Christmas in July deals spotlight early holiday gifting and savings

Claudia Lombana has made Christmas in July feel less like a novelty and more like a budgeting move. The Emmy and Peabody Award-winning journalist and shopping expert uses the mid-summer moment to point shoppers toward the latest deals, consumer products and trends for everyone on their gift list, and Bankrate’s 2025 Early Holiday Shopping Survey found that 28% of U.S. adults now view Christmas in July favorably, up 5 points from 2023, even as 52% still say it is too early to think about winter holiday shopping.

Why Christmas in July works as a spending reset

The appeal is not just cheer, it is calendar management. By late summer, shoppers are already facing fall expenses, school costs and the slow creep of holiday budgets, so a July sale period offers a way to lock in gifts before the heavy promotional crush starts later in the year. Bankrate’s 2025 Early Holiday Shopping Survey included 2,567 adults and 2,020 respondents who expected to participate in winter holiday shopping. Plenty of people are preparing early, even if they are not ready to decorate the tree.

Retailers have picked up on that shift. Macy’s ran a Black Friday in July promotion from July 23 to 27, 2025, with deals across summer essentials, accessories, fine jewelry, home and back-to-school items. July sales are strongest in practical purchases, giftable upgrades and the kinds of things that can be bought well before December without feeling premature.

The smartest gifts to buy now

Smart home technology is one of the clearest buys in a Christmas in July window. These products tend to be easy to gift, easy to ship and less dependent on seasonal styling, which makes summer promotions especially useful if you want to shave real money off a present that still feels polished and useful. A small device that simplifies daily life can feel more luxurious than something expensive but impersonal, especially when it solves a problem the recipient already has.

Beauty and self-care are another category worth watching closely. These products travel well, suit a wide range of recipients and work at nearly every price point. A thoughtful skin-care set, a fragrance, or a well-edited bath and body gift can feel indulgent without becoming wasteful, and July promotions often surface the kind of sets that disappear once holiday season officially begins.

Home gifts also make sense now, especially the pieces that live in the overlap between everyday use and entertaining. Macy’s included home in its July promotion. This is the time to look for objects that upgrade routines, from serving pieces to practical accessories that make a space feel more composed. If you are buying for a host, a new homeowner or someone who values design, home is one of the categories where early discounts can be both useful and tasteful.

Fine jewelry is worth a close look if you are shopping for a milestone gift, not a casual add-on. Macy’s placed it in the July mix. Jewelry is one of the few gift categories that can feel genuinely special without requiring holiday-specific packaging or December urgency. A small, well-chosen piece can carry more emotional weight than a louder present, especially when it is selected with the recipient’s style in mind.

Back-to-school items are less glamorous, but they are smart if you are buying for a family that wants to stretch the season. The July window is ideal for these practical essentials because they are already in demand and often priced with summer inventory in mind. That makes them useful for parents, students and anyone looking to get ahead of the September squeeze.

What to hold for later

Not everything belongs in the July cart. Big-ticket holiday purchases that depend on the deepest seasonal markdowns, highly specific winter décor and anything tied to a late-fall trend cycle are often better left for later in the year, when selection widens and the calendar works in your favor. July is strongest for versatile categories and early practical wins, not for chasing the exact item that will define December entertaining.

A tradition that started as a camp celebration

Keystone Camp in Brevard, North Carolina, began the tradition on July 24, 1933. That first celebration featured a decorated tree, gifts, carols, fake snow and a visit from Santa Claus, a scene that later spread throughout the United States and is now observed in both hemispheres.