Christmas in July - Plan Ahead

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It is never too soon to start planning for your next Christmas. It's only July but this is a great time to begin stocking up on many things you need and want this holiday season. When you buy Christmas items early, like in July, it allows you to find them at a lower price because it is off-season. Sometimes you can save an incredible amount when you buy your holiday items in the off-season. In addition to saving money, you also have a better selection when you shop early because there are fewer people shopping for the same things.

When it comes to planning for your Christmas early, what are some things you need to do? First, you want to know what you need. You can start by making a list. You might want to make two different ones- one for holiday decorations and other items and one for holiday presents and gifts. Then you can use these lists to help you prepare for your holiday shopping. Start searching for anything on your list that is not perishable and that can be stored and used when the holiday arrives.

There are many Christmas gifts that you can purchase early instead of waiting until the holiday season arrives. You can just keep them somewhere in your home until Christmas. In addition to gifts, if you buy Christmas decorations and holiday décor early, it will be less expensive and you will have more selection than waiting until the holiday season arrives. If you are using an artificial tree, you can even search for your Christmas tree early. Decorations for your tree and for both the inside and outside of your home can also be purchased early and stored until the holiday season arrives.

Christmas in July allows you to prepare for the holidays early so you have less stress at Christmas and more time to enjoy things like you are supposed to be able to. Start making your list. Start checking it twice. Then your Christmas season can be stress-free and nice!

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Christmas in July - Fun Facts and History!

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The Australian 'Christmas in July' celebration is a somewhat unusual and some suggest even slightly eccentric festival that now attracts international travellers to the land down-under! Christmas in July' or Yulefest as it is also known is believed to have been born by accident one snowy wintery night in July of 1980 at an award-winning boutique hotel 'Mountain Heritage' in the Blue Mountains of New South Wales, Australia. A group of Irish guests noticed the irony of winter weather in July and wanting to recreate the feelings associated with winter back home, asked the hotel proprietor if he could organise a few Christmas-style food and festivities for them that night. Thus was born Christmas in July sporting Christmas decorations, snowmen, mulled wine, carols, roast dinners, mince pies, plum pudding, egg nog, bonbons, Christmas crackers, log fires and the occasional snow fall amongst a magical winter Yuletide wonderland of festivities.

The idea spread fast and now in July, the peak season for the Australian snow fields, Christmas decorations and special events are meticulously planned to attract visitors for snow themed Yulefest celebrations. Many families now enjoy winter holidays at the snow fields where they build snowmen as they watch Santa Claus in the distance zip zagging through the snow slops HoHOho-ing!

Interestingly, the earliest reference for the phrase 'Christmas in July' was in July 1933 at a girl's summer camp in North Carolina USA. The term later gained momentum with the release of the Hollywood movie comedy 'Christmas in July' in 1940. Later in 1942, the Calvary Baptist Church in the USA celebrated 'Christmas in July' featuring a sermon 'Christmas Presents in July' which also included the erection of a Christmas tree, which by the end of the sermon would be covered with donations and gifts from the congregation. The donations and gifts are then distributed to missions worldwide. In 1946 this annual service began to be broadcast over local radio. It was not until the 1950's that American advertisers lead the way for "Christmas in July" themes for sales.

While the Yulefest has become an incredibly popular annual Australian non-official holiday season, Christmas in July in Copenhagen, Denmark at Bakken is quite unique, featuring the annual World Santa Claus Congress. Bakken is a popular amusement park where hundreds of Santas, Mrs Clauses and elves from around the world come together to be jolly at this festival each year. They hold parades and love to go to the beach for an annual beach paddle. It's known to be quite amusing to see all these Santas at the beach. The King of Santas for the year is named during this 'Christmas in July festival' and many challenging issues are discussed like what is Santa's true homeland and what size presents should be given! There are even belly shaking chuckle competitions as part of the festivities at this fun event.

