Posted in: Christmas, Frequently Asked Questions

Practical Christmas Gift Ideas for RVers

It’s day two of RV gift recommendations! If you need to buy presents for a RV enthusiast these are sure to please.

RV/SET UP:

  • LevelMatePro* While some of the newer (and nicer) Class A and C’s have auto-leveling, ours does not. It does have an electric jack and stabilizers, but you still have to level it. Instead of taking a level and doing it the old fashioned way, LevelMatePro was recommended and we love it. It mounts in your rig and uses your phone to show how level you are from left to right and front to back. I would recommend this product especially for those that are in travel trailers or have an older rig. Unless you are parking on a perfectly level concrete pad, it is super useful on travel days. (Cost: $145)
  • WeBoost* This helps boost all signals in the area, so we use it for our cell phone hotspots and the independent hotspot. There are a few different types of the WeBoost (home, car, RV, etc.) to meet your needs. We have seen a little bit of a difference in the signals. When you work/school from home, it’s important to have good internet signal. (Cost: $400)
  • Leveling Blocks*. These are like giant Legos used to help level the RV. We use these for the stabilizers, the jack, and to level the RV. We’ve even add them under the steps when there is too big of a gap. (Cost: $30 – we bought 3 sets)
  • Viair Compressor*. As the name implies, this is an air compressor! This guy does a great job with the RV and truck tires that require higher pressures. The real win is the compressor connects directly to the travel trailer battery to run and has plenty of accessories to allow a reach to all of the tires without too much relocation. (Cost: $300)
  • Back Up Camera*. This is a great gift for new RV owners. This made backing into spots and even seeing the cars around us on the highway so much easier! (Please make sure this will work with their RV.)
  • TPMS System. This is another gift that is very practical, but really useful. It helped save us from a tire blow-out on the highway.
  • Telescoping Ladder*. Great for working on the outside of the RV.

KITCHEN/BAKING/COOKING:

  • Blackstone grill*. We do not have one of these, but people rave about them!
  • InstantPot*. We used our InstantPot a lot for cooking meals. The oven took awhile to cook larger items (and used propane, so when there were propane shortages, we used the InstantPot for food and the propane for heat/water.)
  • Baking Pan*. My normal baking pans would not fit in the smaller oven and I found a Quarter Sheet Pan that works really well in the RV sized oven. I still use it for roasting veggies in the full sized house oven.
  • Hamilton or George Foreman Grills

INDOOR:

  • Air purifier*. This is great if you have allergies. As we have traveled the country we have each discovered new pollen and molds to be allergic to. Luckily I had this air purifier at home before we left. It may be a little big for RV life. It does work really well though! (Cost: $85)
  • Blackout curtains. Great for keeping the sun out for sleeping, heat out on hot days, and the cold from sneaking in on cold days. (Link to post on hanging our curtains.) (Cost: $25 each – we bought 4 sets for our 11 windows)
  • Dehumidifier. We have been in locations with unusual heat waves and deserts lately. There have been a few times (mostly in the beginning of the trip) where the humidity in the RV has gotten high, even with the A/C and the bathroom fan on. The one thing we have read a lot about, is that RV’s can grown mold somewhat easily. We try to keep the humidity at a normal level. I have used this humidity/temperature sensor* for years, and it does pretty well. We brought it with us on the trip. We ended up buying a small dehumidifier* to help with the humidity in the RV. (Cost: Dehumidifier $45, sensor $17)
  • Fire extinguisher*. Most new RVs come with a fire extinguisher by the front door (kitchen area). We have one in the outdoor kitchen and one in our bedroom as well. You just can’t be too safe. (Cost: $30)
  • First aid kit*. My mom made ours for us before we left. She combined many of our existing kits and confirmed everything was in date. This is a great gift if you have the energy and time to DIY. She did a great job of getting most of what we needed, but still kept it to a reasonable size. We used an art container with internal dividers. It slides nicely between the bed and the wall. We have already had to restock the bandaids from multiple falls from bikes on gravel. If you don’t have the time or inclination to make a first aid kit, this looks like a thorough one that should fit most situations. (Cost: $30)
  • Berkey water filter*. Great for those places with iffy water.
  • Flashlights. We had small flashlights in every room. When we went hiking, we packed a headlamp and a hand held light. These also come in handy when you realize the grey or black tank are full and have to be emptied at night.
  • Happy Camper. We really liked this black tank treatment. It worked a lot better than the drop in tablets.

CLOTHES/SHOES:

  • Crocs. Great for running over to the pool, the showers, or to empty the tanks.
  • Thermals/base layers
  • Hats
  • Hiking boots

ACTIVITIES:

  • Waterproof bag/purse*. I brought this to hike in the Narrows and when we went on to the beach.
  • Gimbal*. Helps take the shaking and sudden movements out of videos.
  • Tripod
  • Hiking sticks/poles
  • Reusable water bottles (for hiking, etc.)

