Christmas in July from the Gooseberry Patch Country Friends® Collection

(Image from Gooseberry Patch)

This little cookbook is only $4.95 and has some fun ideas for crafts and recipes you can make now.  The first suggestion is a Christmas in July party.  It includes ideas for snacks and for decorations to set the Christmas theme.  (I will be using these decorating ideas as I hope to celebrate a very simple "Christmas in September" while my daughter and family are visiting from out West.)  The decor ideas are very quick and simple, like stringing up some Christmas lights and using a Christmas tablecloth.

Next, there are easy suggestions for crafts and gifts to make, and even for making simple cards and gift wrap (along with more snacks and munchies to enjoy while you work).  There are some  great ideas for stocking stuffers, like sewing kits, holiday candles, votive holders, foot scrubs, etc.

There are also super ideas for Christmas countdowns to share from 12 to 24 little gifts each day before Christmas.  Fun!

There are also fun ideas for using jingle bells and other simple items to make cute little gifts.  And there are make-ahead kitchen gifts like jar mixes and hard candy.  "15 Tiny Things to Tuck Inside a Christmas Card" gives great suggestions for everyone on your card list.  There's a section of "Great Guy Gifts", including Car Cologne (I have made this; fun idea!), Frame of Fame, and Junk Food Extravaganza.  There are fun wrapping ideas and even a page called "Tag Store" with printable tags.

Inspiring quotes are sprinkled throughout the book too.  I particularly like this one:  "Set me a task in which I can put something of my very self, and it is a task no longer; it is joy; it is art."  -- Bliss Carman.

That is a lot of fun and information for only $4.95, and I love the idea of getting this little book out for inspiration every July.  Maybe you would like to get one for yourself ... a little Christmas in July present!