What Is Christmas In July & 6 Easy Tips To Celebrate!

Merry Christmas in July! Yes, I am celebrating this year, and I am going full on red and green, holiday music, Christmas movies, cookies and more. What is Christmas in July? It started way back in 1933 at a an all-girls camp called Keystone Camp in North Carolina. They had carolers, a Christmas Tree, fake snow and even an appearance from Santa! The rest is history.

Oh 2020, how we need Christmas in July more than ever. I don’t have to explain what 2020 has brought, but to sum it up… sadness, coal, hurt, and well — more coal. If you’re reading this way in the future then just Google “What happened in 2020” and I’m sure you can figure out why “we need a little Christmas right this very minute we need a little Christmas NOW!”

I may be a little extreme by celebrating Krysten’s 12 days of Christmas in July, which starts on July 14th, but I invite you to celebrate with me. For 12 days I will be sharing delicious holiday eats, treats, movies and more on my Instagram page and Instagram stories.

Don’t feel like going all-out for 12 days, that’s no problem! You can easily celebrate just the 25th of July. I encourage you do something fun and festive. It will be fun for the whole family!

I don’t mean to overwhelm you, but I have been planning Christmas in July since December with one small tip: buy extra holiday flavored foods and treats (that won’t expire before July) and save them for Christmas in July. Don’t worry, you can still buy candy canes right now (here) and have them in time to celebrate.

Thankfully some brands still sell holiday flavors year round:

• Laird Superfoods Chocolate Mint (discount code: KrystensKitchen)

• NuNaturals Pumpkin Spice Syrup (Krysten25 ends July 31st)

• Vital Proteins Mocha Collagen Creamer (just add some peppermint to make peppermint mocha)

My most favorite items to stock up on in December: nutpods Peppermint Mocha and Yum Earths Organic Candy Canes. Both items have pretty far out expiration dates, so get what you can store and enjoy Christmas as long as possible.

But if you can’t find anything right now or if you don’t want to spend any extra money, just use what you have at home to have a lovely Christmas in July! Here are some really easy things you can do to bring a little JOY to your home.

1. Watch your favorite Christmas movies! Most are available on streaming services. You could also check out Hallmark’s Movie Channel this year for some holiday fun! Some of my favorites : Elf, White Christmas, Fred Claus, Klaus, The Christmas Chronicles, Four Christmases, Jingle All The Way, The Santa Claus, Home Alone, The Preachers Wife, Christmas With The Kranks and ALL the Hallmark Christmas Movies

2. Play the Christmas music! Fun fact: Christmas music can actually be played year round so sing your favorite Christmas tunes loudly and often.

3. Make your favorite Holiday dish! You can make Christmas cookies any time of year. Just whip out your Christmas tree cookie cutters and start baking. You could always bake a pumpkin dessert or even make holiday stuffing. I have a delicious Holiday e-book called “Happy Healthier Holidays” which you can look at here. It has lots of holiday recipes you can not only make in the Fall and Winter months, but that you can also make any time of the year. (fascinating concept!)

4. Bring out a few Holiday decorations! We have a small 18 inch Christmas Tree, and I have it out by my desk in July. It brings me so much joy seeing it lit in the evenings. It’s easy to take out and put away.

5. Add a summer twist to Christmas foods! Allow me to explain. It’s hot in the summer, SO perhaps use your Christmas tree cookie cutter to make some Watermelon Christmas Trees. Sprinkle them with shredded coconut (snow!). BAM!

6. Use your Christmas mugs! We use ours year round because that’s just the kind of cheerful, joyful, happy, merry people that we are, and I won’t judge you for packing up and putting your Christmas mugs away with your tree (well I might judge you a teeny bit), but we use ours all year long. So grab a few holiday mugs to enjoy this July. I bet your coffee will taste even better!

Consider whipping up some of these tasty holiday recipes:

Candy Cane Twix

Thin Mint Cookies (not gluten free)

Kourambiedes (Greek Butter Cookies)

Check out my holiday cookbook Happy Healthier Holidays!