2021 Christmas in July Week 1 July 1st - July 3rd

[Holiday_Mom]

View attachment 1297
Welcome to Christmas in July 2021!

We are so glad that you are here!
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Join me for the next three days as we look at Christmas on the internet. We'll share our favorite websites, apps and podcasts and maybe find a few more new ones.

Thursday, July 1st

Let's take a look at Christmas websites. What websites do you like to visit for Christmas inspiration?

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[Holiday_Mom]

I have quite a few I'd like to share. I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention this site first - MyMerryChristmas.com. It was started by Jeff Westover and has roots that go back to 1991. It is one of the oldest Christmas sites online. In case you didn’t know, MyMerryChristmas.com is the host of our Magical Holiday Home forum. We wouldn’t be here without MyMerryChristmas.com. In addition to hosting us, MyMerryChristmas.com has their own forum https://mymerrychristmas.com/forum/. Be sure to check them out too. They have a lot of fun things planned for Christmas in July.

Under the umbrella of MyMerryChristmas.com is Santa Update. It’s the place to go if you want to know what’s happening with Santa. There is North Pole News, North Pole Post Office, North Pole Activities, North Pole Podcast, North Pole Ask-A-Question and North Pole Chat Room. This is a family friendly site.

I first heard about the Village Collector site while listening to a podcast a couple of months ago. I don’t collect Christmas villages but I do like to see them. The Village Collector site has it all. There are photos of Christmas village collections, videos of collections, and a section called Fun Stuff. Reading the cartoons and jokes had me chuckling.

The Norad Santa Tracker has been around since 1955 when a child misdialed a number she saw in the newspaper thinking she was calling Santa. Instead she reached what was known then as Continental Air Defense Command. If you would like to track Santa, the site will be up and running again on Dec 1st.

In the meantime, you can visit Google’s Santa Tracker and play some activities. This has been a family favorite since it came out in 2004. My girls loved the one activity where they could color Santa’s beard and give him a trim. My teenagers have been known to go to this site in December to recall happy memories.

Bronners is a Christmas store located in Frankenmuth, Michigan that has been in business since 1945.. They sell everything related to Christmas - Nativity Sets, Christmas Villages, Ornaments, Stockings, Christmas Lights and even replacement parts for the lights.

I first heard about Bronners through a catalog that was sent to me when my kids were little. You know how once you signed up for one catalog, then you’d get a whole bunch more. That’s what happened here. It was always fun to look through and we learned about ornaments that we never heard of before like the Christmas pickle?! The catalog came in handy one year when we needed a part for the Christmas lights. No one had it locally so we ordered it from Bronners.

I'm looking forward to reading what other Christmas websites are out there.

 

[MrsSoup]

Norad is a favorite for us on Christmas Eve! Even though my kids are now older, they still claim to believe in Santa and I enjoy looking throughout the day and giving them updates. It fills me with joy so I do it, whether they are looking with me or not. When we lived in Hawaii it was very different since we were pretty much the last stop on Santa's route.

Elf Yourself is a fun site where you can transform you and your entire family into elves to fun music.

Northpole.com is another nice site to check out as it has a village where you click on the different houses to visit different areas of interest. Raymond the Reindeer leads your journey. You can get ideas on baking, crafts, gifts, etc. You can also connect with Santa here.

Reindeer Cam is pretty awesome during the holiday season (or any time of year). You can see Santa feeding his reindeer at Christmas time and the rest of the year you can see other barnyard animals. It's a beautiful scene with the snow on the ground during the holidays.

 

[luludou]

Thanks for the links! have added a few to my favorites.
I like Christmas Tree Lane (christmas-tree-lane.com) also
Today I found the Snickerdoodle Martini | Christmas Tree Lane (christmas-tree-lane.com)

 

[Myron's Mom]

Lots of nice sites!
If you are ever in Michigan make sure you take a trip to Frankenmuth to the Bronners store. It’s Christmas on steroids lol.
We still track santa with Norad every year.
I think I see a see a snickerdoodle martini in my future, to celebrate Christmas in July.

Capture the magic was a website and is now an app. It enables you to add Santa (the Easter bunny or tooth fairy) to your photos. I have not used the app but the website was great.
http://www.capturethemagic.com/

 

[girlsinmo]

Don't have any links to add. Look forward to checking these out some I'm already familiar with some I am not. Thanks for starting this thread.

