Every family has favorite holiday traditions and pastimes. But when you spend Christmas in your RV, it can add holiday stress to the occasion. If you’re feeling the holiday blues, here’s how to see the season in a different light.
Tips to Spend Christmas in your RV
Christmas isn’t the same when you’re full-time living in your RV. But this doesn’t mean the holidays can’t be awesome. Celebrating the holidays in your RV is an opportunity to create even better memories and make new traditions!
This is how you can make the most of the holidays when you’re an RVer:
- Travel to new destinations with winter weather you enjoy
- Get to know new people and their Christmas traditions
- Eat out at new places and learn local holiday food customs
Prepare for Christmas in Your RV
Spending Christmas Day in your RV will be a lot different than spending it in your home with family and friends. That doesn’t mean holiday preparation is any less fun or exciting. Here’s a list of 11 Tips for you to LOVE spending Christmas in your RV this year and every year!
Embrace Winter RVing Weather
Before all of the holiday fun kicks off, watch out for the weather. Depending on where you are, you could be having a REALLY white Christmas. Be prepared for weather emergencies and RV disasters on the road. Make an emergency kit. Fill it with things like:
- Prescription and non-prescription medications
- Blankets or sleeping bags
- Basic tools
- Trash bags
- Extra clothing
- Enough food and water for each person for at least three days
- Food and medications for animals traveling with us
- Extra baby items, such as diapers, wipes and formula
- Sturdy, comfortable shoes
- Fire extinguisher
- Matches (waterproof or in a waterproof container)
- Mess kits (plates, utensils, cups)
- Paper towels
Pack an RV repair kit for the RV in case anything should go awry in the cold weather.
If you plan to travel for the Christmas holiday, prepare the RV for winter driving and the possibility of camping in a storm. Carry chains and follow weather reports.
Decorate with a Real Christmas Tree
An amazing part of spending Christmas away from home is the decorating – especially when it comes to picking out a tree. You could go the artificial route and find a fake, yet still beautiful tree that can fit the dimensions of your RV.
However, if you have the opportunity to do so, take advantage of the fact that you are outdoors and camping!
The U.S. Forest Service allows you to cut down your very own tree for Christmas, in designated places. Just make sure you have a permit before you go around cutting down a tree to haul into your RV. Better yet, why not just decorate a living tree outdoors, and call it good? You’ll save a tree and won’t cram your RV with pine needles and clutter.
Get Creative, RV-Friendly Gifts
RV space is limited as you know. Get rid of things you aren’t using and make room for awesome holiday gifts for RVers!
Living in a tight space also means you’re going to need to get creative with where you hide Christmas gifts. Make the most of those empty basement areas that don’t get used.
How to Decorate your RV for Christmas
One of the best parts of Christmas for me and my family has always been decorating. While it’s a small space, we still have fun decorating both the interior and exterior of our RV. You can do the same!
Consider decorating your RV for the holidays with these ideas:
- Deck out the exterior with lights and a wreath
- Place mini Christmas trees inside
- Hang your stockings wherever they fit
- Decorate your campsite
- Warm up your RV by baking holiday treats
If you don’t have enough room to store all of those Christmas decorations, keep the decorating simple. Have fun and find new ways to keep the spirit glowing.
Mail your Gifts from Towns Named After Christmas
Get real festive by mailing your packages from U.S. towns named after Christmas! For example:
- Christmas, Florida: In this town, you can visit a Christmas Tree that stays up and decorated all year long! Or take a visit to their very own Christmas Museum! Right in Christmas itself is an old fort! Fort Christmas Holiday Park is a great place for you to take the kids for an educational experience before the holidays really begin. Another Perk: It’s only 50 Miles from Orlando!
- Santa Claus, Indiana: Visiting the Old Post Office here is a timeless tradition. You could send out your very own Christmas Package from Santa Claus and make one child really happy! Take a trip to Santa’s Candy Castle and indulge your sweet tooth! At his Candy Castle, Santa offers a variety of candy and hot cocoa for everyone who believes in his name! Spend a day at Holiday World & Splashin’ Safari! Here you can spend the day riding Roller Coasters and other fun rides at a great Holiday Themed Amusement Park!
