Christmas - RV-Dreams Community Forum

Lucky Mike · RV-Dreams Family Member

Christmas

mjlitz · RV-Dreams Family Member

Well this will be our first Christmas as full-timers and we will not be going home for the holidays. Soooo, I am asking all of you out there that have been away from family and friends, just what do you do to make the holidays special for the just the two of you. Any ideas and suggestions would be appreciated. I am actually looking forward to just the two of this year, as in years gone by it has always been on my shoulders to do all the meals (Christmas Eve, Christmas breakfast and then dinner) Dear hubby helps but the kids are not in that space yet to figure out that help would be a good thing. No matter how much I talk to myself to get excited about it by the end I can't wait for it to be over. Just want something special for the two of us. Meals suggestions (not turkey, please) decorating your rig, anything would be great to hear about. HO,HO, HO!!

RickandJanice · RV-Dreams Family Member

While we do not full time yet, we have taken a two week vacation every year at Christmas for the last 15 years just to get away from all the craziness the holiday season seems to bring. Just the two of us have spent these two weeks together. We do not have children but did have a hard time getting our extended families to understand and some still do not get it, but that is OK by us as everyone just accepts that this is the way it is and will continue to be even when we get on the road full time. We decorate the rig with a small table top tree and small crèche inside and by hanging lights off the awning and staking ground lights around the awning area. We always go to a Christmas Eve service at a local church wherever we stay and have even added lighting luminaries at the front of our camp site on Christmas Eve. Being from Ohio, we have always gone to Florida because it is an easy trip and we both like the beach. Then on Christmas day, we make a point of spending most of the day on a beach and wishing each other a Merry Christmas. No gifts allowed, as this special time together is our gift to each other. Just writing this, we are getting excited to hit the road again this year!!

RickandJanice · RV-Dreams Family Member

Lucky Mike, well said and such sage advice!!!! Love your post as it truly shows the spirit of the season that we should all try to have year round!

rclvnv · RV-Dreams Family Member

Hi, This will be our second full-time Christmas. When we had the house and for as many years as I can remember, my wife was in the same mode as you discuss. She always acted like it was what she wanted to do, but I knew different. Now, when our three daughters are elsewhere (on the other side of the US, and outside the US), we have altered our holiday celebrations. Thanksgiving, for example we now spend at Zion National Park. It is about a 2 1/2 hr drive. We leave the rig onsite and take our two mutts to a hotel we love and have a great dinner at the attached resturant. We leave Wed. morning, and I can't wait. Truly a place to ponder thankfulness. Years ago, that would be unthinkable. Christmas, at least for this year will be away from everyone,as well. Since we retire in June, we will go next year to Florida, where a daughter and her family live, and spend Christmas with them.That said, they are busy and have their own lives to lead as well,so we don't plan to make it a habit.

We are fortunate to be in a large park with lots of people in & out in a location loaded with tourists. The park always has pot lucks and other gatherings. Always enjoyable. A lot of RV people,as Dan said, are in a similar mode.

Decoration of the rig and site are a lot of fun. We have a table top tree,and we decorate a tree in the site (not a xmas tree), with these huge plastic xmas balls we found. We have in ground stake lights and this year will add lumanaries on xmas eve. Different, but not less fun. We are not into it to this extent, but the park has a xmas decorating contest. You wouldn't believe the efforts some go to, to try to win (a months free rent).

Meals are a challenge, but cooking for two only, is always that. A pot luck at the place you are staying is a good answer, or scale down what you'd like to have, and cook that. When we moved from the east coast to the west coast, we decided to have Chinese on Christmas day. We sat outside in LA, in 75 degree weather,and had a great dinner. One of the great freedoms of RV living is freedom from convention. Enjoy, Richard

NWescapee · RV-Dreams Family Member

We're not full time yet, but have had a couple of opportunities to spend the holiday with just the 2 us of based on extended family travel schedules, or our desire not to be the ones flying out of town.

When it's just the 2 of us for Thanksgiving we've been known to hit the closest Trader Joe's on the way out of town and pick up a pre-cooked duck or 1/2 a turkey, a couple of sides / salad / dessert, shove it in the fridge and head out of town. So not home cooked, but fairly tasty, easy to warm up, clean up and leaves a lot more time for just enjoying the holiday and being thankful for all we have including each other. And NO LEFTOVERS to have to eat for days or figure out creative ways to serve turkey once again!! My suggestion, is to make dinner simple and focus on why we are celebrating a holiday.

bjoyce · RV-Dreams Family Member

Our first Christmas on the road was memorable and fun. We were in the Key West area at a campground where the campground provided the main dishes and everyone else brought potluck dishes to share. We talked to family via cell phone during the day so we did know what was happening.

Loretta · RV-Dreams Family Member

This is our first year on the road. We are hoping to make it to AZ so Bill can spend Christmas with his family. He was in NJ with me for the past three years so now it is his turn. Of course I am feeling bad for dad since we just lost mom, I do have two other sisters and their families with him, but I may take a flight back between Christmas and New Year when we all can be together. Now this week is Thanksgiving and this campground is not much for socializing but we met some facebook friends and a high school classmate while down here in Gulf Shores, AL. They have graciously invited us to join their family. It is an honor to be asked to share a meal with a new aquaintance. That is what it is all about. I LOVE this lifestyle and adding new people to my "family", and being added to theirs. I wish you all very Happy Thanksgiving and a truly Blessed and Merry Christmas!

