We have just finished decorating our tiny space for the holidays! Even though we live full-time in our RV, we enjoy nesting and making our home feel cozy for the holidays. We have pulled out our tabletop tree and filled it with ornaments made from local artists here in the PNW. We also take down our fall decor in the living room area and fill our fireplace area with woodland holiday decor to go with the cozy vibes videos we keep on the TV during the day. We select our decor carefully, just as we select the items on our gift wishlist for our families and each other.
Solar Generator
Living in your rolling home might mean you need and want less, but there are still plenty of great ideas to shop for yourself or loved ones who are part of the RV community! We find that we always need or want new things for the RV, including water hoses and filter replacements, dehumidifiers, and other RV gadgets that make tiny living life a bit easier! For example, this year we asked our family members to chip into our fund for a solar generator. We wanted a battery that we could take with us in the RV, but would also be portable enough for tent camping or charging up devices when we are vending at events. The solar generator battery is a more expensive item on our wishlist, but we have plenty of less expensive items that we’ve been tempted to get for ourselves throughout the year. We decided to add many of those to our wish list also. As RVers, we need a decent outdoor extension cord to have on hand, a small flashlight to take the pups out in the dark evenings of winter, and new water bottles for our longer walks and days substitute teaching. These are all common daily-use items that are practical to have, even in our small space!
Kitchen and Bathroom
If you’re looking for a good gift for a PNW friend or family member for the holidays we absolutely recommend some kind of dehumidifier! We have two in the RV, alongside several DampRid bags and buckets that keep the moisture out of those dark inaccessible corners, which RVs seem to have plenty of! We recommend looking at a variety of sizes and functions when it comes to dehumidifiers, but we’ve been very happy with our Afloia dehumidifier/air purifier.
Another great bathroom item for RVers that we highly recommend is a shower head that increases the water pressure by adding air! We use the Oxygenics Fury showerhead with multiple settings and have been really pleased with it. The best part about the shower head is the option to turn the water on and off. When we are boondocking we can save water by both using that on/off toggle for water flow and by using less water as the shower head utilizes oxygen to create more pressure! Bathroom gadgets that would make great gifts also include restocking your RVers tank cleaner, water filter or space-saving towels.
Another great way to show you’re thinking about your friends and family’s space needs when selecting gifts would be to shop for items that are small-scale, such as a smaller French press or pour-over coffee maker. We have both options and love using them on our slower mornings at home, when we like to try locally made coffee. Sometimes kitchen gadgets are too big and bulky for RVers, but selecting smaller items, such as tupperware or a knife set are good options that almost every size home needs.
Other Ideas
Beyond the kitchen and bathroom, we find that travel-themed items make great gifts for folks who live and move around in their small spaces! We have plenty of National Park items in our home, including the blanket on our bed, a small calendar, and our adventure travel guides. We got our National Park blanket from the visitor center in Rocky Mountain National Park, but you can order one of our favorite blankets with your loved one’s favorite National Park from Rumpl. If the home on wheels family in your life are on the move, we recommend the Moon Guides RV Adventures book! This book has everything in it from campground recommendations to RV-friendly road trip routes! We love Moon Travel Guides because they are written by locals and feature diverse options and resources for travel.
Shop Small
Of course, if you are looking to shop small and handmade this season you can find many travel and adventure-themed items through Etsy, or by searching for artists via social media. If you would like to shop from us this year, you can find many of our items in our shop. We have been featuring our National Park Beanies this year, which are lovingly made with colors inspired by the National Parks we have visited. We also have our popular heart garland, which can be displayed in a variety of spaces. We have a few friends who have even put them up in their vans! We also have an array of merchandise that shows support and encouragement to the LGBTQ+ community. Whether you shop with us or other small businesses, we know that shopping small has a big impact on the artists and business you chose to support!
One of the reasons we chose to live small was to travel, but another reason was to be more aware of what and how much we consume. We spend our holidays valuing experiences, being mindful about what we bring into the RV, and taking more quality time with each other and our loved ones. We truly feel that this has been a lesson learned over time in RV living and we are thankful to have another year to celebrate our life in our small space.
Read more from Wander Free and Queer:
Fun in Florida: Top Winter RV Destination with Wander Free and Queer
Stationary RV Life vs. Traveling RV Life with Wander Free and Queer
Running a Small Business from the Road with Wander Free and Queer
