Fulltiming for the Holidays

[HornedToad]

The Holiday season is near, Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas & New Years.

I'll be retiring within the next ten years and I think I want to go fulltime, Helen has reservations.

Something that's very important to her is celebrating with our holiday traditions. She already has the house decorated for fall with pumpkins, hay bales & corn stalks and the day after Thanksgiving I'll have to get the Christmas lights up. Then you've got Trick or Treat, the Thanksgiving feast and presents under the tree.

When you go fulltime how do you manage to keep these traditions alive?

 

[ramdually4100king]

The campground that we are at decorates well and has a pumpkin patch and events for the kids. With regard to the trailer we have window stickies, a festive picnic table cloth, lights for Halloween and Christmas, we have a small tree for presents, and of course watch all the holiday shows on the TV.

I hope this helps

 

[GlenStMary]

You could always pull up to the relatives house, hook up, and let them deal with the decorating, cleanup, and tear down. We aren't full time yet, but that is our plan, and I'm looking forward to it with immense anticipation.

 

[HappyKayakers]

If you only think you want to fulltime and your DW has reservations, why on earth are you even considering it? Aside from the holidays, it's a major lifestyle change. If you're not both fully on board, there could be major problems. Fortunately you still have several years to think about it.

 

[kowAlski631]

If you only think you want to fulltime and your DW has reservations, why on earth are you even considering it? Aside from the holidays, it's a major lifestyle change. If you're not both fully on board, there could be major problems. Fortunately you still have several years to think about it.

Totally agree that you both need to be in agreement with full-timing. It does take a lifestyle change & how to handle holiday traditions are only a small part of the changes. Biggest change for me was not having all my shoes, purses, & clothes with me. But that's ok - we've seen things & met people we never would have.

Martha

 

[HornedToad]

If you only think you want to fulltime and your DW has reservations, why on earth are you even considering it? Aside from the holidays, it's a major lifestyle change. If you're not both fully on board, there could be major problems. Fortunately you still have several years to think about it.

I think I want to Fulltime because right now Helen and I are very committed to "Weekending"
(we've only spent four weekends at home since Memorial Day)
and all my friends and family tell me the happiest they every see me is when I'm getting ready or out camping.

You guys are right, the change in lifestyle is the challenge we need to understand.

PS Martha your motto sums up another reason

 

[kowAlski631]

Glad you like our motto. Try this before you jump into full time - do 1 or 2 months with no returning home for any reason. If that goes well, then extend the time. We love the lifestyle, but do miss things from our previous lifestyle. You'll both know if 24/7/365 works.

 

[TXTiger]

One of the advantages of going full time is leaving a lot of baggage behind. It is not very hard to decorate your RV for the holidays. Wal-Mart has inexpensive decorations you can buy on the road and discard after the holiday is over.

 

[rumaco]

We are fulltimers and have been for quite some time. We do own a stick built but are selling it and have only been back once or twice in the last year. What we do is Workamp and host RV parks as we go thus getting free rent/electric/laundry and many other bennies. We started by working at Amazon.com and have moved around quite a bit and now are in Sequim Wa hosting an RV park. And yes we keep all the traditions alive!

 

[HornedToad]

Since my original post we spent our 1st Traditional Holiday in our RV, not counting Memorial, Independence or Labor Day.

All my girls were there, we had a fantastic Thanksgiving feast, and watched the game from the stands instead of on TV.

We did not miss our site built home one bit!!!

"It's not where you are, but who you're with that really matters." Dave Matthews Band

 

[MCTalley]

Well, there you go. Not too bad, eh?

We spent Thanksgiving week on the Gulf Coast. Our son was able to drive down to be with us. Our original plan was to drive over to Cracker Barrel for Thanksgiving dinner, but we found out that the park we were staying in was hosting a Thanksgiving pitch-in. Lots of fun and lots of great food.

Christmas every year, we fly out to be with our daughter and her family.

 

[kowAlski631]

Spent Thanksgiving in Northern Virginia with our sons, their wonderful wives, & our incomparable grandchildren. Learned that cold weather was no longer for us, so Christmas will be spent on the Georgia coast with Skype visits to their homes rather than personal appearances.

Merry Christmas to all.



Paul & Martha

Life's too short. Live so you can say "Remember when" not "I wish I had".