I decorated my 2026 Christmas in July tree with the Tenth Doctor Who, Bluey, Home Alone, Scooby-Doo and Snagglepuss … and more!

(via Shutterstock)

When you love Christmas, it’s hard having it pop just once a year.

Rather happily, some inventive soul somewhere decided that Christmas in July would work quite nicely, especially in the Southern Hemisphere where it’s cold and wintery and just right for a traditional festive celebration (though we do love our Summer Christmases here in Aussie too).

So, naturally, I have taken to the transplanted holiday with gusto, and not only do I have a Christmas in July tree and some table decorations out too but I blog about it a LOT too.

I put way more than five ornaments on my tree but life is full on at the moment and blogging about five is the best I can do; still, it’s better than nothing and gives you some idea what makes it onto my pop culture-saturated tree which makes me happy in the middle of the year while I wait for actual Christmas to roll around …

TENTH DOCTOR WHO

I know if you’re a parent that you’re not supposed to have a favourite kid but when it comes to fictional characters? Surely all bets are off. Doctor Who is a show I have watched since I was a kid, and while there have been many fine actors in the role, my absolute favourite by a billions years and a hundred thousands parsecs is David Tennant who starred as the Tenth Doctor from 2005 to 2010 with a few guest appearances after his stint. In the role of the Time Lord, Tennant was buoyant and funny and heartfelt, living out every line and epic moment with a fizzy energy that was, and remains, a delight to watch. So, getting an ornament celebrating my favourite on the tree? Didn’t hesitate, snapping it up with the speed and enthusiasm of, well, the Tenth Doctor.

BLUEY

I am not, it must be noted from the start, even close to being Bluey’s core demo. BUT, as someone who appreciates clever, thoughtful and funny animation and who has nephews and nieces who watch the internationally successful show, I am happy to watch a show which is all kinds of happiness. Bluey, who lives with her father, Bandit, her mother, Chilli, and her younger sister, Bingo, is “an anthropomorphic six-year-old (later seven-year-old) Blue Heeler puppy who is full of energy, imagination, and curiosity about the world” and she approaches the world with the sort of childlike wonder and glee that all of us should. But somewhere along the line, we lose that curiosity and sheer pleasure of inhabiting the space around us and watching Bluey is to be reminded of how fabulously fun the world is and how much we have to learn. It’s nice to have ornaments to remind me of that.

SCOOBY-DOO (HANNA-BARBERA)

I am old enough that I watched Scooby-Doo, Where Are You! on early TV reruns, along with my brother and two sisters as we snuggled under blankets on the couch during winter school holidays, sugar-filled cereal in our hands and Scooby and the gang solving mysteries in funny, cosily predictable fashion. He made the school holidays even better than they were otherwise were – no bullies for two weeks; BLISS – and he also saved me following the sudden death of my dad in 2016 when a hospital visit to read to him while he recuperated became a near-instantaneous mourning of his passing. I would’ve crashed and burned even more than I did without Scooby (in this case, Be Cool, Scooby-Doo! which was offbeat but I adore it still) and I will be forever grateful to this food-obsessed, hilariously scaredy cat Great Dane who didn’t just get the bad guys and gals but also made me laugh when I needed it the most.

HOME ALONE

It’s hard to believe that Home Alone ever had an actual release date because it’s become so much a part of our lives. But it did in fact go wide and big in cinemas way back in 1990, catapulting Macaulay Culkin to superstardom (which didn’t completely work out for him, sadly) and introducing all kinds of phrases into the lexicon, including, most famously, “Keep the change, ya filthy animal.” What really the film a classic for many people is that it seamlessly mixed together screwball comedy as Culkin’s character, Kevin McAllister does his best to fight two dimwitted thieves played by Joe Pesci and Daniel Stern, and some real heartrending and heartwarming moments such as when Kevin tells a Santa impersonator that “Will you please tell Santa that instead of presents this year, I just want my family back.” It’s a beguiling mix of silly comedy and real Christmas heart and it works beautifully, to the extent that it’s the sort of film you want to see year after year or it just doesn’t feel like Christmas.

SNAGGLEPUSS (HANNA-BARBERA)

He may not be my favourite Hanna-Barbera character – that honour, such as it is, falls to Scooby-Doo (above) but I always found the zany zestfulness of Snagglepuss hugely appealing. According to the good folk at Wikipedia, Snagglepuss debuted in “prototype form” on The Quick Draw McGraw Show in 1959, became a studio regular in 1961 where he was regular on The Yogi Bear Show. (Interestingly, Daws Butler, who voiced Snagglepuss, reused the character’s voice two other times as Jonathan Wellington “Mudsy” Muddlemore in The Funky Phantom and Brutus the Lion in The Roman Holidays.) I found him hilarious and a ton of fun to watch and when you’re a kid, and really even an adult, that’s all you need. I love this ornament because it captures his character perfectly and add real life and fun to the tree.