When you live in a 25 X 8 foot silver tube along with your spouse and all your possessions, it’s a given that the holiday decorations are going to be a bit sparse. And as anyone who knew me *before* can affirm, sparse holiday decorations are not my thing. I was once that person who went all out for the holidays. Giant tree in the living room, wreath on the door, garland on the railings, tiny trees and shiny pinecones on the mantle, sparkly glass stars in the windows, jars of colored balls in the dining room…you get the point.
These days things have been scaled down some. Okay, scaled down a lot. But I still get the urge to decorate, and have managed to add a bit of holiday cheer to our tiny house by following a few guidelines…
» Size Matters
Not only do we have a limited amount of space to display decorations, we also have a limited amount of space to store decorations. Which means everything needs to take up a minimal amount of space and be compact enough to store for the following year.
» Decorations on the Move
I pride myself in having very few items that need to be stowed away on drive days. And I don’t want my Christmas decorations to complicate this process. That means decorations either need to stay in place during drive days, or be quickly and easily tucked away before driving.
» Avoid Delicate or Messy
When I lived in a stationary house I thought nothing of displaying delicate glass snowflakes and glitter covered pinecones. In the Airstream where things have a tendency to shift – even when we are parked – and the cramped quarters often means bumping into things, delicate and breakable are not an option.
» This is Not a Winter Wonderland
This is our third Christmas in the Airstream, and our third Christmas in a warm climate. When we lived in the frozen north I was all about decorating with snowflakes and snowman, and and if the greenery wasn’t real, it wasn’t allowed. Needless to say, I’ve changed my approach. I know there are plenty of people who live in warm climates and decorate with wintery type items, but that’s just not my style. Instead I’ve kept the decorating climate appropriate with fake trees and (with the exception of one tiny snowman) nothing that reminds me of the “white stuff”.
With those guidelines in mind…here are our Christmas Decorations for 2014.
The Living Room Shelf Display
For the past two years this trailer and tiny tree were our only Christmas decorations. They fit all the criteria. Small, lightweight, and easy to tuck away on the couch for drive days. The snowman is allowed only because he looks so cute with the vintage trailer. This year I grouped them with our newly acquired shell jar and added a glitter star to tie the display together.
The Kitchen Display
Another area where I added some sparkle to existing decorations. This tiny jar of seaglass has called the corner of the kitchen home for several years. The shell is a recent addition. It was simple enough to dress up the area with a green sparkle explosion ornament and a bit of silver fern. Both of these decorations will fit nicely in the dish drainer when we drive.
The Outside Tree
This planter has been traveling with us for the past two and half years. It sits inside the front door on the mat when we drive, and on the picnic table when we’re parked. As the seasons change the planter enjoys a variety of friends, ranging from herb plants and rocks, to its most recent buddies, a collection of gourds. When it was time for the gourds to go, I went in search of a small tree to replace them. I was looking for something lightweight, small, and able to withstand a bit of rain. I spotted this guy in Target for $6.50 and knew it was the one. The addition of some colorful stars completed the look. The tree and giant west coast pinecone will ride on the back seat of the truck during drive days.
The Wreath
Finally, we have a red, sparkly wreath. This is the kind of wreath I used to avoid at all costs. Too shiny, too bright, too fake. But times have changed, and when I saw this one gleaming enticingly from the store wall (Target again) I instantly fell in love. I like that it’s non traditional, yet still provides that Christamsy pop of red. It also weighs only a tiny amount which means it can easily hang from a small suction cup hook, and so far has held up well to the warm, humid Florida climate. The wreath will join the tree and pinecone on the back seat of the truck when we are in transit mode.
Lights Are a Must!
I almost forgot about the lights! I don’t really consider these Christmas decorations since they come out year round. We have one strand of colored and one strand of white. Depending on where we are, and whether our awning is deployed, the strands are configured in different ways. Both sets are LED lights with plastic bulbs, making them energy efficient and easy to store.
