Christmas in July - buying footstools?

What with QVC, Selfridges and Universal Studios store in Orlando urging us to part with money a full five months before the festive period, Christmas in July really has come early this year! However the great 1940 film "Christmas in July" written and directed by Preston Sturges shows a darker side to Christmas when a home town American boy enters contests in the hope of someday winning a fortune. And to cap it all he is secretly contemplating marrying the girl he loves.

Our hero, Jimmy MacDonald, played by Dick Powell, attempts to win the Maxford House Coffee Slogan Contest. As a joke, some of his co-workers put together a fake telegram which says that he won the $25,000 grand prize. As a result, he gets a promotion, buys presents for all of his family and friends, and proposes to his girl. When the truth comes out, he's not prepared for the consequences!

Some consider this to be one of Preston Sturges's most profound comedies. In "Christmas in July" Sturges was possibly trying to teach the great director Frank Capra how to handle sentiment without falling into sentimentality. The scene where Dick Powell is handing out presents to his neighbours, and he gives a doll to a crippled girl in a wheelchair is a remarkably tender moment in the midst of a hectic scene. The director captures just the right touch with a classic line where bug-eyed Raymond Walburn sarcastically tells contest-winner Powell, "I can't wait to give you my money!" Sturges also shows that you can have plot complications without resorting to villains. There is no Capraesque class warfare in this film. Here rich and poor are equally lovable, even gruff William Demarest as Mr Bildocker.

None of this is to say that spending money on gifts in July is a bad thing. Any number of Internet retailers are offering Christmas in July incentives with items such as footstools and ottomans among the best sellers. Selfridges in London say many of their foreign customers head specifically for the Christmas Gift Shop when they arrive from abroad. QVC, the television shopping channel are reported to turnover £1 million on their "Christmas in July Shopping Weekend" which finished yesterday. Many visitors attend Universal Studios Islands of Adventure theme park in Florida with the sole intention of stocking up with gifts from the Christmas Store. I can vouch for it having recently spent over $12 on a Christmas decoration - in July!


The author has over 20 years experience running companies involved in furnishing fabrics and furniture manufacturing in the UK and writes extensively about footstools and contemporary furniture. He particularly enjoys shopping for Christmas gifts in July.