MEMBERSHIPS & APPS:

  • Costco membership. Although we don’t buy quite as much as we used to (just don’t have the room for it), we still love our Costco membership. We love the organic ground beef and chicken, as well as the frequently changing inventory. It’s fun to discover what each Costco has. Many of them carry different things. For example: Ohio doesn’t sell liquor; New Orleans sold Ben’s favorite “souvenir” (a collapsible tote); California sold boogie boards; Many have specific city/sports team gear. Gas prices are usually pretty good as well, but we’ve only come across a couple that carry diesel. Plus, it’s hard to beat their hotdog/soda ($1.50 special) and pizza ($9.95 for a very large pie) prices! (Cost: $60 for Basic; We upgraded years ago to the Executive for $120 because we spend enough that the 2% cash back just makes sense for us.)
  • RVLife. This app allows you to input your RV height/weight/width to help navigate on road trips. It helped us avoid low bridges and other roads were we would not have fit.
  • If you are traveling full-time, a campground membership may be helpful. Thousand Trails, KOA, etc.

Hope these suggestions make your holiday shopping a little easier! If we missed any RV essentials, please remind us in the comments. Happy holidays!

NOTE: The costs listed are what we paid and may have changed. Please use these as estimated prices and check for yourself as you may be able to get better pricing.

*Affiliate Link. If you buy an item from Amazon using my links, I may receive a small commission for the referral. It does not affect your cost at all! If you want more information, please visit the Disclosure page.

Posted in: Christmas, Frequently Asked Questions

Fun Christmas Gifts For RVers

We’re going to start off our RV gift buying lists with the fun items! Check back tomorrow for the more useful and practical gift ideas.

OUTDOOR FUN:

  • Solar Decorations*. I bought these on a whim, when we were at a super dark campground and we ended up loving them. We got the solar powered coloring changing balls and would hang them on the awning arm. It made it nice to find the RV in the dark and added some ambience when sitting by the campfire. (Cost: $17)
  • Propane Fire Pit. We just got this and have only used it twice. It had great reviews, rather light weight, small enough, and runs on propane. There are separate things you can buy for it, including a rack to cook on top of. We were looking for a wood alternative (although Ben loves a wood fire), since most of the places in the West have had a wood fire ban. NOTE: These can go out of stock quickly. Call the store directly to see if they have it in stock and can hold it for you. (Calling helps because the online inventory does not update as quickly as you may need it to.) (Cost: $150)
  • America The Beautiful National Park Pass. This was one of the best gifts we received. It allowed us to see so many of the National Parks along our trip. This is such a good deal if you are planning on seeing a few parks in a year. (Cost: $80)
  • Hammock Chairs*. These are foldable like camping chairs, but give you more of a reclining, hammock feel.
  • Hammock*. For when you want an actual hammock. These go up quickly and store in a small bag. We got these for the kids last year for Christmas and they loved them. (Cost: $23)
  • Football or basketball. Most campgrounds will have either an open area to throw a ball or Frisbee or a basketball hoop.
  • Kayak: there are so many options now including the standard, inflatable, and foldable.
  • Extendable roasting sticks (hot hot dogs and marshmallows)
  • Electric bike. We bought a folding electric bike at Costco and it worked fine for us. There are ones that have the larger tires and are more of a mountain bike* that people seem to love!
  • Propane pizza oven. These look so fun! We don’t have one, and it may be impractical for trips, but it looks fun.
  • Christmas tree. Of course, this would be needed to give ahead (maybe as a St. Nick’s Day gift!). We bought a felt tree to hang on the wall for Christmas. It came with Velcro ornaments. Ben cut little slits in the tree and we added battery operated lights. There are also small artificial tabletop sized trees.

GAMES:

  • Nintendo Switch*. What?! Electronics for camping? If you are traveling full time in a RV, you quickly find that there are some days where no one wants to go explore outside or it’s raining. We had the Switch before we left and brought it with us. It is small, which is great in an area where space is limited. We even hooked it up to the large TV and played family game nights on it. Since it is small and portable, it also came with us in the truck on long move days.
  • Furglars*. We absolutely love this board game. It is great in the RV (it’s small) or in a house. We play it a lot; it’s a fun and quick game.
  • Roadtrip themed games like Radical Road Trip or Road Trip Board Game.
  • Roku stick*. The TV in our RV was a smart TV, but did not have the Roku app. We bought a Roku Stick so that we could access Amazon Video and Netflix.
  • Christmas RV themed books, like Ben’s Twas The Night Before Christmas: Campground Edition.

