Ingrid's Corner

Holiday Decorating Tips for RV’s & Small Homes

by Ingrid

Whether you live in an RV, a small apartment, or have nook-like spaces in your home, it’s always fun and festive to add holiday decor to your surroundings regardless of the size of your living space.

Choosing a style, picking a theme and complimenting it with different textures and colors, brings the feeling of home to any space, big or small, mobile or stationary. Here are three things I keep in mind when decorating my RV …
(this post contains affiliate links)

Big ball holiday decor
My, those are big balls! Yeah, too much for small space living … wouldn’t you agree?

Less Is More

Thinking like a minimalist when decorating for the holidays can be a challenge because there are so many amazing decorations to choose from, but it’s important to remind ourselves that small spaces require self-control. By keeping the scale of the decorations small and maximizing the corners in our home, we won’t encroach on the livability of our space. Remember, we still need a fully functional home with room left for entertaining family and friends.

Instead of a full size Christmas tree, consider a much smaller tabletop tree. I love wreaths, and by hanging a wreath either on a wall, door, cupboard, or even over a window adds a touch of festive decor without taking up any space. Consider hanging garland and lights or even just the lights alone along the tops of your cabinets. By hanging decor, we won’t encroach on any living space. Taking up living space will make the home feel small, cluttered, and less inviting.

Focus On The Details

I try to be intentional with every detail. When I add decor to my RV, I want everything coordinating well together without over-cluttering the space. I’m a huge fan of scented candles and love it when friends pop over and exclaim, “It smells wonderful in here”.

It’s easy to over decorate, but implementing small touches like scented candles, holiday dish towels, a table-cloth or runner, special holiday pillows, or even a simple basket of pine cones to my everyday decor adds that festive holiday feel that I strive for. Incorporating just a few simple yet distinct things, creates an aesthetic look to holiday decorations.

Make It Personal

Above all else, personalize your decor. You can complement your style by creating unique table settings. Since I live in an RV, we entertain guests outdoors most of the time. I use holiday paper plates, napkins, and candles to decorate our outdoor table for entertaining. The use of a table runner and garland placed down the middle of the table adds additional holiday decor and is easily stored. Yeah, storage is an important consideration because once the holidays are over, we need to have a place to pack the decorations away until the next year’s holiday season.

Decorating a lot or a little for the holidays is a personal choice. I’m more of a minimalist and opt for a poinsettia or two in lieu of a Christmas tree and run some rope lighting around the exterior of our RV, and I always manage to go overboard with the scented candles and soaps.

We all have our own style and eye for decor which should be reflected in our homes. Do you have any tips or holiday decorating ideas for those of us living in small spaces?

It’s the little details that add a touch of festivity to any home.
I love changing up my pillows with the season.
Simple, yet festive!
Tallest Christmas Tree in Arizona located at the Outlets in Anthem.
The smell of Christmas
Decorating for the holidays!
A beautiful table setting.
So many Wreaths to choose from!

To enlarge photos in the gallery, click on any image!

 

45 thoughts on “Holiday Decorating Tips for RV’s & Small Homes”

  1. It looks like our trailer will be with us next week…you’ve given me some good ideas for a little Christmas Cheer (perhaps something festive for New Years), Ingrid! I’ve never ever had to worry about festive decor for an RV! Sounds like a fun project!

    Like

  6. We have spent two Christmas holidays in prior years in the RV with all the kids staying nearby in a hotel but still spending much of our together time in the RV. What seems to work best is hanging decorations inside except for a small tree that sits on a temporary table between the captain’s chairs upfront. That way we can put all the gifts under the tree or up on the dash behind the tree. Christmas kitchen towels, twinkle lights hanging around the edge of our long slide-out in the main living area using those command hooks that come off easily, cute Christmas hand towels in the bathroom, and a small Charlie Brown tree on the dresser in the bedroom are pretty much the extent of our inside decorations. But since it’s usually nice weather outside during the day, I also decorate the picnic table where we eat breakfast and lunch. We run a couple of strands of lights outside, too. But, my big tip here is to buy a DVD of a fireplace with a nice fire burning and popping to put on the television! Ours even has Christmas instrumental music included, too! 😀 I better never misplace that DVD because the kids just think that is the coolest thing ever in the RV. haha

    Like

    1. Seems like you have Christmas in the RV all figured out. I love that DVD idea. I might have to look into that. Wishing you a very Merry Christmas wherever you decide to spend it this year 🎁🎅🎄

      Like

  8. You know us, for Christmas, we go way overboard. Dave has always been related to the Griswalds. We have the room to carry it so why not. Still tweaking things so no pictures yet but boy is the site bright at night. With us considering selling Christmas trees next year we’ve made sure to use everything this year.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. You guys always do it up well and it’s great you’ve got the storage space for the decorations. Look forward to seeing pics of your site this year!