- And there’s more, like Noelle, Missouri, Rudolph, Wisconsin, Joy, Illinois, and Christmas Valley, Oregon! Just about wherever you are spending Christmas in your RV you can find a festive town to embrace the season.
What to Do on Your Christmas RV Holiday
Just as the build-up for Christmas Day is fun and exciting, you can have fun on Christmas Day too. Take advantage of your time spent in the RV and make some serious Christmas memories! These 6 Essential Tips guaranteed to help you have a great Christmas in your RV!
Celebrate Somewhere Fun!
The best thing about spending your holiday in an RV is the complete mobility you have. You can go and do whatever you want, wherever you want!
Take a trip someplace fun and exciting for the whole family! There are tons of places around the country that celebrate the holidays in a big way.
You don’t have to stay cramped in the RV all day. Go out and have fun. Christmas is all about spending time with the ones you love, so have some fun with it.
Make new memories for the kids, rather than giving them loads of gifts, for something that lasts a whole lot longer.
Remember, gifts are temporary. Experiences last a lifetime!
Have Christmas Dinner with Families at the RV Park
One of the greatest things about camping out is that you can meet all kinds of people from all over the country. So, why not take advantage of that?
On Christmas Day, get together with some of the other people camping out at the RV Park and host your very own RVing holidays Christmas dinner!
Everyone can contribute something to the dinner, and you could set up a large table outdoors to decorate and eat your dinner together.
The kitchen space may seem small, but since everyone is contributing their part to the dinner, you aren’t going to need a ton of space anyway. So, just have fun with it!
Spend your holiday by devoting quality time with new friends!
Go Out for Christmas Dinner
If you aren’t one for meeting new people or socializing in big groups – take your family out to dinner! This could become a classic RV holiday tradition for the whole family
Doing this means you don’t have to go through the hassle of making your own Christmas Dinner with the small kitchen space in your RV.
Have a White Elephant Gift Exchange
This idea requires coordination with the other families in the RV Park. However, if you put in the effort – this could be a memory your family treasures for years to come. Find a few families willing to participate in the gift exchange. Set a budget for spending.
When the day comes for the exchange, play the game as you typically would. Everyone draws a number and gifts are exchanged — or stolen! — in that order.
Keep going until all of the gifts have stolen no more than two times, and everything has been unwrapped!
Go Caroling Around the RV Park
Brighten up another camper’s day by bringing the holiday spirit to them! Pick some of your favorite Christmas songs or hymns and sing them from RV to RV at the park.
This is something the whole family can participate in. It’s a great service to bring smiles to the faces of others, even if you don’t know who they are.
This could give you the opportunity to get to know some new people and make some great new friends!
Donate Your Decorations When You are Done With Them!
A great part of spending Christmas in the RV is your ability to enjoy the simplicity of holidays for that year. You don’t need to get extravagant with the decorations – especially if you plan on spending Christmas at home next year.
So, when all is said and done, why not try to give back a bit? When you are done with your decorations, donate them to your local thrift store. But, why not allow someone else to enjoy those decorations as much as you did?
Extra Tips to Keep RV Holiday Traditions Alive
Everyone has their own favorite traditions at Christmastime, but here are a couple of extra things you can do to keep the Holiday feeling alive while on the road.
- Watch a Christmas Movie: Being in tight quarters in the winter is the perfect chance for you to get cozy with your loved one and watch a Christmas classic together. Grab a few blankets, and settle in!
- Go to a Candlelight Church Service: Although you may not be a part of the local congregation, this is a good way to remind your family of the real reason we celebrate the Christmas Season.
- Visit a Live Nativity: This includes something for everyone. Live Nativities often have animals for the children to pet, and parents still get to teach their children about the importance of the Christmas Holiday.
- Volunteer: Try volunteering at a Local Food Bank or Soup Kitchen on Christmas Morning. Christmas is all about being grateful and giving to those less fortunate than yourself. This is a great opportunity for families with children.
When you spend Christmas in your RV, it brings you closer to nature during a time of year when you would normally be stuck inside. From snowfall to sledding, RVing during the holidays puts you and your RV family closer to the holiday festivities than ever before.
