It is 90 degrees outside, the fans are running, and somehow someone in your house is humming "Jingle Bells." That is the spirit of Christmas in July, and it does not need cold weather to feel real. The best version of this tradition is not just a sale banner or a playlist. It is actually doing something together, whether that is a craft table full of paint-covered hands or a backyard full of people tossing white water balloons at each other. This guide covers the games and crafts that work for every age in the room, from toddlers who want to fill something sparkly to adults who want a keepsake worth keeping. No elaborate supply lists, no experience required. Table of Contents Games That Work for Every Age Group The Craft That Steals the Show: Ornament Decorating 4 More Crafts to Keep the Table Busy Outdoor Games That Fit the July Heat Use July to Get a Head Start on Your Holiday Collection Games That Work for Every Age Group The easiest Christmas in July games borrow a familiar holiday structure and add a little summer energy. You do not need to reinvent anything. Most of these work indoors or out, with five people or fifty. Christmas in July Bingo is the single most reliable all-ages option. Make (or print) bingo cards that mix holiday icons like Santa hats, ornaments, and reindeer with summer icons like popsicles, sunglasses, and palm trees. It runs for ten minutes or two hours depending on your crowd, and the cards take five minutes to put together. Holiday Movie Quote Match-Up is perfect for teens through adults. Print a list of well-known lines from Christmas movies and challenge players to name the film. Younger kids can play in teams with older family members, which actually makes it more fun for everyone. Christmas Charades needs zero supplies and fills twenty to thirty minutes with any group. Stick to holiday movies, songs, and characters and it works for mixed ages without any explanation. Pair it with a Christmas in July party theme and the games become part of something bigger. For outdoor groups, swap cotton balls for white water balloons in a summertime snowball toss. Set up a few buckets at different distances and let the kids go at it until everyone is soaked. The Craft That Steals the Show: Ornament Decorating If you do one craft this July, make it ornament decorating. It works for every age, requires no artistic skill, and the finished pieces actually end up on your tree in December. That last part is what makes it special. The setup is simple: clear glass ball ornaments, widely available at craft stores in packs of a dozen or more. What you do with them depends on who is sitting at the table. 1. Kids: Fill-and-Seal Ornaments Toddlers and elementary-age kids can fill clear glass ornaments with confetti, colored tissue paper punched into dots, sand, small shells, or glitter. Remove the topper, pour a little in, replace the cap. Done in ten minutes, mess is minimal, and every child ends up with something no one else has. You do not need craft experience to pull this off. The ornaments are designed to open and close easily, and any combination of filler materials looks beautiful through the glass. 2. Teens and Adults: Painted Glass Ornaments Clear glass ornaments take paint beautifully, from the inside or the outside. For interior painting, squeeze a small amount of acrylic or glass paint inside the ornament, swirl it around to coat the walls, then rest it upside down to dry. The results look professional with almost no effort. For the outside, metallic paint pens work well for lettering names, dates, or simple line designs. Nail polish marbling is another option that produces a modern look without any brush skill: drip a few colors onto water, swirl, and dip the ornament. Each one comes out different. Writing a year or a name on the outside of a hand-decorated ornament turns a July afternoon project into the kind of keepsake that ends up on the tree for decades. That is the whole point. 3. Adults: Photo Ornaments Print a wallet-size photo, curl it loosely, and slide it into a clear glass ornament. It unfurls inside the glass and the image shows through the curved walls. The result is personal, beautiful, and takes about three minutes to make. Photo ornaments become the kind of piece people pull out of the box every year and stop to look at. If you want more ideas for taking the craft further, the DIY Christmas ornament projects post has additional techniques worth trying. 