Here are some universal thoughts on some of the symbols related to Christmas in July:

- Red is the main colour of Christmas in July - represents the magical flow of life, the blood that flows within all of us - so remember to let your love, passion and energy flow. Commit to show your love a little more each day and do what you do, no matter how insignificant you may consider it, with a little more love and enthusiasm each day and you will discover a new passion for life within you and a new flow of energy.

- The second colour of Christmas in July is green - greenery reminds us to honour the everlasting transformative element of nature. Everything is radiating energy. Energy does not die it merely transforms. Green soothes our heart knowing we are part of an endless cycle that disburses and rebirths anew.

- The combination of Red and Green on the colour wheel - red and green are opposites and opposites create balance. These two prominent colours of Christmas in July draw us to a deep unconscious connection to harmony and peace that we all seek within. The Christmas wreath has both red and green and is tied with a ribbon to remind us that we are all tied together; we belong to each other!

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Christmas -- How To Create A Fun & Cherished Christmas!

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A great way to ensure your Christmas will be remembered with warm and cherished memories is to incorporate some rituals. Adding rituals to the festivities will create fun and magic moments that will not only live in your families memories forever but will be excitedly looked forward to each year. Rituals will bring your family closer together creating joy and happiness for all!

Here is a fun ritual you could incorporate into this coming Christmas. Add some Christmas bells to the dinner table and ring them just before the festive meal is ready, calling all to attend the dinner table. Long before Christmas in the old days, bells were once rung with the assumption that the noise would chase away evil spirits. Santa Claus has jingling bells that he uses accompanying his sleigh ride around the world each year. His bells are symbols; they are jingled to remind us of the birth of new beginnings and the death of ignorance (once referred to as the devil).

Ringing bells before the meal is eaten is a wonderful reminder to push away judgments, speak no ills, and come together with a sense of joy, positivity and acceptance for one another. Make the festive meal a time where you all come together and share a positively good time. A time where only supportive words are spoken, encouragement and acknowledgement of each other is heard. Ringing the bells will remind all to keep positive, bright and joyous!

So have some fun, get yourself some jingling Christmas bells and chase away any menacing spirits or thoughts before the festive meal. You can be creative with your jingling and get your children to enjoy a brisk stroll through the house or around the dinner table as they jingle the bells joyously to ensure no menacing mischief makers will be heard on the day! The children will love this fun activity and all will enjoy the friendly reminder of the bells if anyone starts to slip up on their good attitude throughout the day!

Another ritual you could incorporate is the 'Mistletoe Game'. This is a very old Christmas game where it was once common place to have suspended Mistletoe hung in the main room. For this game everyone would assemble in a circle around the Mistletoe. The first player (a male) has to slide a slipper and aim so it will land under the Mistletoe. If he fails another takes their turn. If he succeeds, even more fun begins as there is a scramble in the direction of the lady towards which the slipper points. She must seize the slipper and get away before being caught!

Rituals offer the opportunity for family and friends to interact in a joyous and fun manner. So why not add a few rituals to your festive day to add some fun and create great memories of a truly joyous and happy day.

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Christmas Shopping - Beat the Rush & Enjoy the Holiday Season

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"Kick off November in grand style!" That's the advice from my writer friend Marcia McClure of Monument, Colorado. With each newsletter I receive from Marcia, I realize why she's such a hot topic in "Romance Writing". She's so attentive to the details of life. Her energy is contagious! But what does that have to do with Christmas Shopping?

While the rest of the world is still struggling to get their plans in order for Thanksgiving, you could be organizing Christmas for a more relaxed and enjoyable holiday season. Here are some suggestions of things you could do early to be ready for the holiday season.

