Have an Organized Christmas with a Christmas Notebook
Create Your Own - It's Fun and Easy! Creating your own Christmas notebook is simple, and very inexpensive. You will need to purchase a 3-ring binder, some dividers, pens and that's about it! You'll need some simple-to-fill-out forms, which you can create yourself, or use pre-made ones ready to print out from your computer!
Do It Yourself - or - Print It Yourself!!If you wish to create your own forms for a completely customized Christmas notebook, and you use Microsoft products, the spreadsheet is easy to navigate and simple to use. Actually, any spreadsheet program you use will create your forms for you. Simply type in your headings, and move the cell lines to match the space you need!
Always remember, though, to preview your page (I get caught on this all the time - senior moments are my specialty!) before you print it out! I started my first Christmas notebook (and got the idea) at a wonderful site called Organized Christmas. I highly recommend spending some time there - she has all the information you could possibly need on everything about Christmas, and tons of free printable forms for your Christmas notebook! If you would like to be this organized throughout the entire year, check out the links to her other sites as well!
The Choice is YoursWhen I first started using a Christmas notebook, I printed out at least one copy of each of the forms. Over the years, I have found that some of them are rarely - if ever - needed by our family, so I simply do not keep copies of them to clutter up the notebook. You will find this to be the case as well, and you will probably find a need to create some special ones of your own.
With all of your plans handy and easily located within your very own Christmas notebook, you will save dozens of hours on everything from cooking to creating gift lists and even on the time you spend shopping! With a special section for your holiday budget, you can keep your spending down - the figures are right there to check on as needed.
Putting your Christmas notebook together is a breeze... Use one divider sheet for every category you need. Addresses on your card list, baking and cooking lists, recipes, gift lists, party plans, inventories, budget, decorating - everything in its own category! You'll be able to flip right to the information you need every time.
Customize, customize, customizeIn my personal version, I have purchased special inserts to hold business cards and recipe cards, among other things. This way, when I have a party, I can slip the exact recipes I need (or the caterer's card) right in with the plans so everything is all together. If you intend to put together a Christmas scrapbook, you can insert photo pages as well. This is a great way to organize those photos until you can create the actual scrapbook!
designs and ideas before you start!) Because your Christmas notebook is housed in a binder, it is simple to add, subtract and even branch off when needed!
Eliminate any sections that you don't need. If you're not going to host a party this year, don't put that section in. If you are hosting, you can add that section. Branch off and put the entire section into a Christmas scrapbook or other Christmas notebook when the holidays are over. Adding sections is just as easy. If your family volunteers at a local shelter or for some other holiday activities, create a section for that. You can create a section to help children learn their parts in the season's school program, or a section for church activities - the possibilities are endless!
Versatility and Efficiency at Your Fingertips!I've never found anything quite so efficient as a Christmas notebook - even a Christmas calendar has its limitations. Your notebook is portable... take it with you to the store, into the office, wherever you need to go, it goes with you! The best thing about having your own Christmas notebook is that it will be handy throughout the year. It takes up little space in your Christmas closet, and has everything right there in a neat little package.
What's Next?When the holidays are over, sections of the Christmas notebook can help you to create a keepsake Christmas scrapbook. You can copy pages, remove entire sections, embellish, or even just take notes. When you start planning for your Organized Christmas for next year, you will know what you did this year, how everyone reacted, what worked and what didn't, and you'll even have an idea of what new things you might like to try next time. You'll have all the information you need, and a great head start on next Christmas!
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