10 Ways We Celebrate Christmas in July

“Here we know that Christmas will be green and bright
The sun to shine by day and all the stars at night
Mele Kalikimaka is Hawaii’s way
To say Merry Christmas
A very Merry Christmas
A very, very, Merry, Merry Christmas to you.”

-excerpt from song “Mele Kalikimaka”

Christmas is my FAVORITE holiday. I start decorating on November 1 and don’t take my decorations down until the Epiphany on January 6. Much of my love for the holiday is tied to my childhood memories. In my opinion, it really is the most wonderful time of year.

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That being said, it may come as no surprise that I love celebrating Christmas in July with my family. It is fun to celebrate with a non-traditional tropical Christmas theme. Here are 10 ways we like to celebrate Christmas in July.

1. Decorate and Set the Stage

As I have mentioned in many other posts, I love decorating for any event, celebration, or holiday. Christmas in July is no different.

I typically set up one of our smaller artificial Christmas trees. The kids and I will then decorate it with tropical/ocean-themed items we have around the house, such as leftover leis, sunglasses, and coconut cups from a previous Hawaiian-themed party, stuffed animals (it helps to have a child that loves ocean animals), crepe paper, and of course, Christmas lights.

If you don’t have an artificial Christmas tree or do not want to get it out of storage, you can use construction paper to make a Christmas tree, or even a Christmas palm tree, to put on a wall or door.

You can also use an empty paper towel roll and strips of green construction paper to construct a tree. Use colored construction paper to create ornaments and decorations for your tree.

Paper chains also go a long way to make an area look festive. Other decorations you can make are paper Santas, snowmen, gingerbread people, elves, etc. Give them a “beachy” look by “dressing” them in summer attire rather than traditional Christmas attire.

Make your table look festive by covering it with a festive tablecloth, or spruce up a plain tablecloth by adding decorations, stuffed animals, crepe paper or ribbon to create a themed tablescape. Use Christmas or tropical paper products/dishes to finish the look. Light a scented candle to complete the ambiance.

2. Plan A Themed Menu

Food is an easy way to make the day special. You can stick to your traditional Christmas menu or use it as a starting point for your summer Christmas in July menu.

For example, our family’s traditional Christmas dinner menu includes ham, ravioli and meatballs, green bean casserole, baked corn, salad, and rolls. So this year’s Christmas in July menu consists of ham/turkey/roast beef sliders, pasta salad, corn on the cob, and fresh fruit salad, all playing off our traditional menu.

3. Enjoy Festive Drinks

We love having a themed beverage to go along with our menu. Some of our simple favorites are red Hawaiian Punch with lime sherbet or frozen hot chocolate. The best part is drinking out of our coconut cups (purchased from Amazon) to give it a tropical vibe.

4. Have Themed Snacks Throughout the Day

I feel like if I make a snack that has a theme, my kids are more likely to eat it. Some of our favorite ideas for Christmas in July snacks are a fruit/veggie tray shaped like a Christmas tree/Santa or popcorn in a cup decorated like a snowman.

5. Bake/Decorate Christmas Cookies

Christmas cookies are a staple in our house during the holiday season. I love to bake and my kids love to help. Baking your favorite cookies for dessert is a great Christmas in July activity.

Speaking of activities, the following five ideas on my list will keep your family busy creating memories and having a blast together.

6. Decorate Gingerbread Houses/Trees/People

Gingerbread is a tradition that has been around for thousands of years, with the first gingerbread houses originating in Germany in the 16th century. At Christmastime, we each decorate our own house and put them together to build a gingerbread village that is part of our Christmas decor. We also decorate “gingerbread trees” using sugar cones, frosting, and candy. These get added as accessories to our village.

Finding gingerbread house kits in July may be challenging, so an alternative is to create your own using graham crackers. If you want an alternative to gingerbread houses, decorate gingerbread person sugar cookies, or as we have done in past years, decorate gingerbread person cakes.

7. Make a Craft

Christmas in July is the perfect time to get started on making homemade gifts for family members by creating crafts.

One of our favorite crafts we have made is terracotta Christmas trees. To complete this craft, paint terracotta pots green and then “decorate” them by dipping your kids’ thumbs in paint and adding bulbs to the “trees.” Add a star on top and you have an adorable, personalized memory to give as a gift.

We also enjoy making ornaments that we can present to our family members at Christmas.

8. Play Games

Our family loves to play games. Christmas in July provides an opportunity to play holiday-themed games in the middle of summer.

One game we have bought is Reindeer Ring Toss, in which one player wears inflatable reindeer antlers and another player tries to toss rings onto the antlers. This game can easily be made at home by using two empty paper towel tubes as the antlers and paper plates with holes cut in them as the rings.

Pin the Nose on Rudolph is another game that can be made easily at home. Draw a reindeer head on paper and tape it to a wall or door. Cut out red noses using construction paper. Blindfold the player, spin the player around, and let the player try to stick the red nose on Rudolph.

Have a Snowman Building Race. Break up into teams of two. One player is the snowman, and the other is the builder. The builder wraps the snowman player in toilet paper as quickly as possible, then adds a hat, carrot nose, and scarf. The first team done wins.

Play the Lump of Coal Christmas Saran Wrap Game. In this game, a large ball is made out of Saran Wrap. Prizes are placed throughout the ball when it is made. Players take turns unraveling the ball as quickly as possible, keeping the prizes that come loose as the ball is unwrapped. The player continues unwrapping until the next player is able to roll doubles on a pair of dice. The ball is then passed to the next player. Play continues until the ball is completely unwrapped.

Christmas Charades is another fun game. Have everyone write 3-5 ideas on individual slips of paper. Put the papers in a winter hat and take turns pulling and acting out cards.

9. Have Fun with other Holiday Activities

Have a Candy Cane Scavenger Hunt. Hide candy canes around the house/outside and have your kids look for them. Can’t find candy canes this time of year? Make them out of pipe cleaners or paper.

Create an obstacle course with holiday or beach-themed activities.

Have a “snowball” fight using white water balloons.

Listen to Christmas songs and perform Christmas Karaoke.

Plan a visit from your Scout Elves.

Read Christmas-themed books.

Get a jump start on your Christmas cards. Take a family photo and use it as your Christmas card this year.

Have a small gift exchange. One of my daughter’s favorite things to do is to go around the house and find everyday items that she knows a specific person will enjoy. Use this idea as an inexpensive way to have a gift exchange while repurposing items in your home. White Elephant Gift Exchanges are fun too!

10. Have a Christmas Movie Night

Put on your favorite Christmas pajamas and watch your favorite holiday movie. Enjoy one of the snacks I mentioned above or go a step further and theme out your snacks based on the movie you chose.

Christmas in July is a unique way to easily make memories with your family without leaving the comfort of your home. It can be fairly inexpensive by utilizing items you already have around your house. I hope you find inspiration from this post and use it to build connections with your family.

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