Christmas in July!
It’s late July, and the days are really heating up. If you are daydreaming of the holidays, no need to fret! There’s no time like the present to bring some joy into your summer, sans the snow, by throwing a Christmas in July party. It’s the most wonderful time of the year!
Ho Ho Hosting at a Cool Location
Consider having your party beachside. You can incorporate a “snowman” building contest, substituting snow with sand. Instead of a snowball fight, enjoy a water balloon fight. Your guests will surely be dashing through the sand!
If you want to host your party at your house, provide plenty of festive activities and decorations to keep the theme intact. After all, there is no place like home for the holidays – bonus points if you have a pool! Set the tone by putting together a Christmas in July playlist with all your favorites from Bing Crosby to “Little Saint Nick” by the Beach Boys.
Decked out Decorations for the Dog Days
Use seashells in place of bulbs to decorate centerpieces. Consider a tabletop arrangement of painted shells with candles inside. Put together a sea-glass mobile in shades of red and green. Instead of garland, make a summer wreath with sand dollars, drink umbrellas, starfish and sailboats. Take your poolside party up a notch by adding festive flair. Turn simple red pool noodles into candy canes by adding white tape.
Holly Jolly July Games
Kick the party off with some traditional summer party games, think anything from volleyball to croquet to horseshoes. Include a fun twist by renaming your favorites. Goodbye “horseshoes”, hello “reindeer shoes”. See you later “volleyball”, hello “snowball”.
Move over ugly Christmas sweaters! This craze might be all the rage in December, but in July? Time for Hawaiian shirts to get their due. Include prizes for the ugliest and most unique.
Round out the day by taking the party inside to play some Christmas themed board games, such as Christmas-opoly, Christmas bingo or a Christmas themed trivia game.
Eat, Drink and be Merry!
Serve up a festive appetizer by displaying a variety of cheese cubes in the shape of a Christmas tree. Decorate with fresh thyme sprigs and grape cherry tomatoes to complete the look.
Whip up cocktails rimmed with candy canes in beachy colors such as light pink and yellow. Swap out boring old ice cubes in your water with “defrosty ice cubes” – https://www.geekalerts.com/defrosty-reusable-ice-cubes/
Dish up watermelon Christmas trees by cutting the fruit into triangular slices and then cutting each slice in half. Next, slice the rind into thirds, and finish by trimming off the left and right hand piece of rind. Presto – watermelon trees!
Keep the festive fruit theme going by preparing strawberry Santas. Remove the top and clean out the whole strawberry. Fill the strawberries with a cream cheese, sugar and vanilla mixture. Top with the strawberry “hat” and decorate accordingly.
Shell We Wrap It Up
No matter how you decide to celebrate your Christmas in July party, it’s the perfect excuse for you and your guests to enjoy some Christmas spirit while you work on your tan. Tis the season for some fun in the sun!