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The holiday season has officially arrived and if you haven’t already, it’s time to think about what you will do to celebrate. Over the years, we’ve had a lot of different RV Christmas adventures. Some were one time experiences and others have become traditions that our family has grown to love, but all have given us precious memories that we will treasure for years to come.
In this article, I will outline some of our very favorite RV Christmas traditions and experiences. If you aren’t sure what to do for your RV Christmas celebration, pick and choose from this list. I promise you can’t go wrong.
Cookie Decorating With Friends
We decorate cookies every year. That said, our favorite cookie decorating experiences have been with campground friends. We’ve attended campground hosted cookie decorating events, gingerbread house decorating days hosted by fellow RVing families, and even hosted small cookie decorating shindigs on our own site.
This is a great way to connect with your RV neighbors and get to know one another while enjoying a beloved holiday tradition. Of course, the delicious results are also a nice bonus!
Cutting Our Own Christmas Tree
One of my all time favorite RV Christmas memories? The time we went into a national forest in Florida and cut our own Christmas tree with our RVing friends. I had never cut my own Christmas tree before, and I certainly didn’t know you could do so in a national forest, so this was all new and exciting for me.
What I learned is that you can actually cut your own Christmas tree in national forests all across the country. All you have to do is snag a Christmas Tree permit for about $15 (make sure you get a permit for the forest you plan to visit specifically) and then head into the forest with the tools to cut and carry your tree back to your RV.
Note that walking into these forests can involve walking through overgrown areas with spiny plants. Make sure to dress accordingly.
Giving Experiences
When we first started RVing we were living in a super small, 27 foot trailer without a slide. This meant lots of toys and clothes simply would not fit, which meant we had to think carefully about the gifts we gave. Honestly, we were already pretty minimalistic in this respect, so this wasn’t too hard. Still, we wanted to find a way to make sure Christmas morning was still exciting. Enter: experience gifts.
That first Christmas, we gave our son a reciprocal museum membership. Since then, we have given Universal Orlando passes, tickets to swim with sea lions, classes, cruises, and more. These have turned into my favorite gifts to choose and give and the tradition of giving experience gifts will likely carry on as long as I have kids to give to.
Homemade Decorations
Here’s the thing; when you live in an RV, you don’t have a lot of room to store holiday decorations. This is a shame because decorating is so much fun. My solution? Inexpensive, homemade decorations that can be repurposed or thrown out at the end of the season.
We’ve made red and green construction paper chains, inexpensive ornaments with candy canes and little foam craft kits, and paper cut outs to hang in the windows. You could also make popcorn chains if you have the patience.
Campground Caroling
I first experienced this in a campground in California and fell in love. I’ve always loved caroling, but doing it at a campground was even more fun. I loved getting together with other RV families to enjoy hot cocoa and do a bit of practicing and then once we got out there and started singing to people, the response was fantastic. More people were home to enjoy our music and RVers are so kind. Many gave the kids treats and all of them thanked us. Some even sang along!
Another thing I loved about caroling in a campground in California? The weather was warm, making the whole thing more comfortable. The same would be true in Florida, Arizona, or even south Texas, of course.
Experiencing Local Christmas Fun
No matter where we are on Christmas, we always like to make a point of experiencing whatever local holiday activities happen to be going on. Sometimes this means checking out campground events, but more often, we end up out in the community. We’ve met Santa in a number of states, and I love finding the best Christmas lights displays in whatever city we happen to be near.
Oddly, one of the most festive cities we’ve visited during the Christmas season was Yuma, Arizona. That said, we are in Chickasha, Oklahoma this year and this town touts itself as “Christmas Town USA”. They host a huge lights display and all kinds of events through the month of December, so I imagine it’s going to be amazing.
Attending Rallies
Last but not least, I have to mention the idea of attending a rally during Christmas time. This is something we’ve only gotten to do a couple of times, but it really does enhance the holiday season. If the rally is Christmas themed, you’ll likely do Christmas crafts and experience some Christmas activities that will help the season feel more festive. You’ll also spend the holiday season with friends, something that might be much needed if you are away from extended family.
Usually rallies do not run all the way through Christmas Day. That said, many people will probably stick together until the actual holiday and you can join them to make sure you have good company all the way through until the new year.
Celebrating an RV Christmas might be different than celebrating in a sticks and bricks home, but it is just as fun (and sometimes even better) as long as you seek out friends to share the season with and find ways to make it a memorable time. What will you do this for your RV Christmas celebrations?
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