July in Christmas

Baby, it's cold outside! You've heard of Christmas in July parties, but what about a July at Christmas party? Get your guests out of the snow and into their shorts and t-shirts for a combination we love - the warmth of summer and the joy of Christmas.

July in Christmas Invitations
There are lots of fun ways to invite friends and family to your July at Christmas party. Send a July at Christmas invitation or a fabulous custom caricature of yourself dressed as Santa, lying on the beach! Your friends will definitely get a kick out of that! Add Christmas confetti to the envelopes for an extra surprise.

You can ask your guests to come in sundresses, shorts and t-shirts (maybe over their long johns). And remember, it's OK to wear white since this Christmas comes before Labor Day! You can either add Santa hats and sunglasses with the invitations or give them out as your guests enter the party.

If you’re hand delivering or mailing your invites, try a couple of these one of a kind DIY favorites that will be sure to surprise every guest:

Tie the party information onto a red and green shovel and bucket.
Write your information on a red and green inner tube. You can even choose to deflate this and send it in the mail!
Tie your invite to a sprig of mistletoe or evergreen with a red ribbon.
Make a batch of cutout sugar cookies in the shapes of starfish, flip flops, sailboats, ice cream cones, sunglasses, etc. Put a few in a bag and ship them off with your invite.
Send along a homemade ornament tied with a ribbon invite. Make sure any breakable ones are packed safely before shipping them off.
For something even snappier, try our personalized holiday candy bars. You can mail these in a small padded envelope.

Try one of these fun phrases on your invites if you’re thinking of attempting your own:

Put on your flip flops because
We’re celebrating July at Christmas!

Summer comes early/late this year!
Break out the swim trunks and sunglasses
For John and Sarah’s July at Christmas party!

Baby, It’s Cold Outside…
But not at the Keller’s!
Stop by to celebrate July at Christmas!

July in Christmas Decorations and Party Supplies
Decorations should be a mix of a summer bash and a traditional Christmas! Beach balls, sand castles, as well as poinsettias, snowflake confetti, and holiday wire garlands should all be included as part of the décor. Try some of these decorating tips to deck your halls:

TIP 1: Deck your halls with July from the moment guests walk in

Welcome family and friends with a fun tropical drink. Serve margaritas in red and green glow margarita cups!
A life-sized cutout of the host or hostess at the door in a bathing suit is great fun. Add a Santa hat, of course.
Make sure to deck your guests with luau bucket hats, leis, and neon sunglasses. They’ll look even better if these summer duds are layered over Christmas sweaters and long johns!

TIP 2: Mix Christmas and July to set the ultimate mood

Inflatable palm trees (since we know it's tough to get the real thing this time of year) would be great decked out with a Merry Christmas banner.
If you traditionally hang stockings from your fireplace mantle, why not hang flip flops this year? Or at least have flip flops sticking out of your stockings.
Have fun with your decorations! Display large beach umbrellas, beach chairs, beach balls, and plastic buckets around the room or hanging from the ceiling (places where your guests can't trip over them). We've got a ton of beach decorations to choose from!

TIP 3: Make your tree the focal point of your party

Set up Christmas trees in front of beach scene setters.
Add tropical theme lights to the tree for an added summer touch, and scatter sea shells around the presents under the tree.
How about a parrot on top of the tree instead of a star?
Instead of the traditional tinsel, weave a lei garland through the branches.
Use plastic tropical fish scattered among the tree branches along with more traditional Christmas ornaments.

July in Christmas Table Decorations and Menu
Choose a tropical theme table cover paired with a grass table skirt and add a small Christmas tree or snowflake decoration as your centerpiece.

Try using red and white checkered tablecloths with a few citronella candles. Beach buckets make great vases filled with poinsettia and other Christmas flowers.

Check out this great Christmas in July centerpiece that would work wonders for a July at Christmas Party. It’s cheap and easy to make because it uses ornaments you should already have at home!

On a large tray, build a mini sandcastle. Use wet play sand and a sandcastle bucket to build a small masterpiece. Stick a DIY flag with a cute Christmas saying, like “I’m Dreaming of a White Christmas” or “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas”, in the top of each castle.

For themed confetti, scatter red, green, and silver beaded garland as well as seashells along the table and among your centerpieces.

Surprise your family and friends with a menu that combines two distinct seasons. Give your holiday food favorites a twist to fit a July at Christmas theme:

So you don’t start a riot (Where’s the STUFFING?!), make sure to include the traditional Christmas fare. It may be July at your house, but it's still a Christmas party! Add fun signs and rename the food with beach lingo. “Pigs in a Blanket” can be “Pigs in Beach Towels”. You get the idea.
Try filling a hollowed watermelon with your favorite Christmas punch!
It’s not a Christmas party without Christmas cookies! Cut sugar cookies in the shapes of sunglasses, flip flops, and beach towels and decorate with colored icing and sprinkles.

july in christmas Activities
Keeping guests entertained with summer and Christmas themed games is easy! Make sure to try some of these activities to liven up your July at Christmas bash:

Limbo! Play some fun Christmas music while your friends stand in line waiting to bend backwards low enough to fit under the limbo stick. In order to win, the limbo master must not touch the stick or fall on the floor while limbo-ing under the stick (which is usually held by 2 people). You can decorate your limbo stick with red and green ribbon available at your local craft store.
Decorate a Friend! Give a team of two 5 minutes to use green crepe paper and Christmas supplies (plastic ornaments, garland, tinsel, candy canes, etc.) to turn a person into a Christmas tree. Have guests vote on their favorite tree, and award a small prize to the winners. It’s fun, frantic, and makes for great pictures!
Make Your Own Ornaments! Create a station where guests can sit down and make an ornament for their Christmas tree at home. Provide undecorated ornaments, sequins, ribbon, glitter, permanent markers, and a hot glue gun, so guests can get down to it. To fit the July at Christmas theme, include flower confetti and lei silk party petals, too.
Beach Ball Relay Race! Have players gather in teams of four and give each team a small beach ball. Each player must race down to a cone (about 20 feet away), waddle around it, and race back. Without dropping the ball, the player must pass it off to the next one in the line without using their hands! The first team to get all four players across the finish line wins!

We’ve also come up with a great list with dozens of Christmas games your family and friends can play as well!

July in Christmas Party Favors

Give your family and friends a taste of summer with the favors you send home. Try one of these to surprise the adults and little ones as they head home from your party:

Pass out Santa hat and sunglasses at the beginning of the party, which guests can then take home when they leave.
Make a Christmas cookie bar with all of the family favorites. To make it easier on yourself, ask each guest to bring a dozen of their signature cookie. Set out personalized favor bags, and everyone can take some home when they leave.
Hand out bags of red and green candy or caramel corn with a small handmade ornament attached to it with a ribbon.
Fill clear glass ball ornaments with beach sand and small shells. Tie the ornament with a red or green ribbon with a thank you note.
Fill miniature tin buckets red and green jelly beans or M&Ms. Wrap the bundle in cellophane and tie with a ribbon and thank you tag.
If you're having kids at the party, create small Christmas goodie bags for them. Here are some fun items to add:
- Candy Canes
- Reindeer antlers and Santa hats
- Snowflake cookies
- Hot cocoa mix

Your guests will feel nice and warm after spending time in July at your party! Be sure to save a nice tropical drink for the Party Girl! Merry Christmas!