Making a List, Checking it Twice

Boo. In true October spirit I'm going to frighten you all away by talking about Christmas today!

July. October. December.
I'm one of those Christmas lovers who can talk about the holiday on any given month.
I'm the one who feels happy when I see Christmas decorations at the stores right now.


I have a SIMPLE yet EFFECTIVE secret that will make your Christmas holidays a breeze. I'm sharing the idea in October so you can actually enjoy December: A CHRISTMAS FOLDER.
I have kept a Christmas folder ever since I was 14 years old!
I can tell you what I gave everyone in
1998 or 2008.
See, the photo below are pages of my archives of gifts I've bought through the years.

This folder has 3 sections:
1) TO DO
2) GIFTS AND CARDS
3) RECIPES AND MEAL PLANS

1) TO DO
We all have a never ending TO DO list in December. In this section I keep a master list, a weekly list, and a daily list. You can also print off a December calendar page to slip in there to keep track of events. Trust me, you won't forget any details if you make these lists!

2) GIFTS AND CARDS
Here I store my archives of lists for all gifts given and received in the past. It works as a great tool for budgeting and comparing what we spend from year to year. I also keep a current year's list of what we're giving, and a box to check off once it's been wrapped. This list serves to show me what "STATUS" each gift is at: in the mail, needs to be ordered, needs wrapped, etc. I also keep my Christmas card list here.
(Remember to check out THIS post HERE for ideas on budgeting for Christmas!)

3) RECIPES AND MEAL PLANS
I keep the pages of this last section in clear avery pockets to protect the pages from food. It contains all my favorite holiday recipes and my master meal plans that I've used for Holiday Meals throughout the years. This really assists in keeping food traditions. I also keep a master list of our favorite holiday cookies here. A fun detail is to print your recipes on Christmas paper like shown below. Notice the clear plastic sleeves and the holiday paper. You can double click the photo for a better view.
I even keep some fun info in here like napkin folding "how to's" and different notes on what worked for the Christmas meals and what didn't work.



PS... Slid into the pocket of my Christmas folder is some artwork Skyler made for me a couple Decembers ago...and of course, it always makes my heart smile every year when I pull it out.

This is super easy to make
and once you tweak this idea
and make it your own
it really will work for you!
It will definitely
sprinkle some peace into your December.

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