In the late 1990's, Jeff's parents started spending their winters (including Thanksgiving and Christmas) in warm and sunny Alabama. The siblings continued to get together on Thanksgiving for the traditional turkey, dressing and pumpkin pie, but somewhere along the way the not-so-traditional exchanging of Christmas gifts became part of the celebration.
Not sure how that came to be, exactly. Maybe it was because we were often unable to be together in December, and rather than mail gifts back and forth, we thought we'd exchange when we were all in one place. The only downside to this was that we seldom were able to celebrate the holidays with Jeff's sister and her family, who live in Virginia. They made the trek to Michigan every summer, but another trip back for Thanksgiving wasn't always possible.
Then several years ago, while sitting around the campfire at Family Camp, the conversation turned, as it does in many families, to how we exchange Christmas gifts. Should the adults continue to draw names? Should we start doing a version of Yankee Swap? Should we only exchange handmade gifts?
That's when someone threw out the idea of celebrating Christmas in July, while we were together at Family Camp. The general consensus was that since we weren't celebrating in December anyway, why not move the celebration to a time when we could be together?
That was in 2003. We just finished celebrating our fifth Christmas in July, and I think it's safe to say that it's officially a tradition. The kids love it. (Imagine that!) For the adults, it's definitely a more relaxing experience than what happens in December, when we're all stretched to the limit with decorating, baking, parties, shopping, wrapping, visiting, etc. We just throw up a few strands of lights in the trees, play some Christmas tunes, and have fun with it.
Not sure how that came to be, exactly. Maybe it was because we were often unable to be together in December, and rather than mail gifts back and forth, we thought we'd exchange when we were all in one place. The only downside to this was that we seldom were able to celebrate the holidays with Jeff's sister and her family, who live in Virginia. They made the trek to Michigan every summer, but another trip back for Thanksgiving wasn't always possible.
Then several years ago, while sitting around the campfire at Family Camp, the conversation turned, as it does in many families, to how we exchange Christmas gifts. Should the adults continue to draw names? Should we start doing a version of Yankee Swap? Should we only exchange handmade gifts?
That's when someone threw out the idea of celebrating Christmas in July, while we were together at Family Camp. The general consensus was that since we weren't celebrating in December anyway, why not move the celebration to a time when we could be together?
That was in 2003. We just finished celebrating our fifth Christmas in July, and I think it's safe to say that it's officially a tradition. The kids love it. (Imagine that!) For the adults, it's definitely a more relaxing experience than what happens in December, when we're all stretched to the limit with decorating, baking, parties, shopping, wrapping, visiting, etc. We just throw up a few strands of lights in the trees, play some Christmas tunes, and have fun with it.
