Christmas Gift Ideas!

It's Christmas time again and if you're like me, you find all sorts of cool stuff for yourself but nothing for everyone else on your list!  Ken & I rarely shop for ourselves throughout the year, but in December we cave in .. there's so many great deals!  I've put together a list of items that we've found and are looking forward to getting from Santa.  These items aren't expensive, and would make a great gift for the outdoor lover ... or yourself!

We've been wanting a pair of binoculars for a while now, and I've been researching them a lot lately.  With a budget of $100 or less, I found these Bushnell binoculars that had great reviews (read here) and were only $60 bucks!  These binoculars are waterproof and fog-proof too!

Another item that I've been keeping an eye on for a while is the Aquabot high-pressure water bottle.  This bottle is $25 and has been recommend by Carolyn at The Boat Galley as a great way to rinse off dishes (we won't have a watermaker so water conservation will be priority on Nirvana), sandy feet, snorkel gear, etc.  This is in Santa's bag and I hope it works as good as Carolyn says it does!

Once we move onto Nirvana, we'll need all sorts of stuff to live aboard comfortably.  A good set of cooking pans that can easily fit into each other is a must for our 30 foot boat!  I'd been looking at the Magma nesting pots that start at around $100 a set, but when I found the 7 pc. Stansport nesting set for only $49.92 I had to order them! (Actually, this deal is only for "Prime" members, so I had my daughter order for me). They're stainless steel and have great reviews.  The only negative that I found was that it only came with one handle, and at least one more handle would make cooking easier so that the handle doesn't have to be removed while cooking.  After some research, I found that Stansport sells replacement handles on their site.  They're only $9.99, but the shipping was about $16 bucks .. ouch!  I called Stansport to inquire about some other handles, but they're claiming that only their handle will work on these pots.  I also searched the internet for other places to buy the handle .. no such luck!  For now, I'm holding off on buying an extra handle ... maybe a good set of pot grippers would suffice?

Even though we're still living in a condo, we've gone through several manual can openers and had problems with the moving parts rusting.  I'd been wanting to find a can opener that had no moving parts for when we live on Nirvana, and after cutting myself it was time to find one!  After some research, I bought this Japanese can opener a few months ago.  At just over $8 bucks, this can opener is worth it!  It's heavy-duty, well made and sharp.  It's the perfect size to hold in your hand, and you just cut the can with a back & forth motion .. we love it!  This would make a great stocking stuffer ...


These solar-powered Luci Lights seem to be the new rage with cruisers, so they're on my "wish list" from Santa!  There are different options, but I like these color changing ones!  These are not only solar-powered with LED lights, but they're also inflatable for easy storage.




Speaking of storage, these gear hammocks are also on our wish list.  Since Nirvana is only a 30 footer, we need creative ways to store our stuff!

When we found this inflatable 2-person kayak with paddles & pump on a one-day sale for $70 bucks, we went for it and ordered it!  It's now just over $86, but it still seems like a great deal to us.  Santa's already delivered this, and it seems like good quality.  We're anxious to inflate this and try it out, but it's winter now so we'll wait till Spring.  The kayak has great reviews and came in a duffel bag for storage too!

I've mentioned this book before, but I'll mention it again since most water lovers are secret "Parrot Heads"!  This was an interesting read about Jimmy Buffett's reflection on life as he turned fifty.

I can't review most of these items just yet, as some are on their way and some won't be used until we're living on Nirvana in the Spring.  I'll keep you updated on our thoughts, and if you purchase any of these let us know too!

As a reminder, we do have an Amazon associates account which means that if you purchase anything from these links we'll make a few bucks .. or cents!  You won't pay any more than normal, and you'll be adding to our cruising kitty .. which definitely needs some padding!  Even if you don't order these particular items, just by clicking on them and then ordering on Amazon during that visit .. we'll be rewarded!  

Happy shopping .. and hope you all have a "Merry Christmas" and amazing New Year!

Hasta luego .. until then.  Mid-Life Cruising!