July 25, 2022

Christmas in July – My Festive Cottage Home

I know it’s only July, but with all those Christmas in July Hallmark movies currently playing, have you thought about your Christmas plan for this year? Today my friend Rachel from The Ponds Farmhouse is graciously hosting Christmas in July for me and my blogging buddies. I am sharing Christmas in July – My Festive Cottage Home. So sit back and check out all the Christmas inspiration coming your way!

Before we get into all the fun decor… if you’re coming over from my friend Jen from Midwest Life and Style, welcome! Jen has such an amazing blog and her 5 simple ways to get ready for Christmas were so good and are definitely on my list!

In case this is your first time here, my name is Kim and I have lived in the Mitten my whole life. I love sharing home decor, a pretty table setting, family and my blankets that I make for a cause. Here’s one of my favorite Christmas blankets I made last year. I am a traditional girl when it comes to Christmas so the red and green patterns give me all the holiday feels!

Affiliate links are used in this post. Read my full disclosure here.

Is Christmas In July A Real Thing?

If you’ve been here before and have read my Mitten Moments you know I love random trivia.

Since so many people celebrate this festive holiday in July, I wanted to know where it originated. In my quick research, I found that Christmas in July orignated 84 years ago on July 24th and 25th at a girls’ camp called Keystone Camp in North Carolina. Therefore, Christmas in July is usually celebrated on July 25th.

There’s your bit of trivia for the day!

My Festive Cottage Home

I’m one of those people who absolutely loves everything about Christmas!

Everything! So why not share it in July!?

Some of my Cottage must haves are:

wreaths
garland
cozy pillows and blankets
outdoor lights and decor
pretty packages with large homemade bows
a tree or two that takes hours to create (that’s the fun part!)

Like I said before, I am a traditional girl when it comes to Christmas colors and I am planning for more of the same colors this coming Christmas.

And yes, I am already planning!

“But here I am in July, and why am I thinking about Christmas pudding? Probably because we always pine for what we do not have. The winter seems cozy and romantic in the hell of summer, but hot beaches and sunlight are what we yearn for all winter.” – Joanna Franklin Bell

The Trees of Christmas Past

When our sons were young and still living at home, we always had two large trees. We decorated one tree with colored lights and all the family treasures that we collected over the years. The second tree had white lights and blue, white, and silver ornaments.

That blue tradition started when my oldest son was born, right before Christmas. I thought why not have a second tree with blue ornaments? I used the balloon that said “It’s A Boy!” as the tree topper and it was perfect! We had two more sons so it only seemed fitting to keep the blue tree tradition alive.

Fast forward a few years…we built our smaller Cottage in the Mitten home and there is now only room for one tree.

If you think boys that grow up don’t care about that stuff, I’m here to testify that they do! Scaling down to one tree just doesn’t seem to be enough for them.

Last year, I made the executive decision to shake things up a bit. I decided to decorate our one and only tree with only red, green, and white ornaments. I went through our existing 7,000 ornaments (that doesn’t feel like an exaggeration) and pulled out the ones that I knew were precious to the boys and incorpated some new ones.

In my opinion, it was the best of both worlds. The red and green definitely spoke to my traditional heart!

Speaking of red and green, I even coordinated my Christmas wrapping paper!

I would love for you to stop by and see My Simple & Traditional Holiday Home Tour from last Christmas.

What theme do you think I will choose this year?

Let me know in the comments!

My Christmas Footed Tray

One piece that I know for sure I’ll be using again this Christmas is my footed tray. I shared How To Make A Footed Tray a few years back and it’s still such a fun piece to accessorize for the holiday. It’s the perfect statement piece when decorating a large table.

You don’t have to be a woodworker to make this project and that’s what I loved about it.

If I can do it, so can you!!

And if you aren’t interested in making your own, there are plenty of pretty options out there to purchase.

The Utlimate in July Hot Chocolate Bar

While making my list for the upcoming Christmas season, one of the must haves on my list is a yummy hot chocolate bar. I showed you How To Create A Simple Hot Chocolate Bar last Christmas and let me tell you, my family and friends loved it!

These days the options are limitless when it comes to having a hot chocolate bar. From the super fun Christmas mugs and decorative toppings, to chocolate spoons, this bar can make a special addition to your holiday fun!

You don’t need a large spot for the display either. Consider using a mug tree to help save on space.

Leaving your hot chocolate bar out after Christmas is a great option. All you really need to do is change out your Christmas mugs for mugs with a more wintery feel.