      Like

  9. Our first Christmas in the rig we bought a small artificial tree and mini decorations, hung lighted garland and had small festive trinkets on display. Last year we had a new rig and the floor space/counter tops aren’t conducive to the tree we had bought. So we didn’t have one. I like the idea of a poinsettia. This year we won’t be in the rig for Christmas. Hopefully it will be ‘in the shop’ for warranty work while we visit our son. I don’t feel the need to decorate this year but next Christmas I will once again bring out the lighted garland.

    Liked by 1 person

  10. Yes, in an RV it’s not so much the space taken up decorating, but rather the space needed to store the items after the season is over. When we were travelling full time I had a small collection of Father Christmas tree decorations which I hung anywhere I could using blue tack to attach them. Then I made do with a Christmas table runner and festive food. In my own home though I tend to go a bit overboard with tacky….. I like to think I do tacky tastefully, but I’m not sure tacky and tasteful are two things that can be achieved at the same time.. I have fun trying though. Scented candles are great. I found a beauty when I was in the UK, I think it was called Apple spice and it smelt just like Christmas! I haven’t been able to find another like it, but I keep looking.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. I love your tacky yet tasteful comment! My mind is busy visualizing 😆 I recently picked up a candle that is labeled “Christmas scented” and it’s wonderful with that spicy smell you’re looking for. If Australia wasn’t one of the most expensive places for me to ship to, I’d send you one. (shipping stuff to my daughter when she spent a semester in Sydney was eye opening).
      Can I count on some holiday decor photos on your blog?

      Liked by 1 person

  11. I struggle with this….I was what you call a Christmas fanatic! We decorated outside & inside of our 3500 sq. Ft house, complete with 2 trees, hundreds of lights, wreaths, & garlands! Now, I have to limit to a few decorative touches….a challenge for sure!!

    Liked by 1 person

    2. I’ve always been a fan of garland and wreaths, but even when we lived in a large home, I kept holiday decorations to a minimum. I guess, the clean up was something I dreaded which kept me under control 😁
      Are you regretting switching to .org?

      Liked by 2 people

      1. The jury is still out, I like the increased memory & functionality with the Bluehost server. Plus, thinking of monetizing but, have a long way to go. I don’t have enough followers yet to even think about an affiliate or sponsored ads. Maybe in the future….still learning!!

        Liked by 1 person

        1. I’m still .com and monetize. I know I don’t have as much control as I would with .org, but don’t feel I have the followers to justify the cost of self-hosting… perhaps one day!

          Liked by 2 people

  12. Even when I had a house I didn’t decorate. I wish I should show you a photo of the ‘ Charlie brown’ ‘tree’ I made a few years out of a y’all candle holder. Very sad but it was funny!

    Liked by 1 person

    1. I’ve always been a minimalist decorator. I probably would’ve decorated more for holidays if I didn’t have to pack it all away afterwards … the real deterrent 🤣 Enjoy your holiday season in whatever way it works for you 😊

      Liked by 2 people

        1. Yeah, if there’s one thing I really miss about a sticks and bricks – it’s a dishwasher. Due to food allergies, I do a lot of cooking and the clean up is the worst part. Ah, such is life!

          Like

  13. I love those rope lights in RVs and boats around the holidays. Well, actually any time of the year. Festive and fun. As far as our decorations go, we are about as minimalistic as it gets. A good friend gave me a Christmas tree that’s only five inches tall. I’ll put it somewhere during the holidays and that’ll have to do. If we would have people over (like we did every year on our sailboat), I’d decorate a little bit more with homemade or cheap materials, or friends would bring decorations. We will be alone again this year (house sitting), so I’m not going through the effort. 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

    1. I totally understand the minimal decorations. The exterior lighting is not only festive, but here in the desert, it helps keep those nocturnal critters away … aka pack rats. Hopefully, you and I will be able to meet up sometime this winter!

      Liked by 2 people

  14. I love this post! It is spot on for me since we are leaving next week for 6 months. I have my little tree and a Xmas pillow all ready. The pillow is really too big but someone gave it to me and it’s a travel trailer and adorable. The other side of space is weight and it’s lightweight.
    I’ve been alternately excited and worried about being gone for the holidays. Your post puts me at ease. We can do this!

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Oh, I know you’ll have a fun time and I look forward to tagging along your journey …. hopefully you’ll keep us updated even if you get behind. Fun first, blog second!

      Liked by 1 person

    1. NO … absolutely not! Leave the minimalism to me. You do such an amazing job decorating for the holidays. Please don’t change and I look forward to your photos sharing your beautiful creativity.

      Liked by 2 people

    1. I like to keep the decorating simple in our RV because I hate clutter and it’s so easy to clutter up our small space. Enjoy your holiday season with family AND snow!

      Liked by 1 person

Comments are closed.