[2][3] Real estate development around a planned community by M. Penn Phillips, called Christmas Valley, started after World War II.

[4] These names were applied as early as September 29, 1877, when they were referred to by former Oregon Governor John Whiteaker in a letter to the editor of the Eugene City Guard.

Phillips aggressively promoted the community in California to young, would-be farmers and retirees; often providing free bus tours and flights and marketing the potential of the land as green and readily farmed.

The community has a number of commercial businesses including three grocery stores, two motels, four restaurants, and a gas station.

[8] A nine-hole golf course is maintained by Christmas Valley Park and Recreation District, as is the Christmas Valley Airport, Rodeo Grounds, Community Hall, Baert Lake and the community's twice monthly publication, Desert Whispers.

The community is perhaps best known by off-road all-terrain vehicle enthusiasts worldwide who ride in the Christmas Valley Sand Dunes.