Christmas in July Decorating Ideas (Larger Than Life DIY Theme)

Christmas in July is one of the most fun events at our campground, and this year I decided to go all in with a themed setup. My goal was to create a “larger than life” Christmas using oversized decorations and a mix of summer-inspired elements. I’m sharing how we pulled it all together so you can recreate your own Christmas-in-July setup, whether you’re at a campground or decorating at home.

Christmas in July Theme Highlights

• Larger-than-life decorations
• DIY ornaments and props
• Budget-friendly decorating ideas
• Fun ways to mix summer and Christmas

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Making the Christmas Ornaments

The first thing we started with was our Christmas ornaments. Because it was Christmas in July we tried to think of summer items we could use to make Christmas decorations.

My Granddaughter and I went to Walmart and purchased a bunch of the largest bouncy balls we could find. We were lucky to find some that already had designs we could use. Score! Another great option would be to use beach balls too!

To make the balls into ornaments we spray painted some clear plastic snack cups silver. Then we glued them onto the top of the balls with Beacon Quick Grip.

When they dried, we drilled two holes in the cups then ran fishing wire thru them to hang them from the trees.

Update: A couple of the cups didn’t hold. So, we added a second fishing wire around the ball and above the cup for added support. The fishing wire is invisible, so it didn’t change the decoration at all, and this was an easy way to add a little stability to the ornament.

Candy Canes

It just wouldn’t be a fun Christmas without Candy Canes.

We made large candy canes out of pool noodles to line the entryway and draw in the crowd. This was so easy.

First, I coiled some decorative duct tape around the noodles. Then, we bent the ends over and secured them with clear fishing string.

To stand them up, we took small wooden dowels and pushed them into the ground. Then just slid the noodles over them. Easy-Peasy! This is a great Christmas craft for your own decorating and would look great lining your walkway to your front porch or along your driveway.

For the final touch my granddaughter made some paper chains out of classic red construction paper we got at the craft store. Then she strung them from candy candy cane to candy cane.

Santa’s Toy Bag (or chimney)

The big focal point of the decorating was our Santa’s bag. I wanted to make a huge bag with presents so I could see the kids’ faces when they walked in.

I made this using part of a frame from my plastic greenhouse. It was basically two rectangular sections that I put together to form a large rectangle. To make it look like it was full of toys, I used whatever I could find from around the campsite and taped and tucked it around the frame.

I literally had life jackets, crumpled up paper, packing material from Amazon, and a deflated pool float. LOL Then I wrapped the whole thing with red plastic tablecloths. I topped it off with a large present sticking out of the top.

For the finishing touch, I wrapped a white tablecloth around the bottom of the present, then added another one that I tied into a bow. People said they thought it was a chimney! LOL I never thought of that. HA HA

Large Christmas Presents

Another idea for the larger than life theme for Christmas in July was to make very large Christmas gifts.

All we did was wrap large boxes with Christmas paper and place them around the site. To save wrapping paper, we made sure to only wrap parts of the boxes that people would see. Luckily, I had lots of Christmas paper that wasn’t my favorite, so it was perfect for this project.

The S’moresmen

We decided to give out gifts, so the grandchildren and I made snowmen smore’s. This was a fun…and messy project but they came out sooo cute.

We made them from marshmallows, graham crackers, Hershey’s chocolate bars, marshmallow fluff, licorice, edible pens, and orange fish candy. Then we wrapped them in plastic treat bags and tied them with green yarn. They came out so adorable.

I loved this idea because not only is it Christmas-themed, but also camping-themed! 🙂 Win-win.

If you’d like to know how to make the snowmen, you can get the directions on my resources page here.

We thought about a hot chocolate bar, but it was July, so we decided the children wouldn’t want a hot drink.

But another good idea would be to pass out ice cream bars. You would need a freezer handy, though.

Christmas Wreaths from Pool Floats

We decorated the snack table with a Christmas pool float wreath. This was an easy craft! All we did was blow up a pool float, then added a bow, which we made from scraps left over from making the paper chains.

This would make a cute front door wreath decoration, too!

Don’t forget about your costumes

Don’t forget to create some costumes to go with your Christmas in July theme.

Because this is in the summer months, you probably don’t want to wear an ugly Christmas sweater, even though it would be a lot of fun. So, instead, the easiest way to dress up would be to wear a Christmas t-shirt that you made yourself.

My granddaughter wanted to be Cindy-Lou-Who. It was the easiest costume to make.

We put her in a cute pink bathrobe and slippers and put her hair up, wayyyy up, by using a red solo cup. All I did was put her hair in a high ponytail, then put the cup on her head, brought her ponytail up over it, and attached another elastic.

We kept a little hair down on each side to braid and put cute ribbons at the bottom. It was so cute! Everyone was asking how we got her hair to stand up like that.

The Finishing Touches

Finally, for some other fun ideas, we decked out the rest of the site with traditional Christmas decorations like Christmas lights, paper chains, and a light show. We used one of those inexpensive projectors you see at the dollar store.

You could also use palm trees or an artificial Christmas tree, water balloons, and a Santa Claus.

Boil some cinnamon sticks for the aroma, play a Christmas movie marathon on the big screen, play Christmas music in the background, use fairy lights and/or Christmas lights all over for the perfect Christmas atmosphere.

Christmas in July From Around the Campground

Here are some other great moments from our Christmas in July Celebration from around the campground. You’ll see some Christmas classics as well as some very unique summer Christmas ideas!

Don’t you just love the camper inflatable? So cute.

We had such a really great time this year! The best part about doing a Christmas in July celebration at your campground is getting every family member to pitch in and help.

It’s such a great time working on a project together and feeling all the festive vibes. It really is the best Christmas ever. I can’t wait to see what everyone brings for next year! 🙂

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