Meet the prepper and homesteader who already has her Christmas dinner ready and preserved four months early, and she says it doesn’t cost her a penny.
Gubba, 23, who lives just outside of Seattle, Washington, starts planning and preparing for the festive season in August to make sure it all goes smoothly on the day. The content creator lives on a 30-acre farm and harvests vegetables such as potatoes and carrots in late summer and preserves them by canning.
She picks the apples in August and September and cooks up her apple pie filling complete with spices, ready to bake in pastry come Christmas day.
“My family does apple pies, so I am specifically preparing that,” Gubba said. “I cook the apple pie filling, put it in a clear gel to preserve it for canning. It’s ready to pour it into the pie.”
Gubba’s family traditionally has ham for Christmas dinner, which she sources from a local farmer and barters for with her homemade honey.
Previously a city girl, she used to spend up to $500 on Christmas dinner, but says now, by growing and preserving it, she makes it for free.
“I start prepping for Christmas in late summer,” she said. “This is my harvest season. I get everything preserved, ready to go. It’s so easy. It’s a Christmas dinner for free—apart from my time.”
Gubba became self-sufficient after witnessing people “fighting for food” during the COVID-19 pandemic and seeing the empty shelves at the local supermarket.
She moved out of the city and taught herself to grow fruit and vegetables and prepare for disasters. The 23-year-old now lives with her five shepherd dogs and says she has enough food to last her for five years.
“I have apple, pear, peach, tangerine, and cherry trees,” she said. “And I grow raspberries, blackberries, and blueberries.
“They are great to make jams, pie fillings, or even just for freezing to use later in a smoothie. I grow a wide variety of vegetables.”
Gubba preserves her food using a variety of methods, such as canning and freeze-drying, and does the same for the vegetables she uses to make Christmas dinner. She also juices her apples so she’s ready to make a warm drink when December rolls around.
“I am canning up juice,” she said. “On the day, I can warm it up over the stove. It’s a warm hearty drink.”
Gubba has already pre-made her canned corn and mashed potato, which she adds water to and cooks when she wants to eat it. She is also preparing her gifts early by creating hampers for her friends and family using her homestead products.
“I’m filling it with jams and chutneys, and I just harvested honey,” she said. “I’ll be making jerky too.”
The young woman will also be using branches and dried flowers from her land to make garlands and decorations, which she has already started collecting. Gubba also has pine trees growing on her land, one of which she will use for her Christmas tree and then reuse as goat feed after the festive period.
Gubba says she wants to show others how easy it can be to prepare—to make your life easier on the day.
She uses a three-layered storage system and a pantry to organize her fresh produce, canned goods, boxed goods, and freeze-dried goods but says anyone can make space to store food.
“Everyone can have a food storage,” she said. “You can keep food under your bed. I have plenty of food for myself and my neighbors. I am ready for any situation.”
- August: Harvests vegetables such as potatoes, carrots, and corn in late summer and starts to preserve them.
- September: Picks apples and cooks apple pie filling and juice ready for warming up.
- September/ October: Collects and preserves flowers, pine cones, and branches for garlands.
- November/ December: Makes up the garlands and cuts a pine tree from her land. Barters for her ham.
- Christmas Day: Cooks up the preserved food.
