Camping. Not a word synonymous with Christmas in the UK, but a brilliant alternative from the norm!
Imagine waking up in your trusty motorhome or caravan – surrounded by the glorious British countryside, at a stunning location you obviously pre-booked sometime earlier in the year.
The birds are singing; the morning mist is slowly lifting to reveal an eye-popping backdrop akin to a luxury Christmas card, and all around you is peaceful and quiet. Joy.
Here are our top tips to a brilliant Christmas camping adventure you’ll remember forever.
1. Get in early
Christmas camping slots fill up quicker than you can say “motor ho ho home!” Get organised and book in early to guarantee your spot at that dream location.
2. Preparation
Preparation is key – It’s the difference between disastrous and delightful, and crying with utter frustration…or crying tears of joy. It’s going to be cold, and you’re going to need to find space to stash your Christmas presents too. Maybe consider bringing a select few of your pressies, and leaving the rest until you return to civilisation. Alternatively, ditch consumerism altogether for your off-grid Christmas adventure!
Being the UK, and known for its grotty weather, you’ll need heavy blankets, woolly socks, bobble hats, thermals, jumpers, waterproofs, gloves and maybe even a hot water bottle!
You’ll also need plenty of lights! It gets dark much earlier than you imagine, and without the luxury of street lamps and electricity, things can get tricky! Think wind-up lanterns, headlamps, torches, and battery charged fairy lights.
3. Deck the van with boughs of holly
OK, so you’re not going to fit the usual 6ft pine tree in that caravan, but that doesn’t mean you can’t achieve a festive vibe! Bring some decorations from your collection and then forage an attractive branch, or something natural, and decorate it with your baubles!
Alternatively, if you want to go all out on your out-of-the-norm Christmas adventure, why not pop to some charity shops along the way, and collect a few rag-tag festive trimmings? Then when you’re done you can gift them back.
4. Christmas dinner – alfresco!
Unless you’re in Leonardo DiCaprio’s celebrity motorhome there’s very little chance of bashing out the usual three-course Christmas masterpiece!
However, with a bit of creativity and a perfect dose of planning, you can still cook up something delicious and memorable (for the right reasons!)
How about a BBQ Christmas? A hunk of lamb sizzling away, ooh! Phenomenal! Or using a Dutch oven, so you can roast food directly over the fire. You can still whip up a nice gravy – if that’s your bag, and a creamy mash is totally doable!
Your motorhome will most probably have a decently sized kitchen that will allow you to cook up something quite decent for you all to eat. You could, for instance, opt for a crown or breast portion rather than a whole bird when it comes to your turkey. You might also have to forgo some of the extras such as pigs in blankets or Yorkshire puddings.
Alternatively, you could go uber-radical and eat a curry or a stew, sat by a roaring campfire! And afterwards, roast marshmallows, or cook bananas and chocolate wrapped in tin foil. Basically, when you’re camping for Christmas, all the usual rules go out of the window. Now’s the time to break some boundaries!
In a nutshell
Campervan, or motorhome camping for Christmas – with the right preparation – can be a marvellous and very memorable shift from the norm. To escape the rat race and defy the societal norms for a few days can be really quite freeing. We highly recommend!