Attention: at the time of publishing this post, there are 158 days until Christmas. Just over 5 months. The 4th of July is behind us, and the next day off isn’t until Labor Day. Too depressing? We thought so, too. That’s why we celebrate Christmas in July.
What is Christmas in July?
Seems pretty obvious, if not super ironic. For those of us in the northern hemisphere, it seems pretty silly for people to be dressing as Santa and elves and such on bar crawls in 90-degree temperatures in downtown Chicago. But hey, you have to have something to celebrate during the post-Independence-Day blues! Aside from the bar crawls and wicked Christmas in July parties thrown all around, there are some pretty practical if not downright genius reasons to celebrate. Here’s why we do it.
We Love Christmas; We Hate the Cold
This one goes without saying. Who doesn’t love the Christmas holiday? The food, the people, the presents, the television specials. In fact, the only thing that’s NOT to love is the cold weather. You know what isn’t around in July? Cold weather. Problem solved.
Now, I know you must be thinking, “Nick and Brittany, how can you possibly be complaining about the cold? You choose to live in Chicago!” Well, you’re kind of right. But this is why Christmas in July is so great! We get the best of the yuletide spirit and we get to stay comfortably warm in shorts and flip-flops.
Decorations Need to be Loved
Let’s be honest. We spend all of this money on Christmas decorations to be displayed for a measly 3-4 week period. Come on, that’s not a good return on investment. Enter: Christmas in July. Put up some lights, decorate the house, make some Christmas cookies. All great things! If you find yourself thinking that you don’t like putting up Christmas lights, it’s probably because you’ve not done it in sunny, warm weather. Add another point to the Christmas in July column.
House is Decorated, Time to Party
Who doesn’t love a good old-fashioned Christmas party? We certainly do. And when they happen to be in July, they really can be great. No longer are you cooped up inside, but you can grill, have a campfire, or even go for a swim. Better than snow angels, right? Plus, the house is already decorated. No need to decide on a party theme. Just make sure you leave the ugly sweater at home.
Great Excuse for Family Pictures
(And Planning Ahead)
This one is probably the best reason. Who doesn’t want a good family picture session? And normally, you have to have some sort of excuse – engagement, wedding, pregnancy, newborn, – to have a photographer come in. Since we’re neither getting married nor welcoming a newborn to the clan, Christmas in July gives us that outlet and we jump on it. Even better, you can start planning out what Christmas cards to send, and when! Plus, you KNOW everyone will see and open them because they’ll be the first to arrive in the mail on Black Friday (the earliest acceptable time to celebrate Christmas). They won’t even get lost in the sea of other Christmas photo cards, unless of course your friends and family circles have fully bought into the Christmas in July concept and have already planned accordingly. Which, I hope they have.
Of course, if you are looking to get in on the Christmas in July action, you should check out BasicInvite.com. They’re a unique, digital print shop that prides itself on custom prints. They offer almost unlimited colors – which – that’s pretty rare from online stationery stores. They also do printed samples before you commit, offer over 40 colors of envelopes, and even feature foil printing. Our favorite feature, though, is for people like us: forgetful and busy parents. They have an address capturing service that will actually harvest (and print!) addresses from those who you’ve requested via social media when people give them their address. Awesome.
To celebrate Christmas in July, Basic Invite is offering 15% off on their website! Just use the coupon code 15FF51 when you place your order at BasicInvite.com! And if you need some extra inspiration on your next cards, you can always follow them on Facebook, Pinterest, Insta, and Twitter!