Christmas in July
Christmas comes but once a year? Says who? Let me tell you about our most fabulous Christmas in July pool party, the first of many….
This site is still brand spanking new, and what better way to christen a space than with a party? Granted, the event I am speaking of actually happened last month, but it was quite a fete. Since most of you couldn’t attend, let me take you there by telling you all about it (and that way, I can relive it again, too). It’s about to feel like Christmas up in here. Put on your party pants and get merry, would you? It’s Christmas in July!
When we first started, I had no idea how much fun it was going to be to dig the Christmas decorations out of the attic mid-summer and enjoy them this time of year. Hello, garland and Santas and wreaths, fancy seeing you here! Oh, reindeer and snowflakes and giant Christmas lights, how I have missed you these past months. Come out into the sunlight. My mom even graciously loaned us some of her holiday swag as well, so believe me when I say our halls were decked for the occasion.
I added a pair of flip flops and some sunglasses to my Christmas wreath and voila!
Welcome to Christmas in July!
We put a tinsel tree in our hot tub; I mean, doesn’t everyone?
It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas (in July).
We decorated a couple more trees, and gave Santa a beach towel, beach ball, and some swim goggles.
My friend Heather loaned us this cute tree decorated with Elf the movie themed ornaments. Son of a nutcracker!
The grill was loaded with Santa hats, reindeer ears, Christmas koozies and sunscreen.
Which way to the fun? This way!
No party is complete without food and drinks. We served spicy cranberry margaritas to add a holiday vibe.
How about a souvenir cup? Drink up, Grinches!
Bottled water? Boring. Melted snowman? Yes, please.
I asked our guests to bring a Christmas themed appetizer—we even had Christmas cookies!
The charcuterie is in the shape of a Christmas tree: can you see it?
How about the Santa hummus platter?
Even the puppy was happy with the holiday buffet.
Heather’s favorite Christmas movie is A Smoky Mountain Christmas, starring Dolly Parton, so she wore her Dolly wig in tribute. Please also notice Carrie (right) wearing a skirt just perfect for the occasion. I love my friends.
‘Tis the season, am I right?
Feeling festive!
A giant Christmas wreath float? Boughs of holly!
We spent the day swimming, sipping, sunning and listening to a playlist of our favorite Christmas songs, including some very fun steel drum band and Jimmy Buffet versions of the classic carols you know and love. It was decided early on that this was actually the first annual Christmas in July, so I look forward to telling you about next year’s party, too, which is sure to be even bigger and better. Christmas comes but once a year—says who?
Merry Christmas in July!
Come On In
For Whom the Belle Tolls has a new home! Come in and take a look around….
For Whom the Belle Tolls has a new home! This is a brand new site for me, so welcome. Just leave your housewarming gift by the door and come take a look around, and if you forgot the gift, you can always bring one the next time you stop by (wink).
As it turns out, the “simple” process of moving a blog from one website to another is about as easy as baking up a batch of your grandmother’s famous fluffy homemade biscuits from scratch, about as much fun as a chili cookoff during a heatwave, and about as fast as thick molasses being poured uphill. I have spent the last two months engrossed in things a belle like me frankly has no business delving into: things such as web design, host sites, and horrid, terrible, nightmare inducing tech-speak terrors such as coding and burner feeds and, I need a fainting couch.
I digress. Come on in to the new Belle Tolls and let’s get this party started, finally.
If you are an old friend, I hope you feel at home in this space and it looks a little familiar but also a bit refreshed...after a dozen or so years, a girl needs a bit of a facelift in order to keep looking her best. If you're new here, I'm happy to make your acquaintance and I hope you like what you see. Take a look around, get to know me a bit, and come back for more. I promise to do my best to entertain, even when it's just the things that happen to me on a daily basis; bless my heart, as you will come to know, my struggle is real.
For better or worse, this belle will tell is like it is, how it should be, and hopefully add a sprinkle of Southern humor when you really need it. Come on in, grab yourself a Diet Coke or a dirty martini and let's talk, and tell your mama and them I said hello!
Welcome to For Whom the Belle Tolls!