5 Ways To Decorate Your RV For Christmas (Cheaply & Compactly)
Can you believe it’s less than a week until Christmas? I’m sitting in my rig (boondocking by the way), surrounded by cactus and listening to Christmas Carols on Spotify. The music adds a nice background, but I’ve got a bit of good ‘ol spirit going on inside the RV too.
You see I love decorating for Christmas. Back when I lived in a regular “stix&brix” home I had three huge Sterilite totes of decorations that I used to brighten up our home for the season. When we moved into “the beast”, bringing that stuff along was not going to happen despite our girls more than ample storage bins. So, I had to figure out how to cut down…and I wanted to do it cheaply and compactly. My goal was to fit all our decorations into one small collapsible basket, and then just supplement each year with inexpensive & recyclable items. Here’s my tips on how we did it:
1/ Home-Made Decorations
Nothing is quite as touching as home-made decorations, and many of these can be super-compact too. As a Dane I have a long-standing tradition of making woven Christmas hearts (Julehjerter). These festive items are made from plain ‘ol paper and store flat. I make them for ourselves as well as gifts for other RV friends. They’re cute, fun, cheap and everyone can be part of the fun. Last year I did an entire post on how to make these (with step by step instructions), and this year I found a cool website with 27 different free patterns! If you’ve never tried these give them a go. They are so pretty & so much fun!
2/ Window Decals
One of the easiest things you can decorate with is window decals. They’re a fun way to brighten up your windows and put your RV “in the spirit” without using up alot of precious space. I personally like pics of Santa Claus and Christmas elves, but snowflakes are rather fun too
3/ Candles & Lights
I’m a huge fan of candles, especially during winter. As long as you place them responsibly and watch them while they’re burning (never leave a candle unattended!), there is really no problem having them in the RV. I buy a Christmas Calender candle every year from my online Scandinavian shop
Another great idea are LED lights. For $10-$20 a few colorful LED’s can really create an atmosphere and since they don’t take up much space and don’t use much energy they’re a no-brainer to run. For those who enjoy boondocking there are 12V or Solar powered versions
4/ Tree Trimmings & Mini Trees
Don’t have space for a tree inside your RV? Well, neither do we, but we have plenty of space for tree trimmings. Just about every store that sells Christmas Trees will have a box of left-over trimmings which they will either sell you super cheap or (very often) give you for FREE! I’ll often pick some up a few branches at a hardware store (Home Depot or Lowes) and put them in my handy dandy collapsible vase
5/ Ornaments
I can’t get through the holiday without a few ornaments around the house. We’ll hang ours from our tree trimmings, from hooks in our windows or from drawer handles. We chose ornaments that are cute, easy to store and not brittle/breakable. Metal, hand-sewn and wooden ornaments all work really well in an RV. There’s no end of places to pick up ornaments (Etsy, Dollar Store, Goodwill etc.), and all you need are a few to feel the Christmas cheer.
That’s really it folks. I know folks who go way crazier than us with decorating (and there’s nothing wrong with that), but we like to keep it simple. Each year we make new stuff, recycle a few things, and then pick up some new ones on the cheap for the following year. After Christmas everything goes on sale so it’s a great time to get deals, but even if you don’t want to lug it around for a year you can keep a few select items in a box and then just supplement when December comes around.
I’ve got a bunch of cool photos from the last few days plus all the juicy details on our prime new spot, but that’ll have to wait for another post.
Got any fun RV decorating ideas of your own? Or do you make any home-made items for the season? Do share and comment below!
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Well guys we just retired. We’re hanging out here in Vegas right now until our motorhome is delivered sometime in February. Just thinking about how we’re going to make a Christmas tree out of branches for next year.
Have a great and hopefully we’ll see you in the desert sometime.
Decorating in the RV brings out your creative side. I’m sure you’ll figure it out 🙂
Nina
Crocheted snowflakes are my favorite.
Oooooo…I LOVE that idea!
Nina
I am stationary unless I am randomly traveling for brief visits to my homeland (AZ) but I do like the portable decorating thought. One thing that works in my little trailer is to take the picture off the wall and wrap it like a gift package..then rehang. It looks quite festive and doesn’t cost anything.
What a creative little idea. Cheers for sharing!
Nina
Like you, when I lived in a S&B I filled several containers with decorations, many handed down and home-made. Over time I downsized, a smaller, and smaller, then really small fake tree. The last one decorated with rhinestone clip-on earrings. After loosing it all in the fire I just didn’t have the desire to buy more. I do love to see how others decorate. I like the window decals idea.
Decorating with rhinestone earrings…what a cool idea. It’s so sad you lost everything in that fire. Tragic for the town.
Nina
At least you have the spirit. I still have to dug out whatever decor I have, soon or else Christmas will leave me behind.
Get your butt on it!! Less than 4 days left girl.
Nina
I love your woven paper hearts! I’m going to try making them from the directions you gave last year (I think I should try them before having a glass of wine). We decorate with strings of tiny lights, candles scented with essential oils, bouquets of evergreen and berries, and a few handmade ornaments that we buy at local crafts fairs. Happy Holidays!!
Cool! Let me know how the hearts turn out for you. I was overjoyed to find more patterns this year.
Essential oils & bouquets of berries are more great ideas.
