Menu
Wonderland RV
Share this post
Who says Christmas has to be a stationary affair? For many caravanners, the holiday season is the perfect time to hit the road and explore Australia’s stunning landscapes. From the sun-kissed beaches of Western Australia to the rugged wilderness of Tasmania, there’s no shortage of breathtaking destinations to discover.
But how do you celebrate Christmas on the road? With a little creativity and a lot of festive spirit, of course! We chatted with some of our Wonderlanders across Australia to find out how they make their Christmas truly unforgettable. From delicious recipes through to stunning decorations, there’s plenty of inspiration to make your Christmas on the road feel both unique and very merry indeed!
Our Christmas tradition is normally spent at Wauraltee Beach with good mates and good times! This year will look a bit different as we are on the west side of Australia so will have to find new traditions to implement!
Caravan Christmas Cook-off!
We hold a friendly cooking competition where each family member prepares their best holiday dish using the caravan kitchen, barbecue or air fryer.
We judge each other’s creations based on taste, creativity, and presentation.
The best thing about Christmas on the road is getting to see how different parts of Australia celebrate Christmas. Our family fave is checking out Christmas lights in every town – and they all do it differently! Mandurah is a highlight, cruising around in the tinny to look at houses on the water. There are some pretty impressive setups in Esperance WA that even needed security to manage crowds! Every town does something different – and travelling to Australia is all about seeing how other people live!
Since Freya was born, we started a tradition where we’d always get a real Christmas tree, and we’ve continued to do that on the road. A lot smaller than at home but we love having a real tree and found it was actually really easy to find Christmas tree farms, especially in southwest WA.
The kids love to decorate the van! Normally we buy solar festive lights & small decorations to put around the van. Then we donate them to an Op Shop after the festive season has finished.
Christmas on the road means loading up our Wonderland Caravan and heading to a special spot, whether it’s with family or just the four of us each journey is part of a different Christmas adventure.
We keep it simple and space-friendly with fairy lights strung along the awning and a few favourite ornaments inside scattered around the van.
Battery-operated lights and small hung garlands give a festive feel without taking up much room.
We always pack a mini light-up Christmas tree, which we set up outside under the awning bringing that festive holiday spirit to our campsite.
We like to simply focus on decorating the lounge area of the van with some simple decorations to make it feel festive – but it has to be something we don’t have to pack away every time we move (because who needs more stuff to pack away!).
We keep our caravan Christmas decor simple and elegant. A few colourful decorations and some handmade ornaments bring the holiday spirit to life!
We always buy a leg of ham and spend weeks trying to get through it! Steph’s family are very traditional so normally we eat a lot of traditional European (Polish) recipes. Generally, we make a big roast with veggies and a few salads.
Our Christmas feast is all about simplicity and delicious easy-to-cook dishes.
Each family member prepares a protein and a salad, ensuring that dinner requires minimal cooking and leaves us with plenty of leftovers for dinner that night.
We also enjoy a classic Aussie seafood BBQ featuring freshly caught fish, WA crayfish and a side of prawns.
For dessert, we whip up a colourful layered Christmas trifle, a refreshing classic that’s perfect for warm weather as that time of year here in WA is always really warm.
I also make a batch or two of homemade shortbread using my mum’s cherished Christmas recipe that we all grew up loving and sometimes we even whip up a batch of traditional rum ball.
Our family go-to is my Christmas Salmon! Just make sure that if you’re cooking on the beach, you don’t drop the fish in the sand like I did last Christmas (luckily, I cooked in batches and had another side of salmon spare!).
Roast chicken, gingerbread cookies, banana bread baked in special Christmas shapes and fruit cut into special shapes too. I love baking and cooking for my family and friends. It makes me feel so homely in the van☺️
We have spent the last couple of years at Wauraltee Beach which is the mecca for Christmas, New Year’s, and Aussie Day. It’s the best fun and we always end up meeting new and old mates there. It’s a FREE camp on the beach in South Australia! The last time we went there were around 400 vans parked up on the beach – Just one big happy family!
When it comes to our favourite places to spend Christmas while caravanning in Australia it has to be by the water’s edge.
We’re truly spoiled for choice here in WA with an abundance of stunning beaches.
There’s nothing quite like waking up to the sound of waves crashing and the gentle sea breeze.
We just love swimming, fishing and enjoying beachside barbecues making every Christmas a memorable experience.
Plus, nothing beats watching a summer sunset over the ocean each night.
