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This may seem a silly question - but here it is: Did any of you keep holiday decorations for the RV and/or to take with you in the storage of your RV, for any reason? We are getting ready to go through our attic, as one of the steps of purging stuff, prior to going full-time. And, holiday stuff is the majority of what is up there. Did you keep a small box of certain holiday decorations? And, if so, where did you store them -- down below? Thanks for the guidance!
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Jeff & Dee Henderson / Full Time December 2015 / '09 Monaco Cayman 38'
We kept a small amount of Christmas ornaments and decorations basically a small tree (about 15" tall), some meaningful ornaments and I think a small stand of lights. We got rid of most everything else.
The only holiday we like to decorate for is Christmas. So we kept a few small items from the house and already had some for the rig. We keep the larger items in a container in the outside or "basement" storage and the smaller ones in a high cabinet above the couch.
Early on, DW said there were some very precious curio type things that she really wanted to take with us. So the rig we have has a corner cabinet in the living room area that when converted with glass shelves and doors makes a prefer curio cabinet. The curios are held in place with museum gel and stay in place while travelling. She also weaves bubble wrap between them just in case one would come loose in transit.
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"Bloom where you are planted"
Rick and Janice
2006 Mobile Suites 32TK3, Mor/Ryde King Pin and I.S., 17.5" Wheels w/ H Rated Tires, Automatic Level Up,
2012 Ford F450 Lariet, 6.7 L, CC, 4WD, DRW w/ Air Bags, Reese Signature 25K Hitch
We bought a small pre-lit tree which we have in our storage compartment. We also have one storage tub which contains seasonal decorations which my DW changes with the season.
Christmas time is our favorite time....one of the things we could not compromise on is decorating for the holidays.
Here is what we have done with our previous rig and plan to do in our new rig....this with the smell of my wife baking cookies and cheesecake sets the mood just right.
http://s962.photobucket.com/user/mybigboomer/library/First%20RV%20Christmas
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Les and Sue
http://ramblingrvrat.blogspot.com/?m=1
"CHARACTER is doing the right thing when no one is looking"
I kept Fall placemats and napkings so I had some Thanksgiving color. My favorite decorations. I have a few wooden Christams decorations too for hanging on the wall. It all goes in one small container under the bathroom sink.
But I will say, that it is seemimg that I have decorations of nature right out the window and I am liking the thought of using nature to decorate with and then get rid of it after.
I just saw mini pumpkins and squash at the farmers market. Great decorations.
For Christmas I will get some Holly and Evergreen.
We have decided this time to just enjoy the decorations that others have and get out and sample Christmas celebrations in the area where we are at the time. I started getting rid of holiday decor this year earlier. I did keep a strand of bat lights from Halloween. We love Halloween!
We purged most of the Christmas décor with the exception of one box of ornaments that is in storage. Early on in our marriage we started collecting special ornaments from each vacation location. No longer doing that, but couldn't part with some of the special memories so they are in storage.
Last year, our first Christmas on the road, we bought a "tree shaped" rosemary plant that was about 18 in tall, miniatures lights and decorations from Michael's craft store and we had our Christmas tree! Smelled great, looked cut and was very useful for our New Year's dinner of a rosemary infused pork loin. Rosemary plant is long gone, but the lights and small ornaments take up very little room, stored in a cabinet that we rarely get into but will retrieve those items once a year and buy a new plant / bush of some kind each Christmas to decorate.
Since then, we've added LED lights to our awning that run off 12 volt with a programmable controller that allows us to select the colors, so our outside Christmas lights will blink red and green this holiday season.
Holiday decorations is one main reason hubby and I have a climate controlled storage unit back in our home area. I had no problem purging everything else from our s&b, but for some reason the holiday stuff just wasn't a place I was going to budge...LOL. Over the years (many after holidays clearance sales) my holiday decor has grown to many many large totes (for all holidays) and about 8 different sized trees (including one 9 1/2ft that I only got to use one year before I move to full time). All of it is neatly tucked away in our little storage unit in Tennessee along with our other family keepsakes/collectibles. For the RV I bought a little 3ft pre lit tree and a few decorations at walmart last year. I can't go without decorating some. Christmas is the only holiday though that I have decorated for in the rv. In my s&b I decorated for all holidays. The little tree and decorations fit in a small plastic tote in the basement storage of the rv. DH is required to make room for it somewhere....LOL. Good luck with whatever you decide.
It really depends on how much storage space you have. We purged quite a lot of stuff, only to find that we could have taken a lot of stuff with us, as we had more room than we thought we would! Sorry, I know that doesn't really answer your question.
I also see a lot of folks hanging Xmas lights on their awnings at any time of the year for light and ambiance.
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Cheryl B. in her new RV
(well, not new any more! Full timing since 6/25/14)
2008 DRV MS 36TKBS3 (the CoW: Castle on Wheels), 2005 Ford F550 hauler (the Bull)
I had boxes and boxes of holiday stuff and basically I let it all go. Had the grown kids take whatever
ornaments and nice items they wanted (there was some heavy discussion over a few things and who got them), and sold the rest in a garage sale. I kept a ceramic tree that lights up that I made several years ago and that all. I love how Linda decorated the outside with edible ornaments in her early years and plan to do something similar. I think it will be important to start new traditions while on the road and since in this life less is more I decided to take the same tactic with holiday decorating. We also have a storage shed btw and I highly recommend that if there are things you just can't let go of...store them for two years and then come back and see if they still matter to you.
Remarkably our Christmas decorations, including lawn decorations did NOT sell at the garage sale. When they were placed at the curb, with a free sign, they were very first things snapped up! They were gone in about 15 minutes. I wonder if these people were watching our garage sale, from behind their curtains, waiting for the "Free" sign to go out. :)
We carry a small amount of decorations for:Fall,Halloween, and Thanksgiving. A few more items for Christmas, light strings , etc. All purchased after retirement and suited for RV life. They are all stored together in a plastic box under the bed.
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RIG: 2005 Dodge 3500 - Dually- Cummins 2006 Outback 27 RSDS Two rescue dogs: A Catahoula Mix & a Chihuahua mix. Full Time since June 2006
I replaced them with a new BBQ , a Margarita machine and a Zero gravity chair with a nice umbrella!!!.....they seem to take up about the same amount of space and I've figured out every day seems to be a great holiday out here so what a way to spend them with the best available decorations!!
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1998 ...Harney Renegade DP class A
rers1@mail.com
My Service dog and life partner " Nikki"......Klee Kia Miniature Husky....(she Runs the ship!!)
We are not lost in the Woods.....Just Extreme boondocking!!!!!!
Sold it all. We stopped decorating for Christmas years ago. NO kids at home and we lived far enough out in the country that no one else really would see them either so no need.
The only holidays we really enjoy is Thanksgiving and we decorate with food!!
Like many of the other posters we got a small pre-lit and pre decorated tree for Christmas that we kept in a storage bay.
All of our home decorations and outside lights were in storage while we full timed and are now in boxes in my shop.
The lights are the series string incandescent bulb type. I don't have the heart to mess with them and would get the LED type if I were going to put any up - which I am not. We are on a 100 yard private drive so no one would see them anyway and I don't do well with ladders nowadays.
None of our kids or grandkids will be here so I don't think we will put up a tree. Maybe we will put the little tree we had with us when we full timed in the picture window.
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Clay (WA5NMR), Lee (wife), Katie, Kelli (cats) Full timed for eleven years in a 2004 Sightseer 35N. Snowbirds for one winter and now settled down in CO.