The fairies love when you facilitate magic for children and give the fairies credit. Santa, especially, appreciates all the labor that humans (mostly women) do in Santa’s name.
The idea for Christmas in July is to inspire you to get out into nature with the kids you love, paying attention to the nature around you and delighting them with little gifts.
This framework is just a jumping off point for YOU to add your special flavor and thoughtful touches!
SETTING:
The idea for this is taking two walks in nature with kids along the same path, two days in a row. Ideally it is someplace with enough privacy that folks won’t hassle the gifts from the fairies but if you had another grown-up do the gift drop offs right before you walk with the kids you could probably use a public trail.
This would be easy to facilitate on a land with a half acre to walk around in or maybe even a garden. Get creative!
FIRST WALK:
Explain to the littles that the fairies love Christmas in July, and they love leaving presents at the most festive parts of the forest. On the first walk you’ll go along the path noticing along with the littles which plants look “Christmassy.” Listen to their perspective! Kids are so wise!
In my Pacific Northwest forest there are a ton of red and green plants, some red, green and white. I was inspired to write about a Christmas in July fairy walk just out on my sunset walk every day! I love Christmas I love things to be festive!
This is a great opportunity to teach the littles about the land, about foraging for edible food and identifying berries and plants.
Right now the Salmonberries are fruiting in the forest, the trailing blackberries will fruit really soon, the red huckleberries are totally christmassy and fruiting.
If we were in the Northern California forests I grew up visiting, I would teach about poison oak which is red and green therefore christmassy but NOT something to touch.
As the grown-up facilitating this take a half hour and learn about the native plants that you might encounter on this hike/walk!
SECOND WALK:
While on the first walk remember a few of the spots you pointed out with the littles that were “Christmassy” or spots they thought the fairies might especially like. Before the second walk you (or another grown-up fairy facilitator) go along the path and leave presents from the fairies at a few of those spots.
I want to underscore the principle of LEAVE NO TRACE when using the woods for merriment. You absolutely must promise me (and the fairies) that you’re going to pick up everything you leave out.
I recommend no food, no smelly things that will attract raccoon or other critter attention. It will make more mess in the forest and be a bummer to you!
But cute gifties like madlibs, kazoos, fun straws that spell their names, decks of Uno or what have you! Delightful little things!
You could probably also do this as Hannukah in July by focusing on all the cute white or blue things you find! And if you celebrate neither just do a fairy walk and ask the littles where they think the fairies would like to hang out. Probably under mushrooms!
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