DIY

If I had to leave my home in a hurry in an emergency, this is what I would grab.

Over the years, my Leatherman has gotten me out of many a jam and fixed many a broken thing of mine. I honestly can't imagine life without it. If you don't have one, you need one. You can literally fix just about anything with just this one piece of equipment. If MacGyver had had one of these, his life would have been so much easier.

What other product comes with a 25-year warranty? Not only that, but Leatherman is still proudly made in the USA in their state-of-the-art Oregon manufacturing facility. This is a DIY gift that is sure to be appreciated.

Hey, if you're going to spend the money and buy a gift these days, why not buy gifts that keep giving, like sewing machines? My grandmother used her sewing machine for, like, 50 years. Seriously, I think it was 50 years.

Have you noticed that clothing is getting much more expensive?

I was going to buy a pair of socks the other day but the cheapest pair was four bucks -- and that was half price! Yipes! Needless to say, I went to the dollar store and got a sewing kit instead. It took a little while, but I managed to darn all my socks. That saved me lots of money if you add it up.

Then it dawned on me: Some people actually enjoy sewing!

That is how this gift idea was born.

Solar backup power might be the best gift you can get for your family. This blog has promoted other DIY solar systems that are less complete than this one. The Sunforce kit makes it easy to feed directly to the grid to reduce your electricity bill or to use a bank of batteries to store the power for when the lights go out.

Best of all, these things are becoming really cheap. At the time of this writing, it is basically half-price off just a few months ago. This little baby can pay for itself within a year or two in most parts of the United States. It is a snap to assemble -- the entire system can be set up in one afternoon.

Not only is it a great gift, it is one heck of an investment!

PS -- by the way, it is also possible to build your own backup solar power kit -- which, watt-for-watt, is an economical option.

The Denali 115-Piece Home Repair Tool Kit is one of the best DIY gifts. These are sturdy tools that you can keep for a lifetime. More than that, this comprehensive hand tool kit contains all the small tools you will need for almost any job. At under 60 bucks right now, I don't see how you can go wrong. How many repairs do you need to do for that to pay for itself?

The set comes in a handy bag so it's easy to keep things organized and easy to go mobile if need be.

This one's a total no-brainer. Even if you're not looking for a gift idea, get one of these for yourself. At least click through the link below and read the reviews. People love this product. I am sure you will, too. If you are interested in purchasing the product, you should do it through the link below to ensure the lowest price.

Denali 115-Piece Home Repair Tool Kit

Candles make memories.

I have this candle that my grandmother made for me. It's enormous. It had been around for years. I lit it for the first time when she died. Every so often, I light it and take a bath in candlelight. Those are special times.

It's funny how many warm memories are wrapped up in candles. Who doesn't remember the way the candlelight glowed with passion in your lover's eyes? Who doesn't remember festive, candlelit holiday dinners animated by tiny flames dancing in delight?

If you don't have those fond memories, it's never too late to make them.

Anyway, candle making is a serious business, too.

You should check out this guide to making your own candles.

How about a crafting kit for that kid lover in your life?

Do you want to keep children constructively occupied and satisfied? Of course you do. If you want them to grow into productive, creative adults, build those good habits young. Everyone knows that.

Imagine a room full of children happily crafting.

Could anything be more precious?

This is one of the easiest and most profitable ways to draw power from the sun

This step-by-step guide makes it simple to build your own solar hot water heating system.

How much do you spend on heating your home? Free hot water from the sun can cut your heating bills substantially. It works in almost any climate and is so cheap to build that it would even pay for itself in cloudier areas after a few years.

Come to think of it, building solar hot water heaters could even be a good business once you get good at it.

Get this guide and have it all right in front of you. If you can put together a shelf from IKEA, you can build one of these systems.

You'd better get it right now just to make sure you don't forget.

"Measure twice, cut once."

Easier said than done. This book takes some pretty complicated information and puts it into plain English. Whether your handyman (or woman) is a professional contractor or a weekend warrior doing improvements around the house, they are are sure to gain something from reading this.

Let's face it, with the price of lumber these days, if this book saves you one bad cut, it pays for itself. But this book does a lot more than that: It can transform the novice into a master. There is a lot more to cutting and layout than meets the eye, and as most carpenters know, this is the most important part of carpentry. Even master carpenters will find this to be a valuable resource.

It might just be the perfect holiday gift that keeps giving for years to come.

Someday when I have a plot of dirt to call my own...

... I am going to grow more of my own vegetables. The summer I spent growing organic vegetables was one of the best of my entire life. I remember the carrots especially. If you have never tasted a fresh organic carrot -- the crisp, juicy, nourishing sweetness of it -- you have not lived.

(If you don't have time to read this little rant click here to get started right now.)

Soap is the biggest marketing scam of them all.

Stick it to the Man by making your own!

The supermarket has an entire aisle devoted to one of the simplest products in the world, a product so simple our cavepeople ancestors likely invented it long before the wheel: Soap.

You know what I think every time I pass that ridiculous aisle?

I think, "Why, for gosh darned sakes, do we buy soap?"