We spent seven days in the dark this October. During that time, I spent a great deal of time evaluating our disaster supplies.

1. The biggest problem was the lack of a generator. So, that’s what I want for the holidays. Forget jewelry and perfume. Give me 10,000 watts. We’re on a budget right now, so I think that I prefer portable units.

2. Candles, candles, candles. Our living room looked like an Elton John video. It was ablaze. I even broke out the crystal wedding candleholders for the first time. Crate and Barrel’s huge fireplace candelabra was in heavy rotation. I also love the Wolfard Oil Lamp for its simplicity and modern shape.

3. The Biolite camp stove. Charging your iPhone and portable games and radio is very, very, very important. We kept returning to the gym of a local elementary school to charge our equipment. If we don’t acquire a generator this year, we’ll definitely get this.

4. We were highly dependent on our portable, battery charged radio. I’ve recommended Tivoli Audio PAL  before and I’ll do it again. It works, and it’s beautiful.

5. Coffee is a big issue. I do not function without copious amounts of coffee. We have the fancy, timer, self-grinding kind, which was entirely useless after the storm. Next time, I’ll have a bag of ground coffee waiting and a coffee press.