Celebrate Christmas with a Motorhome Staycation! 

The winter holiday season is the perfect time to escape the rush and commotion of everyday life and make some great memories with loved ones. And there’s no better way to celebrate than out on the road in your home on wheels!

For the ultimate Christmas motorhome staycation, we’ll take you through everything you need, from festive holiday decorations to fun seasonal activities, and even easy festive food ideas you can rustle up in your vehicle. Here’s how you can make the most of your motorhome or campervan during this merry period!

 

Decorating Your Motorhome for the Holidays

You don’t need a 6-foot Christmas tree to turn your motorhome into a festive winter wonderland, even with limited space there are plenty of ways to transform your camper into a holiday haven!

Image source: Arianne – Adobe Stock 

 

String Lights

String lights are one of the easiest ways to bring a magical festive ambience to your vehicle! The warm twinkling glow of these lights is a must-have for instantly setting the Christmas atmosphere!

Mini Christmas Tree

A mini 1 ft Christmas tree is the perfect space-conscious centrepiece to bring holiday cheer to your motorhome interior! Personalise with your choice of decorations whether that be mini baubles and a string of fairy lights, little ornaments, or ribbons!

Tinsel

Tinsel is an easy and inexpensive Christmas decoration that will add a sparkle and beautifully reflect light, creating a magical glow to your motorhome or campervan interior! Choose your favourite colour tinsel and hang or drape it all around your motorhome!

Hanging Decorations

From candy canes and little snowflakes to festive Christmas reefs and mistletoe, get creative with decorating in your camper! Small ornaments, reefs, garlands, and even DIY decorations can be placed on curtain hooks, hanging from the ceiling or on doors, or on the dashboard of your campervan! These yuletide touches will ensure your space is filled with holiday spirit!

Winter Outdoor Activities

Now that your motorhome is decorated for Christmas, it’s time to plan how you’ll embrace and celebrate your winter holiday! Whether you’re parked out by snowy mountains and frozen lakes, or you’re visiting a festive town, here are some outdoor activity ideas to experience with family!

Outdoor Hikes

Wrap up warm and explore nearby hiking trails! For lovers of the great outdoors, a hike is the perfect way to experience and embrace the winter beauty of natural outdoor landscapes, reconnect with nature, and stay active over the holiday season.

Ice Skating

If you’re camped near a rink, ice skating is a fantastic outdoor winter activity! Whether you are a skilled skater who glides gracefully on ice, or you slip around like a Bambi on ice, ice skating is a great activity for making memories this Christmas!

Christmas Markets

Get into the festive spirit at a Christmas market filled with holiday decorations, lights, music and treats! Local Christmas markets are a great opportunity to shop for unique gifts, taste local festive cuisines, and soak up an area’s culture and Christmas atmosphere!

Light Displays 

Light displays are a magical spectacle for both children and adults alike to experience! The glowing lights and festive exhibits create a dazzling display perfect for family photos and creating special moments together. There are displays all across the UK for you to explore, here is a list of 19 of the best UK Christmas light trails for 2024.

Farm Visits

Around the holidays many farms offer holiday activities like Santa’s workshop, Christmas tree cutting, or visiting farm animals! These are excellent family-friendly days out, perfect for doing something different over Christmas!

Winter Indoor Activities

When you’re not out and about and spending time relaxing in your motorhome, here are some fun activity ideas to make the most of your downtime.

Image source: Astarot – Adobe Stock 

Crafting and Games

Get your craft on! Making DIY ornaments for your Christmas tree, wreaths, or other holiday crafts is great fun for all the family! You can also play all the classic holiday games like Trivia, Charades, Cards, or Pictionary to keep everyone engaged and entertained.

Gingerbread House Decorating

Making and decorating a gingerbread house is a creative and tasty activity that the whole family can enjoy! Either pack a premade gingerbread kit or enjoy baking your own gingerbread, constructing and decorating a delicious festive house can create hours of fun!

And if you’re up for a real challenge you could try and make a gingerbread motorhome like shown in the video below!

Board Games

Classic board games like Monopoly, Scrabble, or Clue never get old, making them perfect for spending quality time in your motorhome with friends or family! If you wanted to spice your gameplay up you could incorporate some holiday-themed variations into your game, such as adding some Christmas-themed rules e.g. coming up with holiday-themed words for Scrabble, or incorporating Christmas props as game pieces in games like Monopoly or Clue, or adding food during certain parts of the game like ‘pass go and collect a sweet!’

Holiday Movie Marathon

Grab your favourite snacks and a warm blanket, get cosy and settle in for a holiday movie marathon! Whether you love the Christmas classics like Home Alone or It’s a Wonderful Life or you’re excited about newer streaming films like Our Little Secret or The Christmas Chronicles, nothing beats curling up under a blanket with loved ones and marathoning festive films all day long!

Easy Festive Food Items to Cook in Your Camper

Cooking up a Christmas feast isn’t always the easiest thing in a motorhome kitchen, with challenges like limited space as well as just being busy over the Christmas period, you likely won’t have a lot of time for meal prep and cooking. Here are some easy Christmas-themed food ideas that can be cooked in the microwave or an air fryer! Many of these flavoursome recipes are also perfect for including the kids in the fun!

Microwave Recipes

Snowman Rice Krispie Treats

Ingredients: ¼ of Butter, 4 cups of mini marshmallows, 5 cups of Rice Krispies cereal.

Decoration Ingredients: M&Ms, chocolate chips, pretzel sticks, fruit roll-up, strawberry laces, or liquorice.

