Here to share how you can mark special occasions on the road is full time RVer Kristi Stevens. Kristi, from the Adventurtunity Family, along with her husband Spencer, quit their corporate jobs, sold their home and most of their possessions, and purchased a Class A, 2017 Holiday Rambler® Vacationer® 36H in 2020. Together with their now four-year-old son, Kade, the family hit the open road. For all of Holiday Rambler’s newest models, check out their website!
Celebrating Holidays on the Road
by Kristi Stevens
Prior to living full time in our Vacationer, our holiday celebrations tended to be a little over the top. Our decorations were plentiful, and we would usually host holiday-themed meals for family and friends.
We knew our holiday celebrations on the road would look a bit different, so we needed to find creative ways to be festive along the way. Our biggest goals were to find ways to celebrate that were fun, affordable, and didn't require a lot of space.
To our surprise, we were able to celebrate TEN holidays and special occasions over the past year! We hosted a Super Bowl party, Valentine’s Day brunch, 4th of July dinner, and our son's 4th birthday party, complete with a bounce house and new friends!
If you are considering full time travel with your family, or vacationing over a holiday season, embrace the holidays with these easy tips and tricks!
YEARCHEER SUBSCRIPTION BOX
The absolute best thing we did was sign up for the YearCheer subscription box! They are holidays-in-a-box that include decorations, activities, a book, and family fun for each holiday. The box gets delivered to your door, which is so convenient. Most campgrounds allowed us to receive packages, so it ended up working out great. Every YearCheer holiday box includes items for 3-4 kids. Additionally, each box changes from year to year so there is newness each holiday season. They offer holiday boxes for Halloween, Thanksgiving, Hanukkah, Christmas, New Year’s, Valentine’s Day, St. Patrick’s Day, Easter, and 4th of July.
BE RESOURCEFUL
There are so many elements in nature that can be repurposed for holiday decor and fun activities. One of our favorites is painting rocks! For our Valentine's Day brunch, Thanksgiving dinner, and Halloween lunch, we painted smooth river rocks and added the names of our guests to them. It was a fun craft for our son and a good way for us to be creative when decorating and setting our table.
DOLLAR TREE
Throughout all of our travels, we have consistently been able to find a Dollar Tree, Family Dollar, or Walmart. For holiday decorations and festive items, the Dollar Tree has been our favorite. They always have items for each holiday and the best part is the price. For under $20, you can have themed plates, cups, utensils, activity kits, candy, and a few decorations.
Note: Their items usually arrive in store earlier than you need them and sell out quickly.
DESTINATION LOCATIONS
With a little bit of research, you can plan to stay in towns or at campgrounds that already have holiday celebrations planned. We have found this to be helpful specifically for Halloween and 4th of July. Halloween was the first holiday we experienced on our full-time travels. We learned very quickly that most campgrounds have massive Halloween celebrations that include costume contests, crafts, and trick or treating throughout the entire month. They do book up quickly, so, if you plan on traveling in October, keep that in mind, and secure your reservations early.
A GRISWOLD TREE IS POSSIBLE
Celebrating the Christmas season was the one holiday we discussed prior to traveling full time. We considered bringing some of our decor and sentimental items with us but opted to start fresh on the road. A few traditions we kept intact were matching family PJs, sipping hot cocoa by the fire (our Vacationer has a cozy electric fireplace!), baking Christmas cookies, and having a real Christmas tree. With those 4 elements, we had plenty of Christmas cheer!
Celebrating the holidays while traveling may look different than it does in a sticks-and-bricks home, but it doesn't need to be any less special. Remember, the most important thing is that your family is together. Embrace making new traditions, enjoy celebrating in a different state, and have fun!
To learn more about the Adventurtunity Family’s life on the road, visit their Instagram page.
