Curious what the tiny house rage is all about? Take a tiny house vacation and experience it! Here are 5 reasons why you should move it up your bucket list.
We don’t usually do many gifts for each other throughout the year, but for my husband’s birthday this year we did a little tiny house vacation and it was so fun! You’ve seen the tiny house shows. You see the viral videos on Facebook and you wonder could you do it? It looks so freeing living such a simple life. I’ve always been curious.
When I heard that a campground my family used to frequent when I was a kid had tiny houses I knew we had to visit!
*This post contains some affiliate links for your convenience (which means if you make a purchase after clicking a link I may earn a small commission, but it won’t cost you a penny more)! Click here to read my full disclosure policy.
I reached out to Mt Hood Village and they graciously gave my husband and I a free stay to try it out. They did not ask for my review, but I happily am writing this because we had SUCH a good time and I hope you can do a tiny home vacation too!
Here are the five main reasons I think all couples should take a tiny home vacation…especially if you have little kids.
1. Alone Time
One of the most appealing reasons for us to try out the tiny house was a strict no children policy. Heck, there wasn’t even room for a pack’n’play even if we wanted to bring them.
Having time to get away, just the two of us, which was much needed, especially since we haven’t gotten away together since Little Miss was born over 12 months ago. It was so weird to eat a leisurely meal and not have children begging for our attention.
2. Read
Let’s put it this way, the husband finished a book that he started when Mini Me was born 3 years ago. We both used to be big readers and always say we want to spend more time reading. Well, I dug into A Simplified Life by Emily Ley. So good!! I highly recommend it for any mom to find some order to your chaos.
We were staying less than 30 minutes from Mt Hood so spent a good 4 hours in the beautiful Timberline Lodge on Mt Hood reading and drinking hot chocolate and having afternoon tea and fondue. It was amazing and perfect!
Here’s what I shared on Instagram that afternoon:
“How can you create richer, slower, sweet breathing room in your life? That is where simplicity is found: in committing to what’s important giving yourself permission to have margin in your life.” By @emilyley
YES! As I started reading #asimplifiedlife last night I kept sitting in awe wishing I would have read this book 6 months ago. How different would my life be right now if I would have left more white space in my life?
Rather than asking all the what-ifs though I’m just going to cherish my time now and vow to be better and commit to living a simpler life so my life can be fuller.
The ironic thing is that I’m reading this book up on the top of Mt Hood, away from the kids for the first time with just my husband since before Maggie was born. This is the longest we’ve ever been away from Clara in her 3 little years of life.
But it’s so good. So needed. Time to rest and relax and not feel like I have to go, go, go constantly chasing after a hyper preschooler and a busy one-year-old. Time to figure out our life and goals and dreams.
3. Experience Minimalism
…and the Simple Life. As I’ve shared before, I’m huge fan of The Minimalists and really admire anyone who fully embraces that life. At 178 square feet, the tiny house is niiiice and cozy. It was perfect for just the two of us! We stayed two nights and it was so fun!
This picture is taken from the front door. Straight back, where you see the black/white striped comforter, is a twin bed. To the right of that opening is the bathroom with a full shower. Up above is a full loft bed, nightstand, and plenty of windows to let in natural light.
There is also a full kitchen to the right with a mini fridge, stove top, and sink.
It was perfect for us for the two nights we stayed!
4. Rest
Get a full night of sleep and taking naps is another huge reason why everyone should take a tiny house vacation! Since there was only one comfy chair, we spent most of our time on the loft bed reading and watching movies and it made it nice and easy to just nap whenever we wanted.
With literally no agenda and no kids needing attention it was so relaxing and restful. Definitely needed after having zero nights of full sleep in the past year.
5. Reconnect
When’s the last time you took an extended time away with just your spouse? In the past year, I can count on one hand how many times my husband and I have been out without kids in tow. We spent one night away from Mini Me before Little Miss was born, but other than that we haven’t had two nights without kids since before kids were born.
Not going to lie, it was a little awkward at first. What do we talk about? Do we even remember how to eat a meal without feeling like we have to rush through?Â
Soon things clicked and it was just like old times. You forget that before kids there’s a reason you liked spending time together. It was a good reminder that we need to make us a priority and do things without kids more. I had such a fun time walking through the snow and eating way too much delicious food with this guy.
If you’re in the Portland area, definitely check out the tiny houses at Mt. Hood Village.
They have five homes that are all themed differently. We stayed in Atticus — the sleek, rugged, & modern home. They also have a farmhouse, rustic, wild and free, and Southern-style home.
They even have a fire pit that would be so fun to use in the summertime. It was a high of 28 when we were there so having a fire outdoors wasn’t high on the to-do list, but it sure looked fun!
Planning a tiny home vacation would be the perfect gift idea to surprise your special someone. If you just google your city and (or the closest large city) and tiny house you should be able to find a rental. I’ve learned that they are getting more and more common.
Looking for more gift ideas? Check these out…
- 10 Exhausted Mom Gift Ideas under $25
- 13 Gifts for Grandma on Amazon Prime all under $20
- 30 Last-Minute Gifts That Are Better Than Cash
