Christmas in July Family Fun!

I recently put together a simple and fun activity- based Christmas in July for my kids and some of their friends and it was a blast! Finding new ways to surprise the kids with unexpected fun is one of my favorite things about being the mom & this day was pretty epic.

Our Favorite Christmas in July Activities

For us, this theme was more about having fun and being together than it was about presents. We did some Christmas-y activities together, but some traditions I want to keep special for just Christmas time. Don’t feel any pressure to create a day based on someone else’s experience. If you like this idea, think of how it work the best for your family and do it!

We didn’t do it on July 25, and honestly it would be just as fun to have any random Christmas in summer day (June, July, or August!). My advice is don’t be picky about the date – the magic is in the fact that we’re doing winter-y things in summer!

I think my favorite part was how I didn’t have to decorate to make it magical. This activity-based Christmas in Summer day was super fun – we all agree it’s going to be an annual tradition!

Here’s how we made some Christmas in July magic:

Read a Christmas Book

“Read a story with mom” is part of each kid’s daily routine so this was the perfect way to introduce the kids to our theme of the day – Christmas! I didn’t even bother to pull out our Christmas bin to get the books out, I just grabbed a few of our favorites from the library and a couple new-to-me titles too.

Apparently no one else is checking out Christmas books in July, ha. I had no wait!

Fake snow (aka Instant Snow)

Snow angels, snowball fights, the works! Sure we’re wearing swimsuits instead of snow bibs but that’s half of the fun!

I always buy fake snow from Amazon; it’s convenient to access year round & the price is better than what I see in craft stores around Christmas time. This works best in a contained outdoor space, so naturally I chose our favorite outdoor space – the trampoline!

The longer we were outside, the more moisture the “snow” lost and it started falling through the trampoline mat. I might consider doing a tarp next time, but I loved keeping the fake snow fun contained to our Springfree trampoline.

In case you’re curious – we made the switch to Springfree because when we were foster parents we were not allowed to have any cracks or tears in the cover of the springs on a traditional trampoline and the sun was constantly destroying the spring cover! We switched to Springfree and we’ve never had a problem! I’m beyond impressed by their customer service, and my kids have been happily bouncing for three years!

Ice + Foam Soap Sensory Play

I filled our water table with ice cubes and water on one side and foam soap (red + green because Christmas!) on the other side and put it in the middle of our reusable splash pad. I provided some cups and measuring spoons & turned the kids loose. What blew me away was how even my older kids still get a lot of enjoyment out of an “early childhood” sensory activity like this one!

What a good reminder not to box kids in to what we may deem “age appropriate”. They were so into the foam soap (shaving cream texture) and being zombies, making Santa beards, squishing, and yes, throwing foam blobs at each other!

The big kids also opted to use the ice water to really test their toughness and take turns dunking each other with buckets of ice water:

Everyone was able to be nice and cool and enjoy the messy play but also rinse their hands off as much as they needed/wanted. Some kids aren’t into being foamy/sticky for a long time and the splash pad water made it possible to rinse whenever. MAGICAL!

Solar S’Mores

It’s waayyyyyy too hot here for a fire in the summer, but thankfully we have the sun to help us out! Bonus, this is a cool science project about solar energy. And it’s super tasty!

End Christmas in July with Jammies, Cocoa, & a Christmas Movie

Once everyone was tired of being wet, I had the kids take showers & put on their pajamas. While they were showering, I made homemade hot chocolate (add a little collagen for bonus protein!) and sprinkled on some mini marshmallows.

The watermelon on the counter made me laugh. Cocoa and watermelon?! That’s what Christmas in summer is like!

I made a cozy little fort-ish space with varying layers of our foam couch, waterproof picnic blanket, and fluffy throw blankets. We watched The Star and had a very special night cozied up together!

10/10 recommend making Christmas magic during the summer months! Would your kids enjoy a surprise like this? What do you want to include in your family’s Christmas in summer celebration?

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