The holidays are here and that means it’s time to start thinking about gifts for your loved ones. The thing is, not everyone has room for more stuff, especially those who live in RVs. This can make buying gifts for the RVers in your life a bit tricky.
The good news? There is a way around this problem: experience gifts. Giving the full-time RVers in your life experiences rather than things will show them that you love them, give them something wonderful to look forward to after the holiday season ends, and ensure your gift doesn’t end up in the trash because it won’t fit in the RV.
Wondering what the best experience gifts for RVers are? Here are our top picks.
“America the Beautiful” Pass
First on our list is the “America the Beautiful” Pass. This awesome pass gives the cardholder free admission to national parks as well as a number of other government-owned lands across the country. It’s the perfect gift for someone who spends a lot of time outdoors, as well as those who enjoy traveling to see the most beautiful places the US has to offer.
Reciprocal Museum Membership
Visiting museums is one of the most fun things to do while out traveling. Give your loved one the gift of visiting as many museums as they like by getting them a reciprocal museum membership, which allows them free admission to museums all over the country.
There are several museum reciprocal programs out there, including our two favorites: ASTC and NARM. One of the best memberships to buy for access to both of these programs (and more) is the Kern County Museum Travel Membership.
Reciprocal Zoo Pass
Similar to the reciprocal museum memberships mentioned above, a reciprocal zoo pass is another excellent option. AZA is the reciprocal zoo program, and depending on the zoo you join to gain access to the program, holding one of these memberships will either give your free or deeply discounted admission to zoos all over the US.
This is the perfect pick for travelers with kids or those who love animals.
Theme Park Pass
A theme park season pass is another great pick! If your RVing friend or family member is stationary you can look into buying a pass to a local amusement park. If the recipient is nomadic, look into theme park passes that offer reciprocal benefits.
Six Flags has a pass that is good at all Six Flags parks, as do the Cedar Fair parks. The Merlin Pass is good at a number of amusement centers, and SeaWorld offers a pass that is good at several different parks.
Attraction or Show Admission Tickets
If you don’t think an annual pass or membership is the right thing, you might want to look into giving them one-day admission to an attraction, or tickets to a performance or event they would love. Just make sure whatever you buy matches up with any travel plans they might have.
Tours, Classes, or Lessons
You could also look into paying for your RVing loved one to learn something new. Find a cool tour or workshop in an area they’re visiting, or look into lessons for them to learn something you know they’d enjoy.
Fuel Gift Card
It’s no secret that RVs tend to be gas guzzlers. Because of this, absolutely no RVer will be sad to receive a fuel gift card in their stocking. If you‘re looking for an experience gift that you know will get used, this is the one!
Restaurant Gift Card
Make your RVing friend’s next travel day a bit easier by gifting them a restaurant gift card. Cooking after a long day of travel is never fun, so a gift card to a dinner spot will be greatly appreciated by the nomad in your life.
Clearly, there are plenty of amazing gift options that won’t take up any space at all, and in our opinion these are the best experience gift ideas out there. Which one will you choose to brighten the season for your RVing friend?
About the author: Chelsea Gonzales
Chelsea has the amazing opportunity to take part in full-time RV living and traveling with her tiny tribe. She homeschools her five-year-old son as they travel, and takes full advantage of their unique situation by using the entire world as her son’s classroom. A group of total Disney fanatics, Chelsea and her family often find themselves in the Orlando area in order to visit the Disney parks, but they have also visited over 25 of the 50 states with plans to see many more along the way. No matter where her travels take her, Chelsea enjoys riding bikes, gazing at beautiful sunsets, finding new coffee shops, Irish dancing, and sitting around a campfire with her family.
You can join her adventures through her blog, Wonder Wherever We Wander.
Ronald K. ~ “We called for help and the tech who we spoke to helped solve the problem over the phone. Everything was resolved within 10 minutes! It was great!”
Taking a Christmas RV road trip is a fun way to experience the many ways our nation celebrates the season and rings in the new year. From the blustery shores of New England to the sunny beaches of Southern California, hitting the road in December might be a little crazy because you’re taking a chance that Mother Nature will play nice, but the risk usually pays off with an unforgettable look at holiday traditions that our fellow Americans hold dear.
Since I’m a cold weather wimp, one of my favorite Christmases on the road was while camping along Florida’s Atlantic Coast. On a warm, sunny December morning while waiting for NASA’s space shuttle to launch at our Cape Canaveral RV park, a fire engine rolled into the resort with a wailing siren. Like any nosy neighbor we peered outside and were thrilled to see cheerful waves from a full-bellied Santa leading the park’s Christmas parade! As the fire engine merrily meandered while playing Christmas carols over the bullhorn, the tropical, beachy scene was right out of a Jimmy Buffet song.
RVers really know how to show their holiday spirit in RV parks and campgrounds. To the Scrooge types out there (like my husband who insists on limiting our décor to one shoebox), Christmastime decorations seem like a waste of perfectly good RV storage space. But I keep a few on board because I think they’re an excellent way to remind us that we should take time to celebrate making it through another year, healthy and happy.
Many full-time RVers travel with heaps of holiday décor, but for those of us living in smaller rigs we have to pick and choose our decorations carefully. If you live with a Scrooge who doesn’t want to give up his sock drawer for your ornaments, you might be able to win your case by agreeing to only keeping multi-purpose decorations in the RV, like all-occasion twinkly lights. Another way you can stay festive during your Christmas RV road trip is to buy cheap holiday decorations at a thrift store, then donate them back when January 1st rolls around. Your RV park might also appreciate these gently used items.