Christmas in July

I just noticed that Christmas is trending on Twitter tonight. There seem to be lots of Christmas in July events happening around the world. If you’ve never heard of this I think you will start to hear a lot more in years to come. Basically the idea is that if you live in the Northern hemisphere you can experience what it must be like to celebrate Christmas in Australia in the height of our summer while those south of the equator get to see what it is like to celebrate Christmas when it is cold.

I can’t say I really approve but it depends in what spirit people celebrate. I fear this will get bigger over the coming years because there are not really any card sending or gift giving events in July and August and lots of businesses are looking for ways to fill this gap.

If you are celebrating Christmas in July or running an event or promotion please get in touch and let me know what you are doing.

Tags: Christmas, july

Jam for Christmas

This is the seasons for blackberries, blueberries, cherries, nectarines, plums and strawberries and with these long summer evenings now is the perfect time to make jars of jam to give as gifts to your friends and family at Christmas. If you don’t save your jam jars and marmalade jars why not start saving them over the next few weeks so that you can have a good Jam making session in August.

I love opening a jar of homemade jam during the winter months. The fresh clean taste of the fruit instantly takes me back to the previous summer. There’s noting quite like the taste of homemade jam. In the Winter when I run out of my own Jam I try various jars from the supermarket but none of them are quite the same.

So with this all in mind I really think that giving friends and family a jar of your precious homemade jam as a special Christmas present is a wonderful idea. You can turn it into a little work of art with a lovely label and a ribbon.

Tags: august, jam, july

Do you know someone with a birthday at Christmas?

Last year I wrote a blog which talked about how to deal with people who celebrate their birthday at Christmas.  If your birthday is at Christmas then it often just gets mixed up and lost with the Christmas celebrations and people can end up feeling a little hard-done-by.  The solution is somewhat like the queen, to have two birthdays.  So if you know someone special who has their birthday at Christmas why not organise a nice surprise ‘official birthday party’ for them during late July or August.  While the weather is nice it’s a great time to invite everyone and enjoy a summer barbecue.

Tags: august, birthday, Christmas, july