USB drive for access to the full Grit Magazine archive from 2006-2018. Take a look at our article sharing the best homesteading and gardening magazine subscriptions.
8. GrowVeg Membership: Help a homesteader have their best garden ever with a membership to a GrowVeg garden planner account. Regardless of growing style, this tool can be used to experiment with different layouts and save the time and hassle of planning it out on paper.
9. Herbmentor Course: Give the plant enthusiast in your life access to this online herbal learning tool that gives you on-demand access to herbal courses and full access to an online community of plant lovers. As a bonus, course members get 10% off all orders from Mountain Rose Herbs.
Related Reading: Top 10 Homesteading & Gardening Books
Kitchen Tools
Make things easier in the homestead kitchen with a gift of one of these tools.
10. KitchenAid Mixer: These mixers have survived the test of time because they make baking everything from yeasty breads to brownies all but effortless. Best of all, there are dozens of color options to choose from online.
11. Soy and Nut Milk Maker: If your homesteading friend has gone dairy-free and developed a passion for nut milks, consider gifting them the SoyaJoy Soy Milk Maker. This natural nut milk maker will turn almonds, soy nuts, cashews, and any other variety into creamy and nutritious milk.
12. Instant Pot: Electric pressure canners are having a moment- they make almost every cooking task easier (and more delicious) than traditional methods. And as a bonus, they use less electricity than cooking on the stove. Buy one for yourself as well, and then check out these 19 uses for an Instant Pot and 24 Instant Pot accessories that will make yours even more versatile.
13. Butter Churn: Homemade butter is a simple luxury of the homestead lifestyle. Give your friend the gift of making their own, and you might later benefit when invited over to dinner. The Kilner Butter Churner blends classic style with modern convenience in a kitchen tool you’ll actually want to display.
14. Home Pasteurizer: For those who own dairy animals, milk safety can be a concern. Gift this home pasteurizer to your favorite homesteader, and you know you’re giving them something they can use for years. Up to two gallons can be pasteurized at a time, rendering it perfect for a small herd.
15. Extra Canning Jars: If you want to give something you can be sure will be used and appreciated, gift a homesteader extra canning jars and lids. No matter how many someone might think they have stocked away, these jars become a precious commodity by the height of canning season, and having extras on hand is a blessing.
16. Standing Stone Farms Ultimate Cheesemaking Kit: This beginning cheesemaking gift will help even novices enjoy homemade cheese. It contains all the ingredients necessary to make hundreds of varieties- all you need is the milk. In total, the kit will make between 25-30 pounds of cheese.
17. Egg Basket: Anyone with a backyard flock of birds knows the dismay that comes from accidentally cracking the bounty on the walk back to the house. This wire basket makes collecting eggs failproof, and it’s cute enough to be displayed on the counter after.
18. Breadbox: This old-fashioned tool is making a comeback. Breadboxes are an excellent way to extend the shelf-life of your homemade bread, and they look cute sitting on almost any countertop.
19. Wondermill Grain Grinder: Those who have tasted the difference freshly ground grain makes in bread know how hard it is to go back to stale, store-bought flours. Wondermill’s electric grain mill is powerful enough for home and professional use, and it can grind over 100 pounds of grain in just an hour. It’s a perfect gift for the home baker.
20. Northern Brewer Beermaking Kit: Learning how to brew your own beer is a gratifying hobby, and a complete beer making set is the perfect gift for the craft beer enthusiast in your life. This set supplies you with everything you need for five gallons of beer, and you can reuse the supplies with fresh ingredients for long after.
21. Fermentation Kit: Encourage kitchen experimentations from an enthusiastic home preserver with this home fermentation kit. It comes with enough supplies to ferment four quarts of produce at a time for a natural probiotic supply.
22. La Chamba Stew Pot: Clay pots are one of the first tools humans ever used to cook food, and they remain just as useful today. These pots are made from natural unglazed clay and have a four-quart capacity. They are entirely free of toxins and can be used on any stovetop as well as on the grill or in the oven or microwave.
23. Stovetop Waffle Iron: Few gifts are better appreciated than fresh waffles. This cast iron waffle maker is perfect for the off-grid lifestyle and is easy to master even over an open fire. You can also use it indoors over a gas stove.
Crafting Supplies
Long winter nights leave lots of time for homestead projects. These gifts might inspire a new hobby.
24. Ashford Spinning Wheel: For those in your life who love textiles or who own a herd of sheep or alpacas, a spinning wheel may be a much-appreciated gift to bring their passion to the next level. This traditional style spinning wheel is one of the most popular in the world, and it is designed to be simple to operate, even for complete beginners. Help your friend out further with Storey Basics How to Spin Book for Self-Reliance by Beth Smith.
25. Knitting Needle Set: There’s no better way to while away the winter hours than with a knitting needle in hand. This interchangeable circular knitting needle set makes it possible to knit projects at any size from 3 to 48, and it comes with a small traveling case for extra convenience. Make sure you buy some all-natural yarn to serve as inspiration for future projects.
26. Off-Grid Sewing Machine: Give the homesteader in your life a way to work on sewing projects without relying on outside power sources with a traditional style treadle sewing machine. It takes just minutes to learn the operating technique, and then the machines become almost as efficient and versatile as electric models.
Note: to use this model of sewing machine you will also need a treadle operated sewing table.
Home Supplies
Outfit the homestead house for optimal efficiency with one of these gifts.
