We normally spend Christmas time with my parents in California, where my dad has relinquished a portion of his storage shed to me and my holiday storage bins.
These storage bins contain over 15 years worth of Christmas decorations I’ve collected back when I lived in suburbia. I’ve had access to this plethora of decorations over the past 6 Christmases of living in an RV, so I’ve never had to worry about not having room for my Christmas spirit in our 89 square foot home on wheels.
That was until this year, when we decided to try something new and spend the winter in Florida, 3000 miles away from family and my precious collection of decor.
We’re tiny. Our trailer is only 17 feet long and with no garage, loft, or even pass through basement storage. All of our worldly possessions fit into the tiny basement underneath half of our bed (because guess where the water heater and water pump are stored), and the covered bed of our truck.
Confession: we’re overweight. I mean us yes, we love tacos. But in this case I’m talking about our rig. Our truck and trailer are both over their recommended weight limit because we just have TMS (you can Google that acronym if you’d like).
Knowing that we’re overweight, we’re very selective on what makes the cross-country travels with us.
We have one box that is dedicated to my holiday decorations. ALL of my decorations – Valentines Day, Easter, 4th of July, Halloween, and Thanksgiving. Now this year I had to add my favorite holiday to an already full box of decor.
But with a little bit of Tetris packing strategy and some selective choices, our home on wheels looks absolutely magical for the holidays.
So how did I transform our dark and cave like trailer into a merry and bright wonderland? I’ll show ya.
Here are my Top 10 Tips for decorating your small RV for the holidays:
1. Get Pillows with Interchangeable Covers.
Pillow covers are much easier to store then an entire new pillow! Opt for interchangeable pillow covers that you rotate throughout the year based on the season. Another bonus is pillow covers tend to be much cheaper than a whole pillow.
You can find the winter pillow covers we use on Amazon here.
2. Take Down Your Year-round Decorations and Store Them in Your Decoration Bin.
If you live in your RV full-time, chances are it’s already decorated to make it feel like a home year-round. To give yourself more room for shelf and countertop decorations, take down your regular decorations and store them in the decorations box!
It’s like giving yourself a clean slate to decorate!
3. Use Interchangeable Photos and Wall Art.
One of the best decorating hacks I’ve seen is storing different wall art (whether that be posters, drawings, etc.) behind each other in a frame! No worrying about damage or finding somewhere to store a rolled poster or envelope containing your art! Just simply store it inside the frame you want to use, and then rotate the artwork depending on the season!
Another cute idea I’ve seen is changing out your family photos based on the season too! Maybe you have family pictures of your travels hanging on the walls of your RV or on your shelves; swap out that family photo of y’all at the Grand Canyon for a Christmas card photo from years past or maybe one of your kids playing in the snow!
4. Use Inflatables.
So you want to be the site that brings a smile to everyone’s face when they walk by during their evening campground strolls, right?
But you can’t fit your 12 foot tall Snowman or the LED reindeer that used to sit proudly on your front yard in the suburbs in the RV basement, right?
Enter: Inflatables. They’re fun. They’re lightweight. They roll up and pack easily. They’re perfect for an RV site. Just be sure to read your campgrounds rules for placing or staking objects into your grass sites.
5. Use Command Hooks.
An RVers best friend is a command hook.
They’re inexpensive, damage-free, and the heavy-duty style really holds their weight.
6. Use Your Ceiling.
Living in a less than 100 sq. ft. RV means we don’t have a lot of wall or countertop space. In fact we only have a kitchen counter, and it’s about the width of a cutting board.
But what we do have is a ceiling.
Now, you may be wondering how the heck do you decorate a ceiling?!
Hang snowflakes, mistletoe (use fake if you live with fur babies, as this is toxic to pets), garland, even string lights on your ceiling using Command hooks.
My mom always hangs snowflakes on the ceiling of the living room in her home. So this one is a little ode to mama. Looking up at my snowflakes as they sway and reflect the glow of the lights makes me feel like I’m right back at home.
7. Use Lightweight Garland.
When we think of garland we think of the beautiful (and heavy) pine branches draped over the mantle or twisted down a grand staircase.
But there’s some great lightweight garland that doesn’t take up hardly any space in your storage bin and can be used to make somewhere like over a couch or bed feel extra special.
8. Use Fairy Lights.
Fairy lights are a cheap and easy way to make any space feel magical.
Vanlifers use the heck out of fairy lights to transform a cargo van to a bright and dreamy space, so why can’t RVers?!
Use them around frames, on countertops, on shelves, wreaths, etc. They’re super cheap and ridiculously lightweight.
9. Use a Slim Pencil Christmas tree.
Think you can’t have a Christmas tree in an RV? Think again.
Sure it may not be as spectacular as the tree at Rockefeller Center, but that’s the beauty of living tiny, anything can fill a space and it feels bigger than it is!
Who would’ve thought a 5 foot tall tree can feel so grand?!
In the past we’ve used a tabletop tree and it was cute, but didn’t feel as special. This year we upgraded our tree , and it is honestly one of the best things we’ve done. It truly completed the coziness of our home.
In Anthony’s words, “Now it looks and feels like Christmas in here”.
10. Use Battery Powered & Solar Powered Christmas lights.
If you’re an RVer, chances are you probably traveled south for the winter to spend your holidays somewhere warm and sunny. Use the power of the sun!
Most tiny RVs don’t have a lot of electrical plugs, and chances are they’re already taken up by laptops, cell phone chargers, and internet plug-ins. So use battery powered Christmas lights for the indoors and solar powered lights for the outdoors!
Bonus Tip: Do you want that fresh Christmas tree smell but can’t fit a real tree in your rig?
Get a small wreath from a Christmas tree farm or tree lot and hang it INSIDE your home! Be sure to keep it hydrated to keep the pine needles fresh all season long and avoid the annoying mess of pine needles on the floor.
The best part about this little life hack is that the wreath can then be discarded or recycled after the holidays! You don’t even have to store it throughout the year!
To sum it up, the secret sauce to decorating your tiny RV for the holidays is using interchangeable decorations that are lightweight and easy to store.
Be sure to check out our Amazon storefront to find some of the decorations we’ve discussed here in this blog!
*Please note, this post contains affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases and receive a small commission when you make a purchase using these links. Thanks for helping us put money in the bank and gas in the tank!
Want to see how this all comes together?
Be sure to check out our YouTube video for even more holiday spirit and inspiration!
From our holiday home on wheels to yours, we wish you a Merry Christmas!
Happy and safe travels,
The Traveling Tiongsons
Traveling Tiongsons 