Christmas in July ideas for summertime parties create one-of-a-kind memories for children, family, and friends. Make July 25th a reason for a party. You can host a party full of holiday cheer and delicious food right in the middle of summer. You can even add in the silly gift exchange games that you save on Pinterest but never seem to find the time to do in December. Get ready for lots of laughter as you bring Christmas to life at your house at the end of July.
When you transform a typical summer backyard BBQ or pool party into a Christmas in July celebration, everyone on the guest list is sure to come. The party can be geared toward children, family, friends, or all of the above. There’s just something about the magic of Christmas. And, when you announce that the Christmas Magic will come to life right in the middle of summer no one wants to miss the fun.
Set the Scene with Christmas in July Ideas for Decorations
The decorations for your inaugural Christmas in July party will set the mood. Dust off your artificial Christmas tree and twinkling holiday lights. (If you don’t have an artificial Christmas tree, be sure to co-host with a friend or family member who owns one.) Set the scene. Just because you decorate your Christmas tree in front of your front window does not mean that’s where it belongs in July. If you are hosting a backyard BBQ or a pool party, set up and decorate the Christmas tree outside. String lights outside. Maybe even hang the stockings – outside!
If you are hosting your party in the air-conditioning, set up the tree inside. You can decorate the tree with your holiday ornaments or embrace the summertime theme by hanging seashells, tiny sand buckets, or flowers.
If you have younger children or kiddos who enjoy arts and crafts, you can make homemade summertime ornaments. Christmas in July ideas for ornaments include ice cream cones, BBQ grills, and beach balls. Another idea is to have all of your guests bring a photo or two of their favorite summer vacation. Tuck the photos in the Christmas tree. The photos will be good conversation starters and fun for everyone to enjoy and reminisce.
Read More: How to Host the Perfect Effortless Summer Block Party
Be sure to intermingle the Christmas decorations with typical summer items – for example, watermelon slices should be served on your Christmas platter. The juxtaposition of the Christmas and summer decor will delight your family and friends. And, in case you didn’t know, Amazon and Etsy both offer “Christmas in July” decorations and T-shirts so you can be ready for your party even without using any of your own Christmas decorations.
But if you already have outdoor holiday yard decorations, put them up in your backyard where you will be hosting the Christmas in July BBQ or pool party. Or, you can greet your guests with the adorable Beach Santa Holiday Yard Signs that feature Santa surfing with dolphins or the awesome 8 feet Inflatable Giant Christmas Hawaii Snowman with Surfboard. Be silly. Have fun. Set the scene.
Don’t Forget to Invite Santa
Perhaps, one of the best Christmas in July ideas is a surprise visit from Santa at your summertime party. Children of all ages will love visiting with Santa as he asks if they are being “naughty or nice” this summer. After all, Christmas is only 6 months away! The kids will pop out of the pool as Santa hands out popsicles or better yet, candy canes. Your grownup guests will love taking selfies with Santa to show all their friends they met up with Santa in July.
Read More: 4 Ways to Tell Your Kids the Truth about Santa
If you do not already know a Santa’s helper who can come to your summertime party, you can use some Christmas Magic (sometimes known as Amazon) to transform a loved one into a Santa’s helper. (Full Santa outfits can be found online even in July, as well as wild tropical shirts and red shorts to go with a perfect snow-white beard.) Know that once someone steps up to be Santa’s helper, it typically becomes tradition whether in July or December because of the extreme joy everyone shares when Santa appears.
Christmas in July Ideas for Gift Games
Try out one of the Pinterest holiday gift games at your Christmas in July party. December is often too busy to add a new tradition for many families, but trying a new gift game at your summer holiday party will add excitement and holiday cheer.
Saran Wrap Ball Game
The Saran Wrap Ball Game is excellent fun for both kids and adults. It’s fun to have two balls one with prizes geared toward the kids and one for the adults. Prizes can include everything from small toys, gum, and candy to gift cards, dish towels, fuzzy socks, or whatever.
So the way the Saran Wrap Ball Game works is to wrap the best prize in Saran Wrap first. Then keep wrapping items tightly around that item with Saran Wrap in a ball form. Keeping the plastic tight. The more you add, the more fun it is. To make the game even more fun, do not use one solid piece of plastic. Use many smaller ones to make your giant beach-ball-sized Saran Wrap ball.
Read More: 10 Original and Entertaining Christmas Party Games
To play, in addition to the Saran Wrap Ball, you need a pie plate and a set of dice. Everyone sits in a circle. One person has the pie plate and a set of dice. Her goal is to roll doubles so the Saran Wrap Ball is passed to her. The person to the right of the dice roller unwraps the ball earning prizes as they fall out. But as soon as the dice roll doubles, everything passes to the left. It’s a fast-paced game, filled with laughter, prizes, and fun.
White Elephant Gift Exchange
There are many variations of the White Elephant Gift Exchange. You will have to establish your own house rules. The way we play is that everyone brings a wrapped gift that is a $20 value. It can be new or used (but like new). The goal is to bring something that everyone will truly want because that’s when the game really begins. Everyone draws a number. The guest with No. 1 gets to choose a gift to unwrap. The guest with No. 2 can steal that gift or open another gift and so on.
Additional Rules: If your gift is stolen, you get to steal a gift or open a new gift. You cannot immediately steal back a gift that was stolen from you otherwise that will become a tug-of-war – someone else has to steal it in between so you can steal it back.
And, finally, once a gift is stolen three times that is that person’s gift to keep forever. Some families make sure they have a ceramic white elephant that if you win – you sign it with the year and the date and bring it back for next year’s White Elephant Gift Exchange. This game is so interactive and fun when guests get creative with what they bring.
Christmas in July Ideas for Food
Of course, the holiday spirit will shine when you bring traditional Christmas treats to your summertime party. Christmas in July ideas for food should include candy canes, peppermint brownies, and a cookie exchange.
A cookie exchange gets everyone involved in the summertime holiday fun. Have each guest or family bring three dozen of their favorite holiday cookies or treats – you know the ones they only make in December (decorated sugar cookies in the shape of Santa and reindeer, meringue cookies, kolache cookies, or peanut butter blossoms). One dozen from each family will be served as dessert at the party, and your guest will go home with two dozen cookies – a sampling of the cookies that everyone else brought.
Christmas in July ideas for the main course served at your summertime party can be anything from hotdogs and hamburgers to a full traditional holiday meal with turkey, prime rib, mashed potatoes, and creamed spinach. You decide. Keep it simple with paper plates and plastic silverware or be fancy and bring the good dishes out to the picnic table.
The more you brainstorm Christmas in July ideas for summertime parties, the more holiday magic you can bring to life. Start simple. You do not have to do all things holiday, just pick a few favorites.
No matter where you live, summertime is the perfect time to make memories with backyard BBQs and pool parties with family and friends. Once you come up with your first few Christmas in July ideas, you will wonder why you had not hosted a Christmas in July party before. And, they are easy to continue because everyone already knows the date for next year’s Christmas in July party – July 25.
Photo Credits: Unsplash, Pexels, and Pixabay
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