27. The Homestead Box: This unique gift idea allows you to send a curated collection of homestead tools based around a theme, such as gardening, keeping chickens, emergency preparedness, and more. Each box contains tools and resource materials to help your giftee hone their skills.
28. Oil Lamps: Gift unlimited light this holiday season with a set of oil lamps. Easy and safe to run; these lamps ensure your friend won’t be stuck in darkness during a power outage in the country. Make sure you purchase smokeless paraffin lamp oil to go with them.
29. Home Soapmaking Kit: Give the budding soapmaker in your life the tools they need to make homemade bathing products with this comprehensive shea butter making kit. It comes with the supplies necessary to experiment with four types of soap, and the molds can be reused long after if you purchase more supplies.
30. Cast Iron Bell: Add some nostalgia to the homestead with a cast iron dinner bell. This fully-functioning replica produces a resounding tone that is reminiscent of farm days long past. Cute and functional, it’s sure to let the kids know when it’s time for dinner.
31. Camppark Trail Camera: Give your favorite nature lover the tools to see what’s happening around them with this trail camera. It offers 120-degree detecting range motion and activated night vision to ensure you get the shot. Set it up in any tree and check the SD card several weeks later to see what’s walked past in the meantime.
32. AirMax Wood Stove Fan: When placed on top of a wood stove, this fan blows hot air in whatever direction you point it, which boosts the heating efficiency of the stove. They can save you up to 18% in fuel by improving your home’s heat distribution.
33. Boot Scraper: Help your favorite homesteader keep their home clean with this boot scraper, designed to pull mud off boots before it gets tracked inside. The simple, rugged design accomplishes precisely what it promises without getting torn down from use.
34. Hand Crank Clothes Wringer: For the friend that wants to be self-sufficient, this hand crank clothes wringer will be a welcome gift. This useful tool saves your hands and wrists by wringing water from clothing to dramatically speed up the drying time.
35. Canvas Log Carrier: Wood stoves and fireplaces might be charming, but bringing in enough wood to run them can be messy and backbreaking. This durable army green tote makes transporting wood simple, so you can bring in everything you need in one trip.
36. Cold Frame: This simple season extender makes an excellent gift for gardening enthusiasts. It’s easy to construct as a free-standing structure or against any building, and it concentrates sunlight inside for cozy growing conditions even on chilly days.
37. Personal Hot Water Bottle: Take the chill out of cold nights with a gift set of hot water bottles. Easy to fill and use, these bottles can be placed in your bed or on sore muscles as warming relief. The included knitted cover insulates the bag to keep it warm for hours.
38. EasyPrep Instant Favorites Food Storage Kit: For those who always want to be prepared, an EasyPrep Food Storage kit is a thoughtful gift. It comes with 236 servings and has a shelf life of over 25 years, ensuring that it’s always ready to use in times of need. Each entre is individually sealed in mylar pouches, meaning that all you need to do is add water before you serve them.
39. Survival Essentials Seed Bank: This collection of heirloom seeds is designed to set you up for success, no matter the disaster. The kit includes more than 20,000 vegetable, fruit, medicinal, and culinary plant seeds that are designed to survive in all nine hardiness zones. It also comes with instructions for long-term storage to ensure they’re fresh and healthy when you need to use them.
40. Rite in the Rain Waterproof Journal: All homesteaders know the importance of observation, but it’s not always convenient to take notes. The Rite in the Rain journal gives you a waterproof way to log your thoughts right in the field so that you don’t forget them again by the time you get inside.
41. Seedmaster Tray: Your gift can be unlimited fresh sprouts this year with this seed sprouter tray designed to make it simple to grow healthy sprouts for salads, sandwiches, soup, and more. This BPA-free kit can be used hundreds of times with a variety of seed types.
42. Hand-Carved Farm Sign: Celebrate the care and attention that goes into naming a homestead with a handmade sign. Just order a sign on Amazon, and within two weeks, you’ll get a custom-made sign celebrating your property. This one of a kind gift is one that will be displayed for years.
Personal Care Products
Everyone, even homesteaders, craves some occasional pampering. These gifts will help you come through.
43. Working Hands Cream: Mending fences, chopping wood, and fixing broken engines can give your hands a beating, so O’Keeffe’s Working Hands Cream will be a welcome gift. This concentrated balm protects, relieves, and heals sore, chapped hands and creates a protective moisture barrier.
44. Dewalt Heated Jacket for Women: Being cold on the homestead is a miserable experience, so give the gift of warmth with this heated jacket. It runs off Dewalt 12V max batteries (the same ones used with the brand’s power tools) and includes a wind and water-resistant outer cover for long-lasting heat retention. The only problem is you may need to purchase more than one, lest you make enemies with those who don’t receive it.
45. Smartwool Socks: Wool socks are an underrated holiday gift, especially for the homesteader who has to spend chilly mornings out in the barn. Smartwool socks are meant to last, and they offer warm insulation even in freezing weather.
46. Essential Oil Purse: Transporting essentials oils can get tricky. If the fragile bottles knock together and break, you’re out a lot of expensive product. Sew Grown’s cute essential oil bags offer padded protection for multiple bottles at once, and each design is based on popular 19th or 20th-century fabric prints. They also include an alder wood diffuser tag so you can enjoy the oils as you travel.
It’s not too late to choose some of the best gifts for homesteaders. Use this list as inspiration for this season’s shopping, and you’ll likely find plenty of items you’ll also purchase for yourself.
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