Christmas in July, 2018

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     A few years ago, my Sisters-in-law and others in our family decided to have a family craft day in December.  We had crafts for kids and crafts for adults and food, and it was a lot of fun.  We decided that we should do it every year, but unfortunately, it hasn't happened. December is just so busy and full of activities for everyone that we could never make that fun day happen again.  
     This year, Alicia mentioned to me that we should do a Christmas in July and wouldn't it be great to do it when she was in town with her kids so that she could see her aunts and cousins as well!  So, we began planning our Christmas in July with crafts, food and swimming! You may remember that I shared the invitation I came up with on this post. (The invitation for Christmas in July is available on our subscribers only page that you will have access to if you opt into follow us!) Lindsey said that we could have the party at her house where we could all swim, as well as eat and do crafts.  We came up with some simple crafts for kids and adults, we also made some super cute decorations and we made the food potluck and asked for a holiday twist if possible.  It was mostly fun just being able to get together and enjoy each other's company without feeling rushed. Here are some of the simple things that we did:

Food

Some of the things we had to eat were pasta salad, pizza and fresh fruits and veggies. Look how we made some of them fit the Christmas theme.

​Watermelon Stars and Santa Hat Strawberries!  The Strawberries were filled with coconut cream whipped cream so that they were vegan for Maddy to enjoy with us all. 

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​A Christmas tree made out of fresh veggies.  We served them with hummus, pretzels and ranch dip.  

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    We also had Root Beer Floats and Christmas Cookies that Lindsey made for the kids to decorate! 

Decorations

We kept the decorations simple, but gave some cute ideas that people could recreate later.  We even printed up instructions on how they could make some of the items on their own. (We have them available for you as well)!  We also covered the craft tables with Christmas wrap for a festive flair, plus...

I am obsessed with these Pom Pom Garlands that Alicia came up with.

These paper stars are so easy to make and looked so great hanging around the room. I first found them on everydayreading.com.

Crafts

We knew that on a hot summer day in Phoenix, swimming was going to be a popular activity at our party, so we wanted to keep our crafts simple and something that could be completed quickly in order to give everyone time to swim! Of course, the garland and the stars could have totally been part of the crafts, but we just gave everyone the directions instead.  Here are the things we came up with to actually make at the party! 

We used stencils and fabric markers to make designs on flour sack towels.  We purchased our markers at Walmart, but those linked on Amazon are less expensive. Here is a another brand. This was a great craft for children through adults!  A sweet kitchen towel from a child would be a gift any mother would love and be able to use! We all enjoyed honing our pointillism techniques creating these towels.  Plus, the flour sack towels were inexpensive to provide.  

Here is Maddy working on a more elaborate design.

Chalkboard ornaments or magnets.  The chalk marker really added pizzazz to these. If you are uncomfortable coming up with your own designs, there are a couple of websites where you can download and print some designs to decoupage:
The Cottage Market and LDS Lane had designs I loved.

We provided basic sugar and salt scrub bases that people were allowed to add extra ingredients to themselves.  Plus, we had supplies available to decorate their jars! The recipes are available in our booklet.

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The directions for all of these ideas are available for free on our subscribers only page! It is also going to be available in our Etsy shop, but you can download it for free today!

​​You don't have to plan your early Christmas party for July, there are a few months left to get one planned and done before the holiday rush begins! Or, begin planning your Christmas in July for next year now and make it a big blow-out!  This was our first one and we kept it relatively simple, which was perfect for our family this year.  But, I already have some fun ideas for next year that I can't wait to try out! 
Now, this is a great opportunity to show you how some of my grandchildren enjoyed the party! Please don't mind my post swimming look!