Christmas campervan gifts: 12 van life gift ideas - nohma.com (2024)

Van life Christmas gift guide

Thinking of a Christmas gift for a full or part-time van lifer can be tricky, because living in a campervan means you need to be minimalist and only have items that you really need. When you’re living in such a tiny space, you can only own so many things, so it’s really important to make sure that every gift is useful and has a purpose. We’ve curated a list of 12 ideas perfect for anyone living van life, so read on and let us know your thoughts!

Campervan gifts for the aspirant van lifer

1. The Van Conversion Bible

Of course we had to mention our book first! If you know someone looking to convert a van with the dream of starting van life, The Van Conversion Bible is ‘the ultimate guide to converting a campervan’. Packed with detailed explanations and illustrations, and covering everything from planning to a step-by-step build guide, our book will help anyone get started with their van conversion, making it the perfect gift for any van life aspirant. Our multi-award winning bestseller is a guaranteed stocking pleaser!

Space saving van life gifts

2. Aeropress coffee maker

An Aeropress is the perfect van life gift for any coffee snob who can’t quite justify a full on electric coffee machine in their van. The Aeropress uses pressure from plunging to make an amazing coffee in less than a couple of minutes. We would recommend using the ‘inversion’ method for maximum coffee tastiness! Origin Coffee currently have a ‘create your own bundle’ option on their website where you can pair the Aeropress with one of their coffees. We’d recommend the Christmas blend to go extra festive!

3. Portable projector

Obviously van life is about going out and exploring amazing spots. But for those rainy evenings when you just want to cuddle up and watch a movie, we’d really recommend getting a projector for your campervan! A tiny portable projector like the ViewSonic M1 Mini can project an image onto a 50″ screen like this to give you a mini movie theatre in your van! So, this is the perfect campervan gift for any van life movie buffs.

4. Kindle

For any van lifer who loves reading, a Kindle is the perfect gift. I love reading real books, and we keep a few in the van on our little bookshelf at the back, but ultimately every book you have in your van is added weight. So, a Kindle is ideal as it means you can have as many books as you like in your van for only 174g.

5. Omnia oven

We don’t have a proper oven in our van, so our Omnia Oven is an essential. It’s a stovetop oven that means you can make anything you would in a conventional oven – chips, cake, even bread! – albeit in a doughnut shape! They’re a really great bit of kit that are a great idea for anyone who doesn’t have an oven in their campervan.

6. Nesting pots and pans

Nesting pots and pans are a great space saving idea for anyone living in a campervan. The Tefal nesting pots and pans also come with a removable handle for extra store-ability. You can attach the handle to each pot easily as you cook, and stack all of the pots and pans into each other to store away whilst you’re driving.

7. Bananagrams

Bananagrams is one of our favourite travel sized boardgames. Perfect for 2+ players, it’s so much fun and a game only takes around 10 minutes so you can play as many as you like! The premise is like Scrabble much much speedier and more entertaining!

We recently used Bananagrams to ease tensions at a Mexican boarder crossing…this is a gift not just for Christmas, but for life.

Campervan gifts for the van nerd

8. Cerbo GX system monitor

If you know someone who’s a bit of a van nerd with a Victron electrical system, then a Cerbo GX is the perfect present for them. This little device connects to your existing Victron components, and allows you to view all of your system data from a central system monitoring screen. You can even monitor tank water level and internal and external van temperature!

Campervan gifts for part-time van lifers

9. 12V trickle charger

For any part-time van lifers who won’t use their campervan all the time, coming to use your van after winter only to find it won’t start is incredibly frustrating. So, a 12V trickle charger is an incredibly useful gift. Simply connect it to your starter battery and leave it to work its magic, slowly recharging the battery. You could also use this trickle charger to recharge your leisure battery. Plus, it’s configurable so can be used with lead acid, AGM and lithium batteries.

10. Portable power station

For those with a more basic electrical setup in their campervan, a portable power station is a great addition. The EcoFlow RIVER contains a lithium battery that can be charged via 12V, 230V or solar, and provides portable charging for both 12V and 230V appliances using a pure sine wave inverter. It’s a great little backup for a basic system, or could even be used in place of an electrical system paired with a solar panel! This is the perfect gift for van life weekend warriors, as it can be charged up quickly at home after each van trip.

Homeware gifts perfect for van life

11. Falcon enamelware tableware

Enamel tableware is a great gift idea for anyone living in a van, as it’s much lighter than china and it’s also a lot less breakable! Falcon Enamelware just looks lovely and adds a splash of colour to a space whenever you get it out to eat or drink. It’s available in a range of different colours so you gift someone’s favourite colour or match it to their van.

12. Mini watering can

We absolutely love having plants in the van, and so one of our must haves is a little mini watering can. It’s perfect for watering our cactus and silver pothos plants, and it looks really cute too!