4 More Crafts to Keep the Table Busy If you want variety or a longer craft session, these four options work alongside or instead of ornament decorating. Salt Dough Ornaments. Mix flour, salt, and water, cut into shapes, bake low and slow, and paint after cooling. It is a classic for a reason. The dough is forgiving, the shapes can be as simple or detailed as you like, and the finished ornaments are surprisingly sturdy. Great for ages 4 and up with adult supervision on the oven step. DIY Snow Globes. A clear jar, a small figurine or toy, distilled water, glycerin, and glitter. Glue the figurine to the inside of the lid, fill the jar, screw it shut, and flip. Works well for elementary age and up, and dollar store supplies keep the cost low. Paper Plate Snowmen. Strictly for younger kids ages 2 to 6. A paper plate, pre-cut paper circles and shapes, and craft glue. Add summer touches like a paper sunhat and tiny sunglasses cutouts to lean into the July theme. Fast, easy, and uses almost nothing. Tropical Ornaments. Paint plain craft store ornaments in tropical colors and attach small shells, ribbon, or beach-themed accents. Teens and adults especially enjoy this one, and the finished pieces make good gifts for people who are hard to shop for. Holiday Jigsaw Puzzles. For a zero-prep option that sits alongside the craft table without any setup, pull out an Old World Christmas puzzle. The Silly Santa Puzzle is a 500-piece jigsaw built from beloved Santa ornaments. The Tasty Christmas Puzzle features fan-favorite food ornaments, with a built-in challenge: find all six hidden pickle ornaments. Both come in keepsake boxes and let guests drift in and out between other activities. Any of these crafts pairs well with a mix of Christmas ornaments or Christmas in July decorations on display nearby to spark ideas and give people a sense of what the finished tree will look like. If the puzzles appealed, browse the full holiday puzzle collection for more options to keep the table busy. Outdoor Games That Fit the July Heat Not every Christmas in July activity belongs at a craft table. These games take advantage of the warm weather and open space, which makes them better suited for family reunions, neighborhood parties, and anywhere with a backyard. Pin the Sunglasses on Santa is the summer spin on a classic. Print or draw a Santa poster, swap the red nose for a pair of oversized sunnies, and let the blindfolded guessing begin. It works for ages 3 and up, takes five minutes to set up, and always gets a reaction. The Human Christmas Tree relay race is the one for larger groups. Each team picks one person to be the "tree," then decorates them with garland, bows, leis, and any lightweight items they can find, as fast as possible. The judging criteria are entirely at the host's discretion, which is where things get interesting. For adults, Christmas in July Trivia is the version of bingo with real competition in it. Rounds built around holiday movies, song lyrics, traditions, and history work well for mixed groups. Free printable trivia sets are widely available, and the game pairs naturally with holiday-themed summer drinks like cranberry lemonade or peppermint iced tea. For something that moves easily between the table and the backyard, the Go Pickle! Game & Ornament from Old World Christmas is a 48-card game built around the Christmas pickle tradition, bundled with a handcrafted pickle ornament. The rules are simple enough for kids and fast enough for adults. Play it between relay races or use it as the card game round in a larger party lineup. If you want more structure for the full event, pairing the games with a dedicated theme and food setup turns a casual afternoon into something people talk about for a while. Browse the full holiday games collection for more ideas to add to the lineup. Use July to Get a Head Start on Your Holiday Collection The same spirit that drives a Christmas in July craft session, wanting the holiday experience outside of December pressure, applies to building out an ornament collection. July is actually the smartest time to do it. Old World Christmas hand-blown glass ornaments are designed to be collected and kept, not just hung once and forgotten. Each piece is mouth-blown and hand-painted in the Old World tradition, built to go back in the box carefully every January and come back out looking just as good the next year. Browse the full Christmas ornament collection and you will find dozens of themes across animals, hobbies, licensed characters, and traditional designs. Shopping our new Christmas ornament releases or ornaments coming soon in July means access to full inventory before the holiday rush depletes the designs that go fast every year. Popular pieces sell out. The people who find them are the ones who are not waiting until December. This July, whether you are filling ornaments at a craft table or adding a hand-blown glass piece to a collection you have been building for years, the point is the same. The holiday starts when you decide it does.
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