I recently caught myself putting a vacuum cleaner on my Christmas list and… sorry but I’m just not ready to be that old.
Luckily John Carr and I (mostly John) compiled this Disaster Gift Guide. Hopefully, we’ve given you lots of ideas for your own Christmas Lists so you don’t get stuck asking for a vacuum cleaner. We like to think we’ve struck a balance between funny, weird, and macabre.
For the walls
NOLA Gothic Print- Hurricane Katrina 15th Anniversary Reprint
This print from Dirty Coast was released following Hurricane Katrina and the levee failure and is being reprinted for the 15th anniversary of the storm.
This is a Disaster podcast (which you should check out) sells this disturbing but very cool print.
Vesuvius by Andy Warhol Reproduction
Buy this as payback to The Whitney for not including Vesuvius in its Death and Disasters Warhol Exhibit.
Map of the Mississippi River Meandering
This is not only colorful but a historically important piece of artwork, showing the movement of the Mississippi River over time.
A classic civil defense poster is a relatively inexpensive gift for your emergency management friends. If you want the vintage feel but don’t like this one, there are a ton of other options.
If you know, you know.
For the closet
We definitely aren’t doing Holiday parties this year but that doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t be wearing seasonally appropriate disaster t-shirts while you work from home.
Golden Girls Hurricane ’91 Sweatshirt
We love all Golden Girls merch but we especially love Golden Girls Hurricane Episode merch.
Shirts that benefit Disaster Relief
If you’ve turned on the news at all this year you’ll know that we have been hit with one disaster after another. A lot of people need help rebuilding their lives. Bonfire.com is a site that sells apparel to help fundraise for local causes. Each piece of apparel has a note about who and what the sale will benefit.
Samantha did not think that this shirt was that funny. Multiple geology students told John it was at least worthy of a breathy nose laugh, possible two. So, it stays on the list.
One more Jaws themed item for good measure.
For the (home) office
Handmade Crochet Coronavirus Stress Ball
I don’t know about you but I have needed a few more stress balls than usual lately. Can’t imagine why. This little guy can help you get out some of that stress, or just sit and mock you from your bookshelf!
Titanic Liquid Wave Paperweight
Have fun on the high seas from the comfort of your desk with this unsinkable seacraft. Leonardo DiCaprio, Kate Winslet, and door sold separately.
This little guy will look great next to your Sharpie-gate bobblehead.
Retro Civil Defense Era Helmet
Hear me out. It can sit on your shelf as a decorative relic of the civil defense era, or it is perfectly functional as PPE. John sometimes wears one at work just to keep his coworkers from wanting to speak to him.
This material is a glass created by an impact likely over the Western Desert of Egypt. While there is still some dispute over the specifics, we do know that it was used for making tools in the Pleistocene era, and as a gemstone by the ancient Egyptians.
There is no shortage of these meteorite pieces for sale on ebay, as the meteor itself broke into thousands of smaller pieces as it rocketed through the sky above Russia.
For the Bébé
I’m not saying the only reason to have a child is so that you can buy these shoes but I’m also not not saying that.
Future Emergency Manager Onesie
Get your future disasterologist/ emergency manager started off with the right gear. I was going to add some 5.11 tactical pants with this outfit but turns out their baby clothes are just as ridiculously priced as their adult ones. Here is a decent substitute if you really want them to fit in in the EOC.
Disasterology Children’s Books
There is quite a variety of hazard and earth science-based children’s books. Magic School Bus is always a great starter to introduce your young ones to hazards and also Lilly Tomlin.
