5 reasons Christmas in July is a thing

The origins of Christmas in July are partly practical, partly traditional and partly manufactured. There’s no signature event that everyone looked at and said “Well done, let’s mark that on the calendar for yearly festivities.” It started with smaller celebrations. The Southern hemisphere celebrates half year Christmas events to take advantage of their winter season. During WWII, the US Postal Service used Christmas in July to encourage people to mail their Christmas packages in the summer so they would reach overseas troops by December. After the war, retailers grabbed the concept and ran with it to spur holiday buying in the retail dog days doldrums.

The Hallmark Channel dialed the Christmas in July volume up to 12 and broke off the knob when they began running their signature Christmas movies to coincide with the roll out of the new seasons collectible ornaments. And the shopping channels were in hot pursuit with Christmas in July shopping events.

The evolution from a Southern hemisphere and/or a postally practical event into a manufactured retail event is definitely enough to make one raise a skeptical eyebrow about whether or not Christmas in July is truly a thing. But we submit that it is somewhat worth celebrating if you are a vintage lover. To wit, our five reasons why Christmas in July is a thing:

Better Vintage Christmas Selection

Whether you do your vintage Christmas foraging online in the air conditioned comfort of your local coffee shop or on the road with a large iced coffee dripping condensation in the cup holder, you will find better Christmas stuff in July with less competition from other shoppers. We online sellers keep our Christmas goods on our sites year round, so if you’re looking for some pink stenciled Shiny Brites, you’re more likely to have a better selection now than when everyone is looking for them in November. And summer time is definitely prime yard sale picking time for those who love the thrill of the quest.

Better Gifts for your Vintage Loving Friends

We all have that special friend who collects something like jadeite or petroliana or salt glaze jugs or whatever it is that makes them happy. If  you have a list of vintage things you’re hoping for for your vintage friends (and I keep mine in Wunderlist so I always have it handy), you can shop now in July at a ramble pace instead of in December at a panic dash pace. It’s a well known fact that although there are a lot of Georges Briard glass appetizer trays for sale on the internet most of the year, but in the month of December there is exactly one and everyone wants it.

More Memorable Gifts for your Friends

A gift that is a holiday reminder of a shared past is a very nice thing. A book of music that always sat on the piano, a board game you played relentlessly, a pin your mother used to have, even an aftershave or perfume you used to wear…things that you share a memory of with family or friends make awesome holiday gifts. Shopping now, particularly if you’ve had a reunion with family or friends that brought something to mind, means that come December it won’t have faded from your memory. You won’t wind up giving the same thing you give every year, one of those giftware things that line store aisles in November and December that look amusing but wind up being regifted. Endlessly regifted, if truth be told.

A Less Frantic December

If you’ve bought a great Christmas gift in July, there’s no reason you can’t wrap it in July. It’s not like you don’t have six partially used rolls of reindeer wrapping paper somewhere. There is no law that says you have to stay up wrapping until the wee hours the night before Christmas. There are lots of things to do Christmas Eve rather than frantically boxing and muttering under your breath that this really is the last time you will be wrapping past midnight on Christmas eve. Really. Never again. Done with this.

A More Surprising December

A.A. Milne, legendary author who brought us the beloved bear of very little brain and his pals, summed it up: “One of the advantages of being disorganized is that one is always having surprising discoveries.” If you shop in July and you aren’t clever enough to keep a list of purchase or ambitious enough to get things wrapped, come December, when you start dragging boxes and bags of gifts to be given out of the hiding places where you keep such things, you will have the delightful experience of surprising yourself with all the smart shopping you did last summer. Do not underestimate how copious amounts of spritz cookies and eggnog can work to enhance the thrill of discovery the second time around.

If you like Christmas in July, you might also like Kitschmas in July.