Thanksgiving hasn’t even arrived, and I am already thinking about Christmas gifts for family and friends. I feel like Christmas tries to arrive earlier each year — and here I am writing an article that is only going to contribute to that trend.
My intention is to hopefully spare some of you from the madness of Black Friday crowds — though that kind of excursion is an exciting “Olympic” event for those who are properly coached and trained. There is a simpler way to fill those Christmas wish lists, especially for those who are hard to buy for.
Shop at your local Fish and Game office.
For your favorite hunter or angler of any age, consider buying a gift certificate that can be used toward the purchase of licenses, tags or permits. Attach the certificate to a box of shotgun shells or to a headlamp or stuffed inside a pair of new wool socks, and you have a fun and useful gift any sportsperson would be thrilled to receive.
Keep in mind that certificates must be redeemed at a Fish and Game office, but the great thing is that a gift certificate from Fish and Game is never the wrong size or wrong color for those on your list. For those of you who tend to wait until the last minute, gift certificates can be purchased any time — even on Dec. 24.
Maybe you have a wildlife watcher in the family. Both the “Idaho Birding Trail Guide” priced at $5 and the “Idaho Watchable Wildlife Guide” priced at $10 make great gifts at great prices. Both guides are filled with beautiful color pictures and a wealth of information about Idaho’s wildlife and viewing areas. And money generated from the sale of these books supports Fish and Game’s non-game program.
The Fish and Game office in Pocatello also has a nice selection of extraordinary pencil sketches by the late Pocatello artist Edson Fichter. Unframed prints showcasing various wildlife species come in all sizes and start as low as $15. All money generated from the purchases of the Edson Fichter prints goes toward the continual maintenance and improvements of the wonderful Edson Fichter Nature Area in Pocatello near Indian Hills Elementary School.
Of course, it doesn’t take money to remember family and friends during the holidays or to simply spend time together. It is fun and inexpensive to just get outside and enjoy Idaho’s backyard.
Get your kids bundled up for an outdoor excursion and play “Outdoor Bingo." You can make your own Bingo cards out of small square pieces of poster board. Using a permanent marker and a ruler, divide the square up into equally spaced columns and rows. Maybe start off with three rows by three columns, though you can make your Bingo cards larger if you would like.
In each little square on the card, place a picture or a sticker of an animal, plant or landscape feature you might encounter on your adventure. Though you can reuse pictures for each card, be sure to vary the pattern a bit so that each card is different. And, don’t forget, the center square is labeled “free space” — everyone gets to mark that one off.
During your outing, keep an eye out for birds, wildlife tracks, deer, a creek, an icicle, an animal’s burrow — and mark them on your Bingo card. If you laminate the cards, you can use dry erase pens for marking the squares. That way the cards can be used multiple times. Wrap the cards up with ribbon, attach some packets of instant cocoa to enjoy when your game is over, and you have a fun stocking stuffer that promises to deliver on hours of outdoor fun and quality family time.
Hopefully, these gift giving ideas will help you go a little “wild” this holiday season without spending many “bucks" and will help build some great outdoor memories for you and yours.
Jennifer Jackson is the regional conservation educator for the Idaho Department of Fish and Game, southeast region.