 

[teachermomof2]

Along with all the above mentioned, Christmasphere is pretty neat. https://christmasphere.com/

I enjoy this blog: https://www.allthingschristmas.com/christmas-blog/ They are a bunch of mini blogs for a variety of topics dealing with Christmas.

Happy Christmas in July!

 

[AnnieClaus]

I like this link of Santa's village. I click on it here and there to see what may be happening at that moment.
Always hoping to catch an elf in action!

Annie

 

[Holiday_Mom]

Friday July 2nd

Apps

Today we are looking at Christmas Apps!

Elfster - I’ve used the computer version for years to set up Secret Santa gift exchanges with my extended family. It was a lot of fun watching the banter going back and forth with the messages. You can set it up that married couples don’t buy for one another and that the previous year recipients have different people this year. You can make a Christmas wish list here as well.

Christmas Gift List - I have this app downloaded but I have not used this app at Christmas. The app is colorful and fun. It is great for quick ideas. You can add a picture of the item or the URL link. There’s a place where you can record if you bought the gift and if you wrapped the gift. On January 1st, the list gets archived and a new list starts. You can also back up your list to Google Drive.

I can see myself using this on the go but for actual planning purposes, I would continue to use a spreadsheet for gift buying. On the spreadsheet, I can mark off gifts as Bought/Ordered, Received, and Wrapped. I also like the ability to make a new spreadsheet each year by copying and pasting from the previous year.

Christmas Countdown - This app tracks the days until Christmas with options for different backgrounds. Once you set it up, you can choose whether you want Chrismtas music to play every time you open the app. There is even an Advent countdown within the app beginning December 1st.

Santa Tracker - I have not used this app. It appears that this has some of the features of Santa Update. This Santa Tracker app is put out by MyMerryChristmas. All proceeds from the purchase of the app are donated to someone in need at Christmas.

Are there any apps that you like to use?

 

[luludou]

Have never used any of these. Will look that up, thanks Mary

 

[MrsSoup]

I use the Gift List app every year. I love being able to open it and quickly see where i'm at price-wise for each person. You can also password protect it for nosy nellies.

 

[missjane]

Wow! You are all much more into the technology helpers than I am. I'll have to check some of these out!

 

[AnnieClaus]

I don't have any Christmas apps!

Thanks for sharing!

Annie

 

[halimer]

The Navage Patch blog has some nice holiday ideas.

 

[Lolwlias]

I have quite a few I'd like to share. I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention this site first - MyMerryChristmas.com. It was started by Jeff Westover and has roots that go back to 1991. It is one of the oldest Christmas sites online. In case you didn’t know, MyMerryChristmas.com is the host of our Magical Holiday Home forum. We wouldn’t be here without MyMerryChristmas.com. In addition to hosting us, MyMerryChristmas.com has their own forum https://mymerrychristmas.com/forum/. Be sure to check them out too. They have a lot of fun things planned for Christmas in July.

Under the umbrella of MyMerryChristmas.com is Santa Update. It’s the place to go if you want to know what’s happening with Santa. There is North Pole News, North Pole Post Office, North Pole Activities, North Pole Podcast, North Pole Ask-A-Question and North Pole Chat Room. This is a family friendly site.

I first heard about the Village Collector site while listening to a podcast a couple of months ago. I don’t collect Christmas villages but I do like to see them. The Village Collector site has it all. There are photos of Christmas village collections, videos of collections, and a section called Fun Stuff. Reading the cartoons and jokes had me chuckling.

The Norad Santa Tracker has been around since 1955 when a child misdialed a number she saw in the newspaper thinking she was calling Santa. Instead she reached what was known then as Continental Air Defense Command. If you would like to track Santa, the site will be up and running again on Dec 1st.

In the meantime, you can visit Google’s Santa Tracker and play some activities. This has been a family favorite since it came out in 2004. My girls loved the one activity where they could color Santa’s beard and give him a trim. My teenagers have been known to go to this site in December to recall happy memories.