Nina
I need to, also, get on the decorating task before our daughter arrives! I did pack one large tub with Christmas decorations. It is only large collection I brought along. Luckily, a small home needs a lot less decorations:)
It’s going to look festive in Mission Bay. Plus you’ve got that beautiful water view too!
Nina
Other than a few Christmas cards, not one decoration here in over 2100 sq. ft. So you are way, way, ahead of us (-:
Merry Christmas to you, Paul, and Polly,
Steve, Holly, and of course, Mazzie
Nooo….not even some reindeer ears for doggie?
Nina
I love those woven hearts Nina. Next year I have committed to giving them a try. Love your ideas for decorating in a small space. We hope you and Paul have a blessed holiday. 🙂
You too LuAnn. Hope the weather stays fine for you.
Nina
Just want to take this opportunity to with you two and your readers a very Merry Christmas.
To you too Papa.
Nina
Purging 12 large bins of decorations earlier this month was daunting, but our little tree with a few apartment decorations feels wonderful. We’ll move to the rig with one small bin and next year we’ll be using ideas from you and Amanda for our first Christmas on the road. Thank you for sharing how you make your space festive and fun – I always enjoy your hearts and little Nisser 🙂
If I don’t get another chance, Merry Christmas to you and Paul and Polly, and warm Yule blessings for a magical year ahead.
Yup, Amanda had a great post too. For those who didn’t see it, here it is:
http://www.watsonswander.com/2014/holiday-decorating-rv/
Nina
Love our woven heart you gifted us 🙂
Every year we try to find some sort of small funky holiday tree for the bus – usually at a thrift store or something. We also love window clings to spruce things up.
I love the tinsel one you have right now. Plus those wireless lights. Very festive & cozy!
Nina
Love the Danish touches! Julehjerter og kalenderlys. Glædelig Jul og Godt Nytår from wet BC, Canada
Glædelig Jul til dig også!
Nina
I love your ideas, thank you for sharing. I plan on looking up the directions for the Danish Woven Christmas hearts. I was thinking they would make special gift tags for our children and grandchildren next year. This being our first Christmas in our 5th wheel I realize I brought more then we needed but I agree candles fill the space with a special coziness. May you have a beautiful Christmas.
Everyone brings too much the first year LOL. We’ve purged the RV of excess stuff every year since we’ve been living in it and we’ve still got more than we need. Funny how downsizing makes you realize how much extra stuff you have.
Enjoy making the hearts!
Nina
Boondocking? I thought you were in a fancy schmanzy RV park in DHS!
I’m sneaky that way 🙂
Nina
First RV Christmas was in 1987 in Big Bend. 1977 GMC van pulling 1959 Mobile Scout canned ham 12 ft trailer. Selected cedar tree 18 inches from roadside before we got to park. One string of lights (before LED’s). Candles. Me, wife, 10 year and son. Minimal decorations, max memories. We following that with more at Big Bend, and Sante Fe, and Taos. Merry Christmas all. Now back to the shop to finish making Christmas Gifts.
Sweet! Love that idea. Some folks decorate the nearest cactus here in the desert. It looks very festive.
Nina
Not to scare you, but I have a not so funny cats and candles story. My cat jumped on the bookcase where a candle was. She walked away from it and her tail went over the flame. She had a fluffy tail, it caught fire and I saw it from my chair. When I ran to grab her she darted under the couch, when I saw the flames I ran to get a towel to throw on her, she then ran into the bedroom under the bed her tail still burning. I was able to get under the bed quickly and extinguish her fur, but not before the linen cover under the bed had caught on fire. I quickly flipped over the whole bed, and beat out the flames with the towel. I then heard the smoke detector in the living room, the couch was smoking terrible. After flipping it on it’s back I found the linen lining had also caught fire and the kapok stuffing was smoldering. My poor kitty had to go to the vet and always had short hair on her tail after that. Still have the bed, but the couch never smelled right after that. In short never leave a candle unattended, if I had not seen that happen the whole house might have burned up.
I always watch open candles, especially with pets around. But it’s a good reminder.
Nina
Hi Nina,
I really enjoyed all the great ideas in your decorating post. I’m not a Scrooge, but I tend to forget about this stuff until it gets a little late. I do have a small fiber optic Christmas tree I like to put up. Just about any kind of lighting seems to help with the long and dark days. Loved the count-down Christmas candle you mentioned. I think I’ll pick one up for next year. I have some of those little battery powered votives, but they don’t give the same effect as the real deal. And the decorated tree trimmings are a SUPER idea as I live in the Pacific Northwest and can walk outside and find this kind of greenery everywhere.
Glad I could give ya some inspiration!
Nina
I could kiss you for those extra links for hearts. Made my first ones from your instructions (no cookie monster tshirt sister tho)and they are going to be great gifts for next year! Such fun and happy holidays to you and Paul and the critters!
Outstanding! So glad you made them and enjoyed them!!
Nina
Nina,
Thanks for the post! My husband and I are still in the planning stages of becoming full-time RVers and I’ve wondered from time to time how spending holidays in an RV will be different. I really like the link to the Christmas hearts. My mother was Norwegian so my Christmases also included making paper Christmas Hearts – but just the ‘standard’ ones. I had no idea you could make so many variations. Good ideas for decorations that won’t take up too much space the rest of the year.
Hope you had a great Christmas!
The different patterns are SO MUCH fun. Once you get the basics down they can be very creative. Enjoy!
Nina