Holidays in the Bus 🎄
This was our very first bus life holidays season — the one where we figured out how to decorate tiny, travel between families, and still make Christmas feel like home.
Back in late 2022, we spent our very first holiday season in the bus — a mix of tiny-kitchen baking, cat chaos, campsite decorating, and a whole lot of last-minute delays that somehow became part of the story. We weren’t anywhere near my kids that year, so spending Christmas with Zach’s family meant a lot to him. And honestly? It turned into one of our coziest bus-life memories.
Decorating a Tiny Home for Christmas
Before we arrived in Arkansas, I realized I had purged nearly all of my Christmas décor during our big downsizing in Georgia. The only survivor? My little snowman snow globe — and suddenly he felt like the world’s tiniest ambassador of holiday spirit.
Zach, who leans more Grinch than Buddy the Elf, decided I needed some kind of tree. And honestly? What he brought back ended up being perfect — the most charming, Charlie-Brown-adjacent “tree” I didn’t know I needed.
A Very Charlie Brown Christmas
The cats immediately claimed the tiny bells I turned into ornaments — batting them across the floor like their holiday mission depended on it. Meanwhile, I stress-baked enough cookies to feed a campground.
Christmas Day was spent with Zach’s family: lunch, games, dessert, and the now-famous moment where three grown men debated the safest way to lower a TV. (To be clear — doing it without the weight of the TV attached was absolutely the right choice.)
Tiny Gifts & Tiny Waffles
With our tiny space, we decided to do small, meaningful gifts for each other. Zach got me the cutest mini waffle maker — honestly the perfect size for two people who will not finish a giant hotel-style waffle.
We tested it immediately with pancake batter (because that’s what I had prepped). The result: fluffy, crispy-edged pancake-waffle hybrids. A success in my book.
Holiday Hiccups on the Road
Of course, nothing about bus life runs smoothly for long. We ordered Starlink to finally solve our internet issues — told it would be a 2–4 week wait. Then it arrived… the day after we extended our campsite stay. Typical bus life holidays timing.
We also dealt with a sudden car repair (hello, CV axle) which delayed our departure even more. Every day we said, “We’ll leave tomorrow,” and every day something else said, “Actually… no you won’t.”
But honestly? Those delays gave us more time with Zach’s family, more cozy nights inside the bus, more time to decorate, bake, and settle into our first holiday season on the road.
Looking Back at Our Bus Life Holidays
This was the holiday that taught us tiny living doesn’t make celebrations smaller. If anything, every memory felt bigger — louder cats, brighter lights, warmer waffles, and the kind of everyday chaos that makes bus life feel like home.
When I think about our early bus life holidays now, it feels like the season that quietly set the tone for everything that came after: slow mornings, small spaces, and making room for joy wherever we park.
Archived from 2022 — updated for readability, but preserved as part of our early bus-life journey.