Bronners is a Christmas store located in Frankenmuth, Michigan that has been in business since 1945.. They sell everything related to Christmas - Nativity Sets, Christmas Villages, Ornaments, Stockings, Christmas Lights and even replacement parts for the lights.

I first heard about Bronners through a catalog that was sent to me when my kids were little. You know how once you signed up for one catalog, then you’d get a whole bunch more. That’s what happened here. It was always fun to look through and we learned about ornaments that we never heard of before like the Christmas pickle?! The catalog came in handy one year when we needed a part for the Christmas lights. No one had it locally so we ordered it from Bronners.

I'm looking forward to reading what other Christmas websites are out there.

Many years ago I was a regular at mymerrychristmas.com. Magical Holiday Home is my main go-to. (Before that Organized Christmas.)

 

[Holiday_Mom]

Saturday, July 3rd

Podcasts

For those who are unfamiliar with a podcast, it is an audio file that has been uploaded on the internet and it is listened to on a computer or mobile device. It is a combination of iPod and broadcast.

On mobile devices and computers, you can listen to podcasts at Apple Podcast
Google Podcast, Stitcher, and Spotify. With your mobile device, you will need to download the app.

I started to listen to Christmas podcasts in 2016. I found the Merry Little Podcast, hosted by Jeff Westover and listened to them while doing work around the house. The podcasts cover topics like Christmas history and culture.

The following year, as I was looking to see if there were any more Christmas podcasts available, I came across Christmas Past. This podcast is hosted by Brian Earl. Traditions, back stories and literature are discussed. I always saved these for my drive home. Brian Earl has a wonderful soothing voice that helped me deal with the traffic.

That same year, I added the Advent Calendar House to the mix. This podcast has a number of podcasts on Christmas TV shows and movies that come out in December and July. The podcast host, Mike Westfall, discusses in detail each part of the show and movie with another guest.

For the last few Septembers, as I have gotten ready for the House and Holiday Cleaning Plan here at Magical Holiday Home, I have looked to see if there are new Christmas podcasts. 2018 did not disappoint. I added two new podcasts to my list. Can’t Wait for Christmas was the first one. Although this podcast has been around since 2015, it was new to me and the host, Tim Babb, has added much needed Christmas comedy to my day. I tend to listen to this podcast while running errands. It makes me laugh and I go into the stores in a good mood. (Which, come to think of it, means I spend more money too. )

The second one was Tinsel Tunes hosted by New Zealander, Duane Bailey. Duane does an awesome job of doing a deep dive into Christmas songs. He looks at the song’s history and the variations of the Christmas tune. I’ve learned a lot about the songs and found some new favorites as a result of listening.

In 2019 I was introduced to Christmas Clatter, a podcast that touches on various aspects of Christmas. Todd Killian, the host, has done some podcasts where he and a guest recast the roles in a Christmas movie. There are also a few Merry Melee episodes. These are debates between three guests with a few questions asked by Todd. Todd also has interviewed some of the podcasters that I’ve mentioned.

Sleigh Bells and Mistletoe Christmas also came out in 2019. This cheery podcast, hosted by news reporters, Rikki Meece and Mary Richards, is full of Christmas news and interviews with interesting people from all walks of life.

Last summer, I found two more podcasts. Season’s Eatings is hosted by Glen Warren. He gives us a history on Christmas foods from around the world. If you want to know more about Figgy Pudding, Sugar Plums, and Wassail, then this is the place for you.

A Cozy Christmas is hosted by Art. The idea behind this podcast is to slow down, relax with a favorite drink and feel cozy as you listen to the conversations and some little known Christmas stories. The stories and conversation style interviews keep me interested enough that my gardening and house work seem to go by faster when I'm listening to this podcast.

Is there a podcast player that you use but wasn’t mentioned above? What podcasts do you enjoy?

 

[luludou]

Have never listened to podcasts.... I need to change that!

 

[jampss]

I have started a new folder "Christmas" in my browser bookmarks for all these cool links! Thanks for sharing. Wow.

 

[Holiday_Mom]

Thank you for the links! Life got a bit unexpectedly busy the last couple of days. I didn't have a chance to respond until now. I hope to look through them in the next week or two.

 

[AuntJamelle]

All of this information is AMAZING!!! Have definitely not been taking advantage of some pretty cool things available out there!!!