By Gail Marsh
It won’t be long now. Soon, out-of-town relatives and friends will descend on your home for the holidays. It’s expensive to put them up in nearby hotels, but if you don’t really have space for them inside your sticks-and-bricks home, it’s time to put that RV to an alternative use! Use your RV to accommodate your out-of-town guests. You can take it to a nearby campground or park it in your driveway. Either way, your guests will have a place to “escape,” and you can find downtime inside your home, as well! Face it, holidays are stressful enough without having to worry about extra folks underfoot 24/7. Let your RV come to the rescue!
Before you think that bedding guests down in an RV is less than hospitable, there are ways you can make the RV space quite comfortable! Plus, it might be fun for your non-RVing guests to stay in their own house-on-wheels for a few days!
How to make your RV warm and welcoming to guests
- First, make sure everything in your RV is in tip-top shape. That means the furnace and/or A/C works well, along with the TV, fireplace, water heater, stove, fridge, and microwave.
- Check the water tanks. Add odor-blocking chemicals as needed.
- If your rig has been in storage for a while, air it out before guests arrive. No one wants to stay in a musty space!
- Thoroughly clean the RV, too. Even if you did a good cleaning at the end of your camping season, your unit will probably require a bit of dusting.
- Put freshly laundered bedding on the beds along with comfy pillows. Add ample towels to the bathroom.
- Make sure there are clothes hangers in the closet. Clear drawers for your guests’ clothing, as well.
- Your guests may eat meals with you and the rest of your extended family. If this isn’t the case, stock the cupboards and fridge with easy-to-make lunches. Think: bread, cold cuts, fruit, chips. Also, pack the refrigerator and kitchen cupboards with beverages and snack foods your guests will enjoy. Ensure there is ample ice in the freezer.
- Put a holiday-themed throw pillow on the sofa (if you celebrate Christmas, we like this one!), or drape a soft holiday blanket over the back of a chair for a welcome look. (Bonus: The blanket will also keep residents warm as they watch TV.)
- Run a “channel scan” on your television, if needed. Guests may want to access the TV for special sports events, and it’s easier if the TV is all set to go.
More tips to make your guests comfortable
- Preset the thermostat according to your guests’ preferred temps.
- Include a welcome basket on your dining table. Inside the basket put a handwritten note of welcome along with some of the following items: map of the area with brochures of local attractions/sites; a bottle of wine; foot socks or slippers for each guest; “schedule” of family events; homemade cookies or breakfast cake; recent magazines or book featuring guests’ interests; post-it note with your Wi-Fi password; a new toy or game for the baby/children/adults; and more.
- When guests arrive, take the time needed to demonstrate how to operate your RV’s amenities. Plan to leave operator manuals inside a cupboard, but also consider making simple “cheat sheets.” For example: The TV remote: Press “power” to turn on the TV. Use the up/down arrows to find stations. Our local stations are (list them). Plan to put similar “cheat sheets” near the microwave/convection oven, thermostat, or other places, too.
- Hang a holiday-themed banner or picture on a wall. Place last year’s framed family holiday photos on side tables or countertops. Hang holiday lights on the outside of the RV.
- If your guests are “crafty,” furnish supplies they can use to decorate the RV themselves. (Kids really enjoy making paper chain garlands, holiday pictures, and more.)
Gosh! Imagining the RV all decked out and ready to welcome guests almost makes me wish Hubby and I could stay there. Hmm, maybe we will!
##RVDT2254
People who are not already RV’ers and know nothing about RV’s, should never be allowed to stay in your RV unsupervised. Nothing good comes of that. I know . . .
When we had out of town guests I moved into the RV because they knew absolutely nothing about RVs and I didn’t want them messing anything up. As they were familiar with how a sticks and brick operates I wanted them to stay there. It worked perfectly.
I tend to agree with previous comments about thrusting folks with no RV experience into an RV – and holiday gatherings are generally too busy to run a basic instruction course on how RVs might look like a stix & brix but are not. And I have seen non-RV users’ eyes glaze over at some of the simple differences.On the other hand, if the guests are the type up for an adventure, sure why not?
Wow Gail,
That’s an exhaustive list pf prep items. What a great hostess you are! I think I’d just use the rig and have my guests in the house though.
Thank you, Gail! My, my, my. 😲 When I read the title I thought, “make the bed with clean sheets.” But then I read the article , and … my, my, my. 😲 That is quite a show of welcoming hospitality that you described. 🙂😊 However, I agree with Tommy, Bob, and Jim; I would not loose relative, friend, or stranger in our RV if they were not intimately acquainted with the nuances of RV use, 🤔 especially that of the bathroom. Thankfully, we anticipate housing all guests in our house. If we should have an overflow, then DW’s parents would get the short straw (?) and stay in our RV. They RVed and have traveled with us. I would not trust most others. Safe travels and happy Thanksgiving!🙂 🦃 🙂
I agree with the many comments that guests not familiar with RV’s shouldn’t be using your RV for an overnight stay. We took the opposite approach. We gave the bedrooms in our house to our guests and used our RV parked overnight at a nearby park for us. Worked out well. Our guests were our adult children.
We would use the RV and allow the guest the house. This gives us a place to escape to from the hustle of the season.