Each year since my kids were young, we've celebrated 'Christmas in July'. A fun little day when we forget about the heat of summer, spend some time together and make a memory or two.
The first thing to do is to designate which day you plan to celebrate - you can choose July 25th if you'd like it to be the same day as Christmas, or any other day you'd like. I always choose a day that I know will allow us enough time to do some baking, read a few books, take in a holiday movie and maybe do a craft.
Here are a few ideas for what you can do to celebrate:
Read Some New Books
The holidays get busy so there's always a few books that we wanted to read but didn't get to because of the craziness. Check your local library for some of the holiday items they've purchased in order to prepare for this year's Christmas season.
I found three of the newer ones at our library that we didn't get to read this past Christmas:
Home for Christmas by Jan Brett
Lighthouse Christmas by Toni Buzzeo
The Carpenter's Gift: A Christmas Tale about the Rockefeller Center Tree by David Rubel
Think About Others
This is truely what the holiday season is all about -- being helpful and generous. In order to keep with the true meaning, we plan to do some volunteer work before school begins. We use our 'Christmas in July' day to plan what we'd like to do. For the past 3 years, we've hosted a neighborhood food drive to benefit the local food pantry. Other ideas might include donating school supplies to a back-to-school drive or volunteering to deliver meals for Meals-on-Wheels.
Bake: Who Doesn't Love Cookies!
We ALWAYS bake! It may be gingerbread cookies, or maybe we'll decorate a candy house. Sometimes I'll let the kids choose one of their favorite recipes that I usually only make during the holidays. And of course, the kids help -- that's one of our highlights. It's always a treat to have a holiday treat in the house in the middle of summer :)
Take some Time to Craft
Spend some time thinking about homemade items you and the kids may want to make as gifts. Summer is usually a more relaxed time so the kids may be more likely to be involved in crafts. Make some Glitter Wrapping Paper (via Here Come the Girls) so you're ready for holiay gifts. Head out on a nature hunt to college some items for these cool Nature Ornaments from The Golden Gleam. Or visit our Holiday Crafts Board on Pinterest for more ideas and inspiration!
Enjoy a Holiday Special
We're not the only ones celebrating 'Christmas in July' -- the tv networks do too! Hallmark Channel is running holiday specials on July 14th & 15th and some of the movie channels also feature Christmas specials!
Check your local tv listings, or better yet - grab a much-loved family favorite on DVD and curl up on the couch with a cookie.
Aw how fun!