Little Dove Creations: 4 reasons why I’ll happily rock the “mom van”

(I received free product as part of a collaboration with Creative House Gifts in exchange for my honest opinion. All thoughts are completely my own.)

“I will NEVER have a minivan!”

There are few things that I said I would “never” do once I became a parent, I think it’s because with two younger sisters who were so much younger than I was I had grown up with littles and had a pretty good grasp on the reality of raising children. Declaring my hatred of minivans and vowing I would never own one, however… well, let’s just say I have a good chuckle about that nearly every day as I’m peering at my four little mess-makers sitting in the back of my van.

If you had told me that one day I would be writing a blog post on all the reasons why I love my minivan, I would have told you that you were wrong. Yet here I am sharing four reasons why I’ll happily rock the “mom van”.

One word, convenience

Say what you will but nothing beats a minivan when it comes to convenience. Mike and I did a ~~lot~~ TON of research before purchasing and when you factor in the space, flexibility of seating, and all the little features that came with the particular van we bought, there’s no comparison. When we looked at different types of vehicles it seemed like you were always either sacrificing leg room, number of seats, or trunk space. Anybody with even one child can attest to how much extra “stuff” you need when you travel anywhere with a kid in tow. When I think about how crammed we were in our crossover SUV even just with two kids (Let alone once we had three! Shudder!) and how much more space we have now when we go on trips, I can’t believe it.

Bang for your buck

We knew we wanted to pay cash so we purchased a pre-owned minivan... buying a new one can be like making a mortgage payment; but the same is true and often worse with any other large vehicle, like say, an SUV. Sure, a big SUV can give you lots of room too (and I’m not going to lie, SUVs are pretty dang awesome for lots of reasons), and, trust me, we looked at them, but when you take into account not only the price tag of the vehicle but also the gas mileage you’re going to get? No contest.

My kids think it’s cool

It’s true; my kids have called our minivan “the shiny fast car” since the day we bought it. I don’t know why... it’s not like I drive it any faster than I used to drive our other car but they just love going places in “the shiny fast car”, and if the car is cool I must be cool by association, right? ;)

It means I’m a mom

Maybe most importantly I drive the “mom van” because I have been blessed with four little ones that know me by the name mom. Our car, our house, our hearts are all full. Actually, we do have two more seats in our van so it’s not completely full… ;) Yeah, I doubt that I would drive a minivan if I didn’t have a handful of children, but I’m okay with them being the reason that I “have” to.

Once you’ve decided to rock the minivan though, you really need to ROCK the minivan, and that’s where Creative House Gifts comes in! I feel so fortunate to be able to collaborate with Kate from Creative House Gift Boutique because she has got some great items for anybody, but especially for mommas. You can even sign up for //her newsletter// to receive exclusive discounts and news about new products and giveaways!

Today I wanted to share this adorable “Mama Bear” car decal with you that will help you to rock your own “mom van”! I was able to choose my decal from 17 colors (I picked mint, but she offers everything from white, to coral, to lilac, and everything in between so you are sure to find a color you love!) and application was as easy as 1, 2, 3.

As somebody that works extensively with vinyl, I can say that the quality of the material seems great. How Kate packaged the decal for delivery was simple and cute, and I like that she included simple instructions so you don’t need to worry about messing up. I am so excited for something to help me rock my minivan and set it apart from the crowd (because that is something I miss about my bright yellow Xterra ;) )

I would like to add that I am in no way bashing vehicles that aren’t minivans. I want you to rock whatever mode of transportation works for you and your family, whether it be a minivan, sedan, or unicycle. I just feel like minivans often get a bad rap (coming from a former offender) and I wanted to share why it works so well for our family of six.