Cool Off with Christmas in July

July 29, 2011

by Michelle McNally

One way to cool down during the dog days of summer is to think of cooler times. Is there any time of the year more chilly than Christmas? With a little planning, celebrating Christmas in July can be a great way to keep your cool. A day of Christmas music, some simple crafts, a service project and some cold treats will make for a day of cool fun. 

1. Turn on the Christmas tunes and have a sing-a-long! Going door-to-door and caroling a fun way to pick up any friends who may be joining you in the day's fun.
2. Dress in green and red, even green and red nail polish is appropriate on this made-up holiday. No light-weight Christmas wear? No problem! Design a t-shirt just for occasion!
3. Make traditional Christmas decorations, such as paper rings and paper snowflakes, only instead of decorating your Christmas tree, decorate your swingset, garden or front door.
4. Make cinnamon applesauce ornaments and hang on door knobs, drawer pulls or use as drawer sachets. 
5. Making snow is tricky business, but it's fun to pretend. Dump a pile of packing peanuts to make  mound, and let the kids play and explore. When they've exhausted that part of the play, glue the packing peanuts to blue or black construction paper to make a cool winter scene. Use white crayons or chalk to complete the picture. 
6. Make several white yarn pom-poms and have a snowball fight or play relay games.   
7. Since giving is an essential part of Christmas, make it part of this summer celebration. Gather the supplies needed and make school boxes or another kind of care package for those in need. Children in homeless shelters, military personnel overseas, and the elderly are populations who can always use care packages. A quick search on the Internet will yield organizations and supply lists.
8. Send a letter or a postcard to someone on your Christmas card list. Snail mail isn't just for Christmas! Even the youngest child can draw a picture and dictate a message to someone and drop it in the mail box.  
9. Decorate store-bought cookies. 
10. All of this holiday cheer is sure to make the little elves hungry. Host a Christmas sundae bar by supplying vanilla ice cream and holiday themed toppings, such as crushed candy canes, red and green M&Ms, red and green skittles, red fruit, and green sprinkles. Since it is July, skip the hot chocolate and go for some chocolate milk instead. 

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