Ckerr · RV-Dreams Family Member

For years have lived far from family, so am fairly used to holidays for 2. I LOVE to cook so I often do a traditional meal for 2 -- but tradition with a twist -- few sides and trying new twists on traditional favorites. Other times I've done the full on traditional dinner and invited friends who are also away from family for the holidays.

Last year while at Amazon.com we had Thanksgiving dinner for 2 in the RV -- we split the meal prep with another couple and we hosted. A great time was had by all.

So lots of options, just decide what's right for you and it doesn't have to be the same every year.

p.s. Those outdoor blow up decorations are great for RVing!

MarkS · RV-Dreams Family Member

Not to sound too negative but, as I have gotten older I find that I am more and more disgusted by the way Christmas is celebrated by the masses. I found that the more money I made the less I wanted to spend at Christmas. DW and I don't exchange gifts of any consequence because that is not what the holiday is about for us. It's all about being thankful for the intangible gifts that are shared throughout the year.

That being said, our family is a bunch of foodies and we love to spend time in the kitchen together. We keep Thanksgiving traditional but Christmas is always something different. For many years we have chosen a different country or culture as the theme for the Christmas meal. A few years ago we were all in Tampa so the theme was seafood. We went through 12 dozen oysters on the half shell and nobody got injured when we shucked them. Last year it was German, the year before Italy. This year we are doing something Mediterranean with lamb as the meat. Everybody researches holiday dishes and we have a great time sharing in the preparation and in the meals.

mjlitz · RV-Dreams Family Member

Thanks one and all for your suggestions. All of your replies gave me such great ideas. It will be hard without the family but then again.....will it!?

We have been having a wonderful time so far with only three weeks under our full time belt. We are sitting boondocking in Ajo, Az with the most beautiful view out of every window. What more could you ask for???!!!!

It's funny but we have made more friends and heard back from them in our short period of time fulltiming then we have heard from friends or made new friends in our stick n brick place.

Happy Thanksgiving to all of you.

Melissa

Lucky Mike · RV-Dreams Family Member

smile biggrin ..........Always remember two words.........."I Believe"...........because wishes do come true!!!!!!

when the bell rings, and it starts its roll down the tracks,all dreams come true on the Polar Exspress!!!

some of the greatest gifts you will hold to your heart will get there without ever passing through your hands................Happy holidays!!!

PIEERE · RV-Dreams Family Member

Have to jump in on this one! You will all find out that this is one wonderful lifestyle. I spent the past two Thanksgiving's with the CamperForce at Amazon.com In Ky., I sure will miss them this year due to re-engineering my health. Had great fellowship with the friends I met there. At the Campground I was staying we had potluck T-Day and more Great Times and Good Food. In 2010 I spent Christmas in an RV park in Alabama, the owners and the 55-60 RV park people waited on me to arrive for a huge Christmas dinner, had some weather driving issues which made me late.
And this Thursday is Thanksgiving and I'm in a Park in Lebanon, TN. An affiliated church is putting on a meal for us and I get to eat with some more of the friendliest people who are have a great appreciation for life.

rclvnv · RV-Dreams Family Member

PIEERE, Where are you in Lebanon? I've stayed at Countryside there each way cross country & back for the last four years. Nice folks there. Also stayed several times at a spot on a small lake in Crossville. Have had some nice stays in TN. Happy Thanksgiving. Richard

PIEERE · RV-Dreams Family Member

Richard and Ginny, I am at Shady Acres RV Park. Off I-40 come South on 231 about 2 miles on the left.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

Hdrider · RV-Dreams Family Member

Having worked on the upper managment and buyer side of retail for so many years I have grown to dislike what Christmas has become unfortunatly. Plus Diane and I have not exchanged gifts for years. We both feel it is just added stress to go shopping for the other person plus we have always bought what we want when we want it. It works for us.

The true meaning of Christmas has been lost for so many. We will be very happy being on the road where we can avoid the Christmas season.

Now Thanksgiving!! Thats a holiday we will miss being around family and friends.

janni · RV-Dreams Family Member

Ok so I sulked a little that first Christmas away from family:( Left that north country right after Thanksgiving and fought ice, snow, and a storm front. The more I thought about it the more I realized that the risk wasn't worth it. New traditions have been fun! Spent a couple holidays sitting in truck stops, up to the counter having dinner with the truckers and it was great. Little tree on the dash of the coach and a string of lights is all I need. I also came from a retail background so the shopping etc just turn me OFF on the whole holiday. I am not a scrooge and like I tell others "If you put a little green in an envelope they don't really miss you anyway." Happy Thanksgiving to everyone here at RV Dreams!

wildbill2673 · RV-Dreams Family Member

Dana and I have been full timeing it for five years now and if we buy gifts they are not to big, limited space and all. Anyhow since we have been coming to New Mexico we stay at a park that has potlucks for the holidays and such and that is part of the reason for staying at the same park plus we now have friends that we would rather spend time with. We have only visited family once in the five years for a holiday. You will spend a holiday the way you want and like I think that is the long and the short of it, I know we do.