INDOOR:

  • LED Coloring Changing Light Strips*. We had a strip of these LED lights in the living room. It was nice to be able to change the color of the lights for the different holidays!
  • RV Shaped Planter. We found one at a local grocery store during our travels. I loved having a small enough plant/planter that I could pack it in the sink for travel days. There are several different kinds available on Etsy and Amazon.
  • US Sticker Map. We took turns placing the stickers on our map. We now have it hanging on our living room to remind us of all the places we have been.

APPS:

  • All Trails. There is a free version, but the Pro/paid for version allows you to download the maps which is really useful in areas of low to no cell service.

Hope these suggestions make your holiday shopping a little easier! If we missed any RV essentials, please remind us in the comments. Happy holidays!

*Post Contains Amazon Affiliate Links. If you buy an item from Amazon using my links, I may receive a small commission for the referral. It does not affect your cost at all! If you want more information, please visit the Disclosure page.

Posted in: Christmas, Elf On The Shelf, Food, Holidays

There Was An Elf Spotted In The Campground (You’ve Been Elfed)!

At our old sticks-and-bricks, we used to make and deliver Christmas cookies to everyone in the cul-de-sac. There were a few times we did Elf Bags as well, but it mostly the cookies. It was a great way to try to bring a little brightness to someone else’s life. I do miss our neighbors and the cookie tradition. Sometimes the neighbors joined in: one of our neighbors would bake sweet bread and bring it over, another would sometimes give us an ornament when we dropped off the cookies, one year a neighbor and their family went caroling.

With Covid, I have noticed not as much community get togethers in the campgrounds, which I totally get (and support). We’ve been staying to ourselves as well, with just the “hello” in passing for the most part. However, I think everyone needs some cheer, especially this year, so we wanted to do the Elf Bag at the campground. Due to Covid, we didn’t do any homemade treats and tried to make sure everything in the bag was sealed or washable. Elf Bags are similar to the Halloween boo bags, only Christmas themed. (I’ve also seen it as You’ve Been Jingled.)

We found a cute ornament kit and a Hershey’s Build-A-Santa bar at Target (ornament kit in the deal bins at the front of the store). We also added in a bag of red and green suckers, a penguin tic tac toe game, candy cane filled with red and green candy, and some mini candy canes. For more Elf Bag ideas, you can see my list here (from my mom blog). The campground store also had a packet to put in the fire pits that caused the flames to change* color, so we put one of those in as well.

You can find the free Elfed printable here.

*Affiliate link

Posted in: Christmas, Exploring Texas, Food, Holidays, Sightseeing, YouTube Video Link

Fredericksburg, Texas: Christmas Lights & A German Christmas Pyramid

We wanted to find a couple of Christmas things to do with the kids for their first Christmas away from home. While I hoped we didn’t see any snow, we did want to see some Christmas lights! After searching online, I found the 55 Nights of Fredericksburg Lights. The town did a nightly event to turn on the lights at the Marketplatz and featured the 26 ft tall German Christmas Pyramid.

The pyramid was made in Germany and was the tallest one in the US when it came over. It was neat to see; all but the top layer moved. The candles were electric (small Christmas pyramids for houses used to use real candles).

The town itself was very cute with lots of historic looking buildings. There were several hilarious shop signs as well.

It was about an hour drive from our campground. We went on a Tuesday, which may have been a mistake. Although the 55 Nights were advertised, there actually wasn’t a lot to do when we got there (about 4:45pm). It seemed like most of the shops were closed for the day (or there were several that were closed on Tuesdays and Wednesdays). There were only two places open serving dinner type of food (a wine tasting place and a brewery) and an ice cream shop. (We ended up grabbing dinner on the way home.) There was also a chocolate shop, but once we got to the front doors and saw the employees were not wearing masks, we did not go in.

I did find some cute mini cookie cutters and a Christmas gift for Will. We did not stay long after the lighting, as most places were closed.

VIDEO: 55 Nights of Fredericksburg Lights and Driving Through Town

Posted in: Christmas, Food, Holidays

Our New RV…Gingerbread Style

We have always done a gingerbread house at Christmas. We found a really cute RV kit at Target this year.

The kit came with the gingerbread pieces, gum drops, candy beads, light bulb candy, red and black decorative icing, and a white Royal icing. There were a few paper decorations as well: Santa, a grill, and a picnic bench/tree.

There was a plastic tray with indents for the wheels. It did help a lot as the RV sides set. The directions said to do the front/back/sides and let sit, then add the roof. If you don’t have it perfect, the roof doesn’t fit in easily. Next time I may put the roof on as soon as the sides/front/back are iced together, so that the icing is still pliable and it can all set/dry together.

The boys had a blast decorating it and it turned out pretty well. They especially enjoyed eating it for Thanksgiving dessert!

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