Christmas in July Birthday Party-5 year old  For my daughter Samantha's 5th b-day we decided to have a Christmas in July theme. About 2 months in advance we even sat  down and wrote Santa a letter asking him if he could "PLEASE" come  to the party and how it would mean so much to her and her friends if they could get a special visit.  I explained to Samantha that the chances were pretty slim that Santa could really come, because this was summer and his vacation time...Santa really needs his rest!. The invitations we sent also set a very festive tone.  On Christmas computer paper that I found at a stationary store for 75% off, I wrote a cute poem  inviting them to share Christmas in July with us. I also asked the guests(all girls) to wear red and green. I even had leftover Xmas  postage stamps from my own Xmas cards that I used on the invitaions.  My friends couldn't believe I had those! We had the party in our playroom and it was decorated with lots of Xmas cheer, twinkling  lights...even had a small tree where the kids put their presents.  As the  children were arriving and the Xmas music was playing in the  background, I had set up 4 different activity stations that they could rotate to. All but one of the crafts came from the very reliable website  Oriental trading .There was a table where the girls made wooden  necklaces  with reindeer and Santa beeds...we had small green  pinecones(xmas trees) that they decorated with glitter and glued a star  on top; then they glued a snowman ornament, but definately the most  popular craft was the cookie decorating table. I had prepared xmas  cookies the day before and bought all the necessary yummies to decorate with and the girls just loved doing that...and eating them! After  the crafts we had a cake, Xmas Present complete with gift tag to my  daughter.  We were just finishing the cake when at our back door who should appear....SANTA!!!..complete with a bag on his back and the letter that Samantha had written!  If you could have seen the look on my daughters face..she felt so very special! Santa only stayed for a little while(he was hot in his suit!)...he handed out the goodie bags to all the  girls and I took their pics with him and sent those in the thank you notes(he even brought a gift for my 3 year old son so he wouldn't feel  left out!)  After Santa left, we played pin the carrot on the snowman (Oriental trading) and then the girls left with all the crafts they had made and the added bonus of telling all their friends that they had just seen Santa!!  (We had a friend who had a Santa costume and he also happended to have a real white beard..very lucky! I gave him all the  goodie bags and Samanthas letter before the party, so it all worked out  great)  I hope you consider this idea, especially if your child has a summer birthday...it really was very special and fun for all...my daughter  and her friends were talking about it for weeks!  Thank You!