As Christmas grows ever nearer, many outdoorsmen and women begin to anticipate what they might find under the tree on the morning of the Twenty-Fifth. I think I'm safe in saying that they won't be having visions of sugar plums. People who spend a considerable amount of their recreational time outdoors can be, at once, both easy and difficult to please when it comes to presents.

Certainly, there are the usual "safe" gifts – socks, gloves, hats, shirts, etc. – but you might want to reconsider theme-oriented gifts that you believe they need in recreating until you thoroughly but casually question them as to what they truly need and want. Be careful though, since they may come back with things like a new ATV, SUV, lakeside cottage, hunting cabin, or an African safari. I had one friend who was disappointed because his wife didn't get all his "hints" about a two-week fishing trip to Alaska. The fact he got a new snowblower instead didn't seem to diminish his disappointment. Poor lad. But his wife could've just as easily given him a new snow shovel, so give her some credit, too.