That’s it! All of our Christmas decorations. I would love to know how everyone else decorates their RV for the season. Traditional, non-traditional, or none at all?
21 comments
What style– I love it! I have a Christmas stocking and my rule is that all other Christmas decor must be able to fit inside that stocking for year-round storage. Right now, I’ve only got an additional stocking for Millie, her Christmas jingle bell collar, and a strand of LED xmas lights….but there’s still a bit more storage space in my stocking! So, I’ll now be on the hunt for one of those “micro trees” or other cute, small items like you’ve got. Just adorable!
I love the idea of stocking storage. It’s a great way to make sure you don’t get carried away. Definitely check out the holiday section at Target. They had some really cute small trees.
Love this! I was surprisingly more excited to decorate the rv this year than I was on our house the last couple of years! :)
You should write a blog post with pictures! I would love to see how you decorated.
I used to start putting up the Christmas stuff the day after Thanksgiving, there was SO MUCH of it. Now we’re down to a white prelighted tree from Michaels. This year I’m using the round Target tree ornaments, last year I had the stars. The wreath is very festive, I may go look for one today. I like that it is so light weight. The little trailer is just cuter than a bug, especially with the snowman. Thanks for the pictures.
I used to start the day after Thanksgiving as well. In some ways it’s kind of a relief to not have as many decorations. The Target wreath also comes in green and silver. So far it’s holding up well to the elements.
Looking good! We started decorating today with the few things we kept. We decided to add some sparkly garland over the desk area which is not something we used that much in our house. We’re also figuring out the best solution for the ornaments we kept, ones that we collected from previous travels or have more sentimental value. We thought we’d hang them on the garland, but it seems to flimsy. We’ve stuck little hooks across the front, we’ll see how that goes. Although I think it won’t be great for decorations on the move and we’ll move twice before Christmas! I’m still determined to have a real wreath. Happy Holidays!
If you wrapped the garland around some light weight wire then hung it, you could hang the ornaments from it, and it would still roll up tightly for storing – just a thought :-)
That’s a good idea. We did get them all hung on the front for now, but there’s always next year.
I wish I had brought a few of my favorite ornaments with me. At the time I didn’t think there was anyway I could display them, so they got packed away and put in storage. I seriously considered a real wreath last year when we spent the entire month in San Diego, but this year we still have two more moves before Christmas, so fake was the way to go.
If I get one, we’ll see how many pine needles end up inside the MH when moving. I may be picking them up for months just like a real tree.
Does a bunch of parsley count as an Xmas decoration? Cause that is about as exciting as it gets around my 175 square feet of heaven. ;)
Umm….no. Parsley does not count (although good for you for having fresh parsley around). I think you need to make a trip to Target for some holiday cheer :)
Cilantro. It is cilantro! That is how much of a great cook I am. Can’t even remember I bought cilantro. ;) And cilantro is sooooooo much more festive than parsley (and tastes a helluva lot better too).
We are still paring down our stuff in prep for moving into an Airstream next spring. We were just this morning discussing what Christmas decorations to pass on to other homes. We pared down severely after last Christmas and only have a few small nativity sets left. One more was picked to be passed on this year. We really won’t know until we get in the trailer whether we will be able to keep what it left.
I only brought the trailer and the tiny tree with me and now I wish I brought a few more things. As you said, until you’re actually living in the trailer, it’s hard to know what you will have room for.
We’ve been collecting a few things at holiday art and craft fairs on the road — but only tiny, unbreakable, and NO GLITTER. Your RV home looks very festive. ;-)
Not that I don’t like shiny stuff — it’s just that glitter is a huge pain to clean up. :-)
Thanks for the great ideas Amanda. I have so little shelf space and you have given me some great ideas.
I hear you on the lack of shelf space. That’s why I was determined to find a small tree that could stay outside even in the rain.
Love it! It’s perfect — the perfect decorations for what you’re doing. And to be honest, I’ve been a little lazy this year/time has gotten away from me….it’s even more decorations that I’ve got in a stationary place! lol