I am not saying I am the person who counts down the days until Christmas from December 26th to December 24th, but I am not saying I am not that person.
I love Christmas. I love holidays. I love buying gifts for people. I love receiving gifts. I love trees and lights and snow and all the other jazz that comes along with the glorious Christmas season. One of my favorite events at our Club is our Christmas Dinner. Members receive a delicious meal, participate in a number of holiday themed activities, and get a special, personalized gift to take home with them. I thought, hey...why not continue this special time for members and celebrate in July as well. The truth is, we have a lot of different members during the summer and for them, this is an experience they can only get at the Club.
I know some Clubs have restrictions on Christmas celebrations and you can easily turn this into a holiday event. You can even use some of these resources to teach members about various holidays celebrated across the globe.
Holidays: A Sampler From Around the World: https://www.scholastic.com/teachers/articles/teaching-content/holidays-sampler-around-world/
All About the Holidays: https://optv.pbslearningmedia.org/collection/holidays/#.W1DR3tVKiUk
So here are some reasons why I think celebrations like this are really beneficial:
It is something different.
Members feel really special when they get a gift/something especially for them.
Staff members have a good time. It is also a treat for them.
We can start new traditions.
It doesn't have to be a "Christmas" party if you don't want it to be. Any intentional celebration that makes kids feel good is great!
So happy Christmas, Harry! Go forth and snow up the jams!
Click here for full Christmas in July plans!