· Wrap and package all gifts you'll mail before Christmas.
· Bake some extra "stuff" to freeze for gifts later.
· Start now to make some of those delightful hand made wonders, your family and friends all enjoy.
· Clean the house and prepare for Christmas decorating.
· Consider painting any rooms that need freshening up before Thanksgiving.
· Get all your snow removal and fun equipment ready NOW.
· Do the winter chores early.
· Send out the linens for professional cleaning.
· Rearrange your china cabinet to make Christmas serving dishes readily available.
· Wrap all the gifts you've shopped for and label them for under the tree.
· Collect wrapping paper and ribbon accessories in preparation of a marathon wrapping spree.
· Order greenery early (Boy Scouts are sending out orders now for December delivery).
· Order in books, games, movies, and entertainment for the season now, so it will be waiting for you during the holidays, when you're ready to enjoy.

These are just some of the early things you can do to speed up your decorating efforts through the season. Make time for more fun by getting the work done early.

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Unique Christmas Gift Ideas

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With everybody else in the world planning to give gifts this holiday season, it can be really frustrating to find something that is really original and unique. In fact, during holidays, it is not surprising for people to find themselves receiving two identical gifts. That happens.

If you really want to stand out or at least make your gift stand out from the rest, here are some unique Christmas gift ideas that can help you.

1. Photograph

What can be more unique than a special photograph that will help remind your loved one of a special moment or occasion. The photograph may be of a place that you both love or some place where you both want to go. It can be something that is reminiscent of a time that you spent together. It may also be a picture of you together or a picture that you have taken when you are together. The possibilities are endless.

To jazz it up a bit, you can put the photo inside a photo album or a picture frame. It would even be more memorable if you can make or design a page off the photoalbum or better yet make one yourself.

2. Song or Poem

If you have the gift of words, you can put your gift into writing by making a personalized poem or song. This is a great way to show your loved ones how much you love them. You can have the poem or the song engraved in poster complete with drawings. You can have it made in shops that make wedding invitations and art posters.

If your song has music, you can actually perform the song and give the cd as a gift. You can even use personal photographs to design the "album cover" and put the lyrics inside just like an honest-to-goodness CD.

3. Painting

A picture can convey a lot of things, emotions, special moments together, a special place, a particular memory. If you are talented with paints, you can capture all those things on canvas. If you are not much into canvas, you can also do postcard size paintings that you can frame.

You can type or write your dedication at the back much like what you do with greeting cards. Paintings are wonderful gifts because not only is it personalized but it is also something that one can hang on walls or display in the house.

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Helpful Ideas For Christmas Yard Decorations

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While decorating homes for Christmas one needs to take special care for Christmas yard decorations. The Christmas yard decorations tell the onlookers outside how much labor and creativity you have done to decorate your home. Any guest entering your home finds his heart and mind elated with the festive mood the yard decorations provide to the ambiance. This is the time of the year when every one of us wishes to decorate our home and surroundings with lot of cheerfulness and commitment. Decorated lawns and yards enhance your mood if the decoration is done by you.

The first thing that you should do to decorate yards is find the Christmas planters with Christmas colors, designs and themes like snowflakes or Santa. Just following the below give innovative, simple and careful steps to decorate your lawn or yard the most delightful way.

Statues: You can use statues of different kinds to decorate the yard during Christmas. Lighting elements and stars can be used on these statues. They would glow up the evening and nights.

Stones: Various stones are available in the surrounding of different shapes and sizes that would add appeal to your Christmas decorated yard. You can furnish these stones with flower beds, pine straw islands or similar kinds of things.

Flags: During Christmas decoration of your yard you can use vibrant color flags to make the surrounding look spectacular during daylight when the lights go off.

Cardboard scenes: Another remarkable way to decorate your yard is to use scenes made of cardboard, twinkling lights or other glowing objects like radium.

The walls and gates can be decorated with garland lights that are easily available in the market at reasonable price.

Fasten Christmas lights and star lights to trees, shrubs and other plants in the yard to make the scene look extravagant.

These are some of the many helpful ideas of Christmas yard decorations. You can be little creative on your part just by thinking something unconventional about decorating the yard.

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