Method:

1. In a large (microwave-safe bowl) add the butter and marshmallows.
2. Heat for 30 seconds – 1 minute, remove the bowl and stir the mixture, then heat for an additional 30 seconds, remove the bowl and stir again.
3. Allow the mixture to cool slightly (so it’s cool enough to handle but still mouldable).
4. Grease your hands with either butter or a cooking spray to prevent the mixture sticking to your hands.
5. Roll the mixture into balls of different sizes, a larger ball for the body and a smaller ball for the head.
6. Stack the balls on top of each other to form the snowman shape.
7. Uses M&Ms and chocolate chips to form the snowman’s face and buttons.
8. Use the fruit roll-up, strawberry laces, or liquorice to form a scarf.
9. Insert the pretzel sticks into the larger ball to form the snowman’s arms.

 

Jacket Potatoes with Festive Toppings

Ingredients: 2 potatoes, 2 tsp of butter, shredded cheese, sour cream, cranberry sauce.

Method

1. Clean potatoes under running water.
2. Prick them with a fork and microwave for 10 minutes.
3. Slice open your potatoes.
4. Top with butter and cheese and microwave for an additional 20 seconds so it melts.
5. Add sour cream and cranberry sauce.

 

Stuffing Balls

Ingredients: 8 cups of breadcrumbs, ¹⁄₃  cup of melted butter, 1 cup chicken broth, 2 tablespoons of mixed dried herbs of your choice, salt and pepper.

Method

1. In a bowl mix all the ingredients together
2. Then take small handfuls of the mixture and shape them into small balls.
3. Place the balls on a plate and microwave for 4-6 minutes.

 

Elf Popcorn

Ingredients: Popcorn (Premade or microwavable kernels), white chocolate chips or pieces, red and green sprinkles. (Optional: Pretzels, M&Ms, Peanuts)

Method

1. If using microwavable kernels cook the popcorn using the instructions on the bag and pour it into a big bowl and then set aside.
2. In a separate bowl microwave heat the white chocolate chips until melted – it’s a good idea to heat the chocolate for no more than 20 seconds at a time, stirring in between until the chocolate has melted.
3. Drizzle the white chocolate over the popcorn and add the sprinkles.
4. For optional flavour add pretzels, M&Ms, or peanuts.

 

Air Fryer Recipes

Christmas Tree Cheesy Garlic Balls

Ingredients: Ready-to-roll pizza dough, mozzarella cheese, 1 cup of softened butter, shredded parmesan cheese, garlic clove, parsley, thyme, salt and pepper.

Method

1. Chop and the mince garlic clove.
2. In a bowl combine the softened butter, shredded parmesan cheese, and minced garlic. Then add salt, pepper, parsley and thyme.
3. Chop the mozzarella cheese into small sticks and set aside.
4. Cut the pizza dough into 15 small squares.
5. Add the small sticks of mozzarella into each square and roll them into tight balls.
6. Arrange the ball into a Christmas tree shape in your air fryer basket.
7. Spread the garlic butter onto the balls.
8. Air fry your cheesy garlic balls for around 12-14 minutes at 200C.

 

Roast Cranberry Chicken Thighs

Ingredients: 4 chicken thighs, 6 tbsp whole cranberry sauce, 3 tbsp soy sauce, 2tsp vegetable oil, dried thyme, salt and pepper, any additional seasoning of your choice.

Method

1. Preheat your air fryer for 5 minutes at 200C.
2. Combine the cranberry sauce, soy sauce, olive oil, dried thyme, salt, and pepper.
3. Coat the chicken thighs in the cranberry mixture until they are well covered and add any additional seasoning.
4. Air fry the chicken for 20-25 minutes at 200C until they are cooked through (Turn over the chicken thighs halfway through.)

 

Pigs in Blankets

Ingredients: 6 chipolata sausages, 6 streaky bacon rashers, honey or maple syrup, dried rosemary, black pepper, your dip of choice.

Method

1. Preheat your air fryer for 5 minutes at 200C.
2. Wrap each sausage with a rasher of bacon, secure the pigs in blankets with an air fryer safe toothpick.
3. Brush the pigs in blankets with honey or maple syrup to create a glaze, then season them with rosemary and black pepper.
4. Cook in the air fryer for 12-15 minutes at 200C, turn them halfway through the cooking time.
5. Serve with your favourite dip (e.g. Honey mustard, cranberry sauce, or ketchup.)

 

Roasted Chestnuts

Ingredients: European Chestnuts

Method:

1. (Step 1 is optional) Soak chestnuts in warm water for 30 minutes to an hour, then pat chestnuts dry with a paper towel.
2. Score the chestnuts across the top with a knife.
3. Air fry the chestnuts for around 10 minutes at 200C.
4. Allow chestnuts to slightly cool so they can be handled.
5. Peel the chestnuts while they are still warm.

 

Campsites around the UK open at Christmas 2024

You need to think about where you want to stay for your Christmas Motorhome staycation, luckily there are many campsites that are open around the Christmas season so you should have a good choice of locations to pick from! However, some campsites do sell out fast over Christmas so as a good rule of thumb you should book as far in advance as possible to ensure you secure a spot for your dream camper Christmas holiday!

 

Get Cover for Your Christmas Staycation

Finally, don’t forget to take out premium cover for your vehicle! Our comprehensive insurance policies mean you can relax with the knowledge that you’re fully protected!

Let us help you find the best Motorhome Insurance or Campervan Insurance policy for your vehicle this Christmas, we have decades of experience and are proud to be ranked No.1 in the motorhome insurance category on Trustpilot! *

Get a quote online today or speak to a member of our helpful team on 0208 984 0777.

*As of December 2024, Comfort Insurance is ranked 1/9 on Trustpilot in the ‘Best in Caravan and Motorhome Insurance Company’ Category.