The merchants of downtown Troy are coming together to promote their first ever Christmas in July shopping experience. If you love the summer heat but are already dreaming of a white Christmas, this event is designed to inspire your inner child and bring your two favorite seasons together. Beginning on July 12 and ending on July 25, the two-week promotion will offer a larger collection of Christmas related items, discounts, and a chance to win a $300 gift basket.

Christmas in July shoppers will be given a card with stamps indicating their purchases of at least $5 at participating merchants. A collection of 12 stamps then qualifies the recipient to an entry in the drawing. A gift basket for the winner of this drawing is filled with a little bit of everything the downtown shops of Troy have to offer.

The idea for Christmas in July came from Logan Eshelman, owner of Towne Valley Gifts on West Main Street. Eshelman had seen the concept for the event in a magazine he receives at Towne Valley Gifts. He and other business owners watch every year as stores like Walmart and Target begin stocking their Christmas supplies in July. The thought process behind implementation of early Christmas promotion in downtown Troy was to offer an alternative to shoppers who prefer to put their money back into the community. “There are some people who don’t have any desire to hear Jingle Bells this early but we wanted people to have the opportunity to make those early Christmas-on-a-budget purchases locally,” Eshelman said.

The motivation and connections to network area businesses came from Debbie Char of Troy Bulk Barn and Beth Kerber of 3 Weird Sisters. The two women worked with Eshelman to get 31 area vendors on board and for involving Troy Main Street and the Troy Chamber of Commerce in the event. “One of the best aspects of owning a business in downtown Troy is that businesses here are so ready to work together,” Char said. “Events like this are a great opportunity to do that.”

According to Char, Christmas in July will be similar to Win the Window that occurred back in January. “We are always looking for ways to bring in seasonal themes and get people excited about being downtown with us,” Char said.

The mascot of the event, a pink flamingo in a Santa hat, has already been showing up all over the square, pointing the community to Santa’s favorite suppliers. Troy merchants want their clients and customers to see the flamingo as the promised opportunity to support local commerce with their early cravings for the fun of Christmas.