Homeless for the Holidays

Being homeless over the holidays opens up a lot of possibilities. It is definitely a major plus to have the opportunity to travel around and see family and friends without having to spend time at your home base. You also don't have to worry about wasting time decorating or cleaning up the mess after entertaining.... but there are a couple of potential downsides:

1. Picking & Choosing.  
You can't be everywhere and you have no place that you need to be... so you might get several invitations that you aren't going to be able to take advantage of. This can cause stress (especially if your mom is on the "not gonna make it" list*). My solution?  Move around... The holidays last at least from Xmas Eve to New Year's Eve.... you should be able to get to a to at least 3 or 4 spots during the week and hit as many people as possible. Those who live more remotely may have to be left out, but they'll probably understand.
Keep in mind that if you choose to go the Homeless by Choice route, you're friends and family will eventually get used to the idea and start expecting you to stay with them more often. That kinda defeats the purpose of living a life of travel.. ("couch-surfing-by-choice" is a different blog)... This is never more of an issue than it is at the holidays.

2. Cooking in a Borrowed Kitchen.

If you like to cook and
are heading into a
borrowed kitchen, stop
at the store and get the
spices/seasonings you'll
want.

This can be a real challenge if you like to cook. One of the best trade-outs for some couch space and a place to stay that doesn't have a front desk is to cook for your host (unless you suck at cooking, in which case, you should take your hosts our to a nice restaurant). Putting together a great roast, side dishes and maybe some foie gras (if you feel like being fancy) is am excellent way to enjoy the holidays and feel like you're giving something back to the wonderful person/people who took you in off the streets during this festive time of the year. But, searching for spices that don't exist, cringing at the spices that do, wondering why there are only metal cooking utensils and non-stick pans and being unsure about where anything is can be a bit daunting. You might have to hit a Williams-Sonoma in order to do it right. This year, that brought a double bonus for me: First, I can gift the new stuff to my host at the end of the holiday cook-a-thon (except for the Shun limited edition Edo Chef's knife... that is MINE!). Second, they offered a $10 gift certificate for every $50 I spent in the store... which makes another great gift.
Not that into cooking and not wanting to invest much in someone else's kitchen set up?  Got to Walmart and buy a Crockpot and $12 in spices & vegetables to go with that roast or duck... even if you don't cook much, it is hard to screw that up. AND, you can still leave the crock-pot behind as a gift!

If you buy supplies for a borrowed kitchen during the holidays,
said supplies could make a great gift for your host. Especially if
your homeless... no one travels with a Crockpot.

Merry Xmas from the happiest homeless guy you know.

-RJP

( * I am going to see my mom over the holidays... of course!)