Hi, everyone!
Last weekend was QVC’s very first You’re Home with Jillweekend and I thought it was just fabulous, if I do say so myself! We welcomed folks from all over the country—as far away as Arizona and Texas! Everyone really seemed to enjoy the beauty of Longwood Gardens and then we had a great dinner that night, fun jewelry exchanges, and we saw the saw the fountain show that evening. I think the highlight for me and all the girls—and one brave husband—was going to the Downton Abbey display at Winterthur. It was so fun to see the costumes and relive our favorite moments from Downton Abbey. We had a great live audience for my show on Sunday and I made sure to came in early to give guests a VIP tour of QVC. So many people thanked me for a great weekend, but I really didn’t do anything except shout some ideas. The REAL thanks goes to all the folks at QVC who made the weekend happen, so THANK YOU to them.
As lots of you already know from watching your favorite shows, QVC is having its Christmas in July® sale. It’s so much fun to walk into a winter wonderland at the “office” and then walk outside to a balmy summer day! I hope you’ll join me on Wednesday at 7pm ET for a CIJ edition of You’re Home with Jill! So many items in the show are things I personally designed so I’m really proud of them and excited to see what you think.
I’ll also show you a Pool Party DIY project we made in an episode of YHJ for QVC Plus®—which, by the way, you can still watch on QVC.com. Here’s how you make my Drink Umbrella Wreath. Picture this on your front door!
Since this Friday is July 25 and Christmas is officially six months away, I hope you’ll consider a Christmas in July party this weekend. A few summers ago, I was vacationing with my family at Wildwood Crest, New Jersey. I remember driving down this street…all of our windows were down… and out of nowhere, we heard Christmas music. We had to see where it was coming from so we drove towards it and found a neighborhood Christmas block party—they had their lights out, music blaring, everyone was wearing red and green—it was awesome.
Besides music, lights, and ugly sweaters, here are few more CIJ ideas you could try, whether indoors or out.
- Drink frozen hot chocolate—and I just so happen to have an amazing recipe on QVc.com. Have one neighbor make a batch of my frozen hot chocolate for everyone and have everyone bring a Christmas mug or martini glass. Then, let guests customize their drink with marshmallows, whipped cream, cinnamon, peppermint candies, or even leftover drink umbrellas from your wreath project.
- Play in the snow. In the hot summer weather, making snow sculptures and eating snow cones would be refreshing and fun. Use the snow cone maker to give you “snow” to decorate and play with. You could also have a snowball fight with those great indoor snowballs we have here at QVC.
- Decorate cookies. Christmas and cookies go hand-in-hand, so get out your cookie cutters—holiday or summery inspired—and make some of your favorite recipes. When the cookies are done, let everyone decorate them with pre-bought frosting. If you make your own buttercream, it might get too melty if it’s really hot. Also stay away from chocolate chips but use candy-coated M&Ms and things like sugar sprinkles.
- Have a movie marathon. Whoever has the biggest garage door wins! Set up a projector and show It’s a Wonderful Life, Miracle on 34th Street, The Grinch Who Stole Christmas, A Christmas Story…all the best Christmas movies so everyone can watch. But, you’ll need to work out a schedule with the music, because you HAVE to play Christmas music. Maybe start the movies when the party starts to wind down.
I’ll see you Wednesday at 7pm ET!
From my home to yours,
—Jill