I used to think I was in the Christmas mood early when I turned on 24/7 Christmas music on Thanksgiving week. Now I have friends who have their Christmas Trees and Lights up November 1. A lot of people roll their eyes when they see Christmas decorations come up in the craft stores during the summer; which I understand because I certainly adore fall decor myself and wouldn't skip it in lieu of early Christmas decor. I must say, however, when a friend of mine said she was nearly done Christmas shopping for her eight kids in the middle of July, it rubbed off on me. Now I am actually making plans for Christmas and I couldn't be more excited!

Granted, I have one child and my friend has eight, I still have a big family. There are close family members we always exchange gifts with, there are lots of children in the family, there are the charity causes to donate to, and there is the tendency to forget and save several for the last minute. There have been a couple of years that I wrote a list right after Christmas so that I could glean from the lessons learned, be more organized with my shopping, keep a budget while having meaningful gift ideas. After 11 months the list is forgotten and I'm once again overspending and doing things at the last minute.

Just imagine having all your gifts ready to go by December 1 and spending the next 25 days singing carols, eating Gingerbread, sipping pumpkin lattes and only needing to buy cute wrapping paper! Wouldn't that be such a luxury? I know, you would think from Black Friday to Christmas Eve there is ample time to shop--until you attend Christmas socials, tree lighting ceremonies, children's end of semester and church programs, last minute travel plans, and charity events. Suddenly your Christmas month is completely absorbed.

So while I do appreciate what each season has to offer including summer, this Christmas in July thing is happening! The best part of my summer days right now happens before 11 a.m. They don't call these days the dog days of summer for nothing and although being the parent of toddler gives me the incentive to go outside and burn energy in hopes of a solid night's sleep, there are a good few hours in which we would rather be lounging in the AC with movies on. Why not pop in a couple of Christmas flicks and knock out some Christmas Shopping on Amazon? Better yet, what about friends like myself who have direct sales businesses? Nearly everything in retail can be found through one direct sales company or another!

Here are some ideas to embrace the early bird Christmas Spirit:

1. Make your lists.

Start writing down the names of everyone in your life and jotting down ideas. You may find as you look across the list of people you know and love, you'll start to group your "hard to shop for's", the "sentimentalists", and others. Soon you get ideas about what to shop for and how much it might cost. When you do this months before Christmas, you also have the option to space out your shopping each month.

2. Check them twice.

I have found that there are some people I'll have 10 gift ideas for while with others I have none. There is power in writing things down and taking time to reflect. This helps me narrow down my ideas and pursue my plan purposefully.

3. Make something.

Some of the best gifts are homemade. If you're a crafter. you'll want to give yourself ample time to create gifts for people on your list. If you're not crafty, creating personalized gifts is something anyone can do thanks to technology. You can create photo gifts on shutterfly.com, a personalized children's book on ilostmyname.com, or get something unique on Etsy. Plus, nowadays who doesn't save simple crafty decoration ideas on Pinterest for later? It's fun to check out holiday decor ideas!

4. Set aside some funds for travel.

If you know you're going somewhere for Christmas, you can book early to save money. If that's not an option, why not set aside a few dollars a month until then. It's one more thing to make the season less stressful and more enjoyable.

5. Then there are the Christmas Cards...

Don't you love the Christmas cards that stream in throughout the month of December? I always forget about my Christmas cards then never have enough or that cute picture ready early enough. I'm going to make a plan to take family pictures whenever we can and get my address book and stamps ready early!

All in all, Christmas lights and trees coming up in the stores in July might seem like overkill; but it's not really that crazy to think about Christmas in July. It's thoughtful, smart, and can be awfully fun! My toddler wants to watch Mickey Mouse Christmas without regard for weather or time, so I'll go ahead and embrace it now during my reprieve from the hot weather.