March 29, 2020

Plan Entertainment for Emergencies

By Jerry Wilson

What Would You Do Without the Internet?

No electricity, no cell coverage and no internet. What are you going to do? None of the normal conveniences or communication methods are available. To some this is the scary part of an emergency or disaster. Never mind the death and destruction. Not being able to call or text someone or surf the net is a terrifying thought all by itself.

The reality of disasters is that you may not have electricity, cell or internet service. This could be hours, days or even weeks. I have seen neighborhoods without any of these services for weeks after a hurricane.

Plan for Entertainment

Yes. I said entertainment.

We as a society have become so accustomed to being entertained every waking moment of our lives. Some people actually are so addicted to electronics that going without them even for a few hours is almost too much for them to stand.

Even in the best of times it is almost assured that electronics will have difficulty lasting more than 24 hours without charging. In a disaster they might not even work due to cell towers being damaged or other infrastructure problems.

No Internet, no cable, no electronics. What are people going to do to occupy their minds?

In a true disaster they will be occupied during the day with survival. Cleaning, repairing and helping others. Looking for fuel for fires to cook over and possibly water to drink. But what about at night? This is what I am addressing here.

Entertainment Ideas

You are going to need to prepare for the down times at night. You are going to have to go back to what families did a couple of decades ago. Possibly even a bit further back in time back to the days before black and white TV. You need to have some of the following:

Scriptures

Books. Not electronic. Real books. Lots of them.

Playing cards. Standard cards as well as other game cards.

Board games. Lots of them. Multiple player games that can occupy entire groups.

Puzzles. Easy to hard. Small to large. 2D and 3D puzzles would also be fun. The dollar store has tons of these.

Sporting balls and accessories.

Colors and coloring books. Plan for the young ones. Even if you don't have any in your family. You might even could use these as barter.

Toys for different ages. Nothing too complicated. Simple dolls, trucks and other such things.

Writing paper, pens and pencils.

Overlooked by Most Preppers

This is an area of supplies that is oft overlooked until it is too late. People take too many of today's luxuries for granted. Most of these will not be available during or after an emergency or disaster. Planning now for entertainment will greatly improve your quality of life when fun and distractions are most wanted.