Christmas in July

Christmas in July is something that I have been wanting to do for a couple of years now. The girls and I decided to make it happen this year and get it all done last Friday to surprise my husband. We cranked it out and got it all done, boxes back to storage, full meal cooked, showered and dressed in holiday clothing all in about 5 hours. It was great and my husband was really shocked and thoroughly enjoyed the surprise!

We love Christmas around here and always look forward to decorating the weekend after Thanksgiving. We have fun events, movie days, driving around looking at the neighborhood lights, baking cookies, and spending time together.

Why not do it in July too? Since this is our first time, it’s all new and we are really enjoying the inside of the house being lit up and decorated. Although it’s been in the 100’s outside… we are dreaming of cooler weather, swimming or staying indoors listening to Christmas music.

I never knew where or how this wonderful and fun idea started, so I did a little research and found that “Christmas in July started on July 24th and 25th in 1933 at a girls’ camp called Keystone Camp in Brevard, North Carolina. The first Christmas in July included carolers, a Christmas Tree, Santa Claus, presents, and fake snow made of cotton. As the tradition evolved, campers would use laundry bags as makeshift stockings, which they placed outside their cabins to be filled with candy overnight”. (You can read more here: https://www.southernliving.com/christmas/how-did-christmas-july-start)

There have been movies made about this, celebrations in other areas in June, and towns that celebrate this every July.

Here are a few ways maybe you can celebrate Christmas in July

1. Decorate your house. We decided to decorate the entire inside of our house. We even have a little Christmas tree in the guest bathroom.
2. Make a Full Christmas Meal. We made a turkey breast, homemade mashed potatoes, gravy from scratch, green bean casserole, stuffing from scratch, and cranberry sauce (only thing canned). I actually got this all cut, prepped, bread dried for stuffing, and cooked in under 5 hours. I couldn’t believe it!
3. Exchange Gifts… We are thinking of doing this along with maybe a movie marathon, another family meal or snack themed afternoon on July 25^th. Sound like a great day to me
4. Bake cookies or make a batch of no bake cookies or protein balls. You could also make some rice krispy treats with red and green sprinkles cut out like a Christmas trees or use a biscuit cutter to make them round and decorate like an ornament.
5. Try something new Maybe summer themed, like watermelons and other fruit cut like Christmas trees, or mix up a batch of Grinch Punch (recipe below). We haven’t tried this yet, but sounds like a fun and yummy treat to try.
6. Have a Christmas Movie Marathon The Hallmark Channel plays Christmas in July movies, watch your own DVD’s, stream it on Disney Plus or Netflix. Some of our favorite movies are National Lampoons Christmas Vacation, Buddy The Elf, and A Christmas Story.
7. Listen to Christmas music. We have several CD’s to listen to or maybe find the Music Choice Sounds of the Seasons or YouTube to listen in and feel the magic of Christmas in the songs you love.
8. Have a family game night with red colored popcorn, sparkling cider, and a charcuterie board filled with your favorite items.
9. Have a pool party (or just a backyard party if you don’t have a pool) Invite family, friends and/or neighbors over for some fun. Make it a Christmas themed potluck style party to see what fun things people come up with.

Grinch Punch Recipe

Active: 15 mins / Total: 1 hr 30 mins / Yield: Serves about 18 (serving size: 1 scoop ice cream, about 1/3 cup punch)By Southern Living https://www.southernliving.com/recipes/grinch-punch

Active: 15 mins / Total: 1 hr 30 mins / Yield: Serves about 18 (serving size: 1 scoop ice cream, about 1/3 cup punch)

Ingredients:

1/4 cup granulated sugar
2 tablespoons water
1/4 cup evaporated milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup light corn syrup
1/2 cup green sanding sugar
3 (12-oz.) cans (4 1/2 cups) lemon-lime soft drink (such as Sprite), chilled
5 drops green liquid food coloring, or as desired
1/2 gallon vanilla ice cream

Directions:

1. Cook granulated sugar and water in a small saucepan over medium-high, stirring constantly, until sugar dissolves, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat; stir in evaporated milk and vanilla. Transfer to a heatproof bowl; let cool to room temperature, about 15 minutes. Refrigerate until cold, about 1 hour.

2. Place corn syrup in a rimmed small saucer. Place sanding sugar in a separate rimmed small saucer.

3. Dip glass rim in syrup, then dip in sanding sugar to coat. Repeat process with remaining 17 glasses.

4. Gently stir together chilled evaporated milk mixture, chilled soft drink, and desired amount of food coloring (start with 5 drops) in a punch bowl. Scoop ice cream into prepared punch glasses; ladle punch into glasses. Serve immediately.

→ Here’s our puppy looking less than thrilled about her Christmas headband →

I don’t think there is any hard and fast rules about Christmas in July. To me, it’s about coming together, spending time with the ones you love and enjoying this wonderful holiday at a smaller scale. Some even decorate with luau or 4^th of July themes… Whatever you want to do is yours to decide. Just have fun with it. Let me know what some of your ideas are or if you’ve celebrated this “extra July holiday”.