JINGLE IN JULY
I’m sure you’ve caught on by now…I’m a big fan of most occasions the month of July has to offer. Sweet, sweet summertime? Yep! Independence Day? Definitely! Christmas? OH YEAH! You didn’t really think I’d go all month without mentioning Christmas in July, did you? I just couldn’t let that dog lie! You’ll find out in the coming months that I love all things Christmas. I truly do believe it’s the most wonderful time of the year, but for now, I’ll consider Santa to be out of the office and relaxing on the beach. Okay, okay, I’ll try to keep the cheesiness to a minimum! Keep reading for my festive, fun, non-tacky ideas to celebrate the yuletide half way through the year. Do one…do all…either way you’ll be celebrating something that is always worth celebrating.
Considering nothing about this post is conventional (I’m talking about Christmas, and it’s literally 90 degrees outside), it feels right to kick things off with dessert. I recently helped throw a Christmas in July party, and we served these beach Santa cupcakes…after we ate a traditional Christmas meal, of course. It’s as simple as bake cupcakes, frost them with blue frosting, sprinkle crushed graham crackers on half of the cupcake, and add these “diving” Santa cupcake toppers and drink umbrellas. If these sweets don’t scream Christmas in July, I don’t know what does!
Since you can’t have a Christmas party without gifts, we had a $10 gift exchange! It was a simple bring a gift, take a gift situation. In keeping with the Christmas in July theme, my gift was a frozen hot chocolate kit…everything you need to make a typical winter beverage with a summer twist! If you’ve never had frozen hot chocolate, you HAVE to try it! So tasty! I added a box of hot chocolate, ice trays, chocolate syrup, a daiquiri glass, and fun straws to a basket with a frozen hot chocolate recipe tag! Alternatively, you could create a frozen hot chocolate drink bar with all the fixin’s for your Christmas in July party or hand out condensed versions of the frozen hot chocolate kit as party favors. A packet of hot chocolate, a straw, and recipe tag should do the trick!
What to wear to such an occasion? I bought a festive Christmas Hawaiian shirt to really look the part or could be a good gift for the gift exchange! It’s a Christmas in July gift that keeps giving every summer! To round out the experience, we decorated with basic Christmas decorations (mainly items that were stored on top of the Christmas decorations piles). We decorated a small Christmas tree and a banner that read “Baby, its warm outside!” Ba-Dum-Tssshhh! We really sent our theme home with Christmas music and movies playing in the background.
This party was so fun that it really felt like Christmas…except instead of walking in a winter wonderland, it was more like walking in a summer hotbox. But you get the idea! Regardless of the temperature outside, we enjoyed rocking around the Christmas tree, eating Christmas cookies, and exchanging gifts. Here’s to a merry and bright rest of the year!
Chat soon!
Kelsey
