Christmas in July is an unofficial holiday celebrated mostly in the southern hemisphere. In countries such as Australia and South Africa, where December is a summer month, Christmas in July is a way to enjoy some of the seasonal trappings of a traditional Christmas celebration, as experienced in northern regions and as portrayed in film and literature, during their winter.
In the U.S., Christmas in July is mainly used as a marketing hook during the holiday-free period between the Fourth of July and Labor Day. Naturally, licensed products are often in the mix.
Some marketers use the opportunity to encourage consumers to get a head start on the fourth-quarter holiday season and/or to reduce stocks of older inventory by focusing on Christmas-themed merchandise. Home Depot touts its Christmas decorations, from lights and wreaths to inflatable snowmen, for example. Licensee The Bradford Exchange offer holiday collectibles and décor tied to licenses including Thomas Kinkade, Disney, and Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.
Other licensees and retailers, large and small, focus on a general assortment of merchandise. They view Christmas in July as a way to spur early gift-giving, or simply as good time for a sale, rather than connecting it to Christmas-specific items. Badali Jewelry, a niche licensee of silver and gold necklaces, bracelets, and key chains, mostly tied to fantasy novels, is having a Christmas in July sale featuring Elantris, Wheel of Time, Iron Druid Chronicles, and The Hobbit, among other literary properties.
Although the practice of promoting products this way is certainly not new—QVC launched its 30th annual Christmas in July event on July 14 of this year—a growing list of retailers and manufacturers are using this theme as an angle to generate interest in licensed goods during midsummer.
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