My Christmas Planner Project

Here is the little Christmas Planner that I made. This is a great project for any type of book, planner, BOS or journal. I upcycled a hard cover spiral journal from the 99 cent store; and added scrapbooking papers and stickers. (The paper peiced bird is my own design.)

I like to start my books off with a title page. In order to create the sections in the planner, and the dividers, I gather a few pages togther and cover them with cardstock for strength. I also add tabs to the divider pages, and pockets for keeping loose papers, photos, recipes and receipts.

I made this Christmas Planner to gather together my ideas, projects and party plans to be used for many years to come. Anything that is specific to one year, but not others, is kept on a loose sheet of paper in the pockets; everything else is written in the actual journal.

For this particular Planner, I created 3 sections, and labeled them Decorations, Party & Gifts.

In the first section- Decorations, I keep a running list of ideas for decorating my home & yard. I collect photos from magazines, color schemes, tips, ideas and tutorials. I also plan to take photos of my own holiday decor projects, and keep them here.

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The second section is used for my Holiday Party Info. I usually have a Birthday Party in December for my daughter Makayla, (and sometimes a combo one that includes my own birthday as well!). Since we spend the actual Christmas Holiday away from home-with Family; our December Birthday Party is our time to open our home to our Friends & Family for the holiday.

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In this section I keep all party related information. I have my general Party Outline; my Recipes; lists of the places we use to order food, cakes and party supplies;an ongoing list of people we invite to our parties; Games, Crafts & Activities; a list of themes I have used; and ideas for future parties. In the pocket, I keep an invitation from each year's party,a list of gifts received, and any notes I have on how that year's party went.

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The last section is for Christmas Gifts. I keep a running list of my Handmade Gifts that I have made over the years, and ones that I hope to make in the future. This comes in handy (even throughout the year) when I am at a loss as to what to make for a gift. I make so many different things, year afer year- that many times I forget just what I made, and when. This list jogs my memory, and often provides inspiration for new creations. I plan on keeping a photo record of my creations here as well. In the pocket, I keep my Christmas Shopping Lists (dated), the Children's Christmas Lists (and notes to Santa!), as well as the final yearly list of Gifts Given & Received. (This last list is invaluable when it comes to writing Thank You's as well as avoiding re-gifting a gift to the person who gave it to me!) It also makes a sweet rememberance as to the everchanging interests of my growing children. Oh...and don't forget to add this little Holiday Planner Project onto your 'Gifts To Make' (next year) List. I am sure we all have a few people on our gifting list who could use a Planner like this of their own! (And remember, it can be customised for any type of use- not just for the holidays.)
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So that is it for my little Christmas Planner Project. I hope you enjoyed it, and I hope it provides plenty of inspiration for creating your own projects.

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~Danae :o) the 'Crafty Chick'