If the northern hemisphere is famous for white Christmas’, then Australia is famous for a beach Christmas! Nothing beats pulling up to the beach after opening pressies for a swim and a bit of beach cricket to work up an appetite (and a thirst!)…
Albany and Esperance are great spots for Christmas, but we love Christmas on Stradbroke Island🏝️ Maybe next year we’ll have Christmas in Tassie, who knows!
We don’t really go all out at the front of the van apart from the solar lights. This can be difficult when you’re moving around from place to place. Or if you have your awning out and lights setup then it gets windy, and you have to put it down again. It’s not ideal!
Absolutely, we love to decorate the front of our caravan for Christmas it’s always a must.
Last year, we tied an inflatable reindeer to the A-frame which brought smiles and sparked conversations with fellow campers.
The year before we even strung Christmas lights to form a Christmas tree and hung a battery-operated star on the top of the tree creating a fun and festive display.
These touches really enhance our holiday spirit and make our caravan feel like a festive home away from home.
We try our best to get a Santa Photo as a family! We do a lot of crafts each year as the kids really enjoy making decorations or helping me cook up a feast for the day! Normally, we just try to find a nice campsite where we can spend a week or two stationed. Enjoy some family time in nature and on our boat fishing etc. Holidays are a difficult time for travellers as it’s the busy season when accommodation can be very hard to get your hands on. Generally, a lot of places are booked out by locals. So, if you’re thinking of staying somewhere nice for Christmas we highly recommend booking in advance.
One of our favourite family traditions while caravanning at Christmas is our Caravan Christmas Movie and Music Night.
We bring along our rechargeable portable pixie projector and screen to set up an outdoor cinema under the stars.
With the balmy weather and the twinkling stars above we relax in our camping chairs enjoying holiday classics alongside a playlist of festive tunes all surrounded by the sounds of nature
It’s a magical way to celebrate the season and create unforgettable memories as a family.
We don’t do anything crazy, but Elfie (our cheeky Elf of a shelf) has made Christmas in a van an interesting experience! From covering the van in toilet paper to throwing flour through the kitchen and making a zipline to our neighbours’ van, Elfie definitely makes the kids excited (and tests mum and dad’s creativity!)
In December we order a Chrysalis kit which is a butterfly-hatching kit. The kids name them and spray water on them and watch them slowly change every day and eventually hatch into a butterfly and then we release them. It’s a fun interesting thing we happened to start doing in the lead-up to Christmas.
For us, Christmas is just another day. It’s very hard to implement the normality of Christmas that you’d experience in a house. I suppose these are the moments you really do miss when travelling full-time! But that’s the price you pay for living this amazing lifestyle! You have to give up some things! Should we cut this response?
Being in a confined space definitely makes Christmas with kids a challenge! If you thought storage was important in a caravan normally, try hiding half a toy store in a 21ft box. We’ve had to get creative with where we hide pressies, from using hiding spots around the bed to wrapping bigger gifts in blankets in the hope that the kids don’t get cold and accidentally find what St Nick got for them this year!
Our Elf on the Shelf still arrives on the 1st of December and it’s so heart-warming seeing the kids’ faces light up in the morning wondering what she’s gotten up to this time. I used to Pinterest ideas for the elf but now you can get a kit that includes 24 days of “elf antics” to make it easier so I might do that this year.
So, there you have it! Christmas on the road doesn’t have to mean sacrificing tradition or comfort. With a little planning and a lot of creativity, you can create magical memories with your families that will last a lifetime. From decorating your caravan with twinkling lights to cooking up a delicious Christmas feast, the possibilities are endless. So, pack your bags, hit the road, and let the festive fun begin!
Share this post
All four models
Extreme off-road
Rugged off-road
Classic off-road
Semi off-road
46 Lara Way, Campbellfield
Victoria 3061
Join the Facebook group where Wonderland owners share their adventures, photos, stories, comments, reviews and advice about travels in their Wonderland RV.
We would like to thank Aswetravel_au, Aussie Camper Kids and Lost Tribe Adventures for their great photography used across our site.
© 2024 Wonderland RV Caravans.
All Rights Reserved.
Disclaimer: Images shown may have optional extras fitted. Wonderland RV reserves the right to discontinue or change the models, features, specifications, or designs of the caravans referred to herein, at their discretion without prior notice.
Access exclusive news and offers on outdoor activities, caravan parks and more. There is something to delight every member of the family.
