Five Winters of Christmas in an RV

byJDenesovych

864 followers

2 weeks ago

This will be our fourth winter spending Christmas inside an RV.

Once we went full time, that reality quietly set in. Not as a temporary experiment, and not because something fell apart, but simply because our life changed shape. Along with that change came another one people tend to notice right away: we stopped buying Christmas gifts.

That detail alone can make the conversation uncomfortable. Some people assume it must feel empty. Others quietly wonder if something went wrong along the way. The truth is much simpler. After seven years working retail, watching Christmas arrive earlier and earlier on store shelves, something fundamental shifted for me. What once felt meaningful slowly became procedural. Performative. Loud.

Stepping away wasn’t an act of rejection. It was an act of clarity.

Christmas 2021: The First Quiet One

Our first RV Christmas was in the winter of 2021, still in Canada.

It felt strange at first. The space was small. The weather was cold. There were no plans pulling us in different directions, no timelines to manage, no expectation to replicate what Christmas was “supposed” to look like.

What stood out most was how quiet it was. Not just externally, but internally. Without the usual noise of obligations and errands, there was room to slow down. Coffee tasted better. Mornings lasted longer. The day unfolded without urgency.

That was the moment I realized how much pressure usually hides inside the season. Not joy, but obligation disguised as tradition.

Crawford Bay Winters: When It Became Normal

The next two Christmases, in 2022 and 2023, were spent wintering in Crawford Bay, British Columbia.

By then, the novelty had worn off. What remained was something steadier. We didn’t rush. We didn’t shop. We didn’t exchange gifts. We simply settled into quiet routines that didn’t require explanation.

There was no formal decision to “replace” Christmas traditions. We didn’t create new rituals or try to manufacture meaning. We just lived our days, slowly and intentionally.

What surprised me was the absence of loss. There was no lingering sense of guilt or emptiness. If anything, gratitude became more visible. Without the pressure to perform the season correctly, moments felt more honest.

Less effort, more presence.

Costa Rica Christmases: A Different Frame Entirely

The last two Christmases, in 2024 and now 2025, have been spent in Costa Rica.

Warm air instead of winter coats. Open windows instead of sealed doors. Light that feels different, not just visually but emotionally. The contrast stripped away any remaining assumptions about what Christmas is meant to look like.

No pine trees. No snow. No familiar cues telling you how the season should feel.

And that absence was clarifying.

Not because Costa Rica is better, but because freedom reframes everything. When you remove the script, you’re left with choice. And choice changes how gratitude shows up.

You Don’t Have to Hate Christmas to Step Away From It

This part matters.

We didn’t step away from Christmas because we’re bitter. We didn’t do it because we dislike family, traditions, or the season itself. There was no dramatic line in the sand.

We stepped away because time freedom changes how you see traditions.

When your life is no longer structured around rigid schedules and external expectations, you start asking quieter questions. Do I actually enjoy this, or have I just been repeating it? Is this meaningful, or is it familiar? What happens if I opt out without replacing it?

What we found was that gratitude didn’t disappear when we stepped back. It deepened. When nothing is required, everything becomes optional, and optional things tend to matter more.

A Quiet Affiliate Marketing Parallel

There’s a subtle connection here to affiliate marketing and online business.

Christmas is a system. Retail is a system. Marketing is a system. Understanding how systems work doesn’t require you to be consumed by them. It simply gives you perspective.

Affiliate marketing exists because commercialization exists. That doesn’t make it good or bad. It makes it predictable. The difference is whether you’re operating inside the system blindly or intentionally.

Building an online income didn’t take Christmas away from us. It gave us the option to redesign it. And that distinction is often missed when people talk about “making money online.” It isn’t about escaping responsibility. It’s about reclaiming choice.

What Four Winters Taught Me

After four winters of Christmas in an RV, here’s what feels true.

You don’t have to hate Christmas to step away from it.
You don’t have to reject tradition to question it.
And you don’t have to participate in everything simply because it’s expected.

Gratitude doesn’t always come from doing more. Sometimes it shows up when you do less.

Wishing You a Cheerful Christmas

However you’re spending Christmas this year, whether it’s busy or quiet, traditional or unconventional, I hope it brings you exactly what you need. Not what you’re told it should look like, but what actually feels right.

Merry Christmas WA Family from inside an RV, somewhere warm, somewhere calm, and deeply grateful for the freedom to choose.