MIXED MEDIA MONDAY - Christmas Notebook Time! & a GIVEAWAY! (closed)

Yes, it's that time of year again. Time to be planning for the Holidays. I had this laid out last year then got the job offer and in trying to get settled into the new position, Bob with his new job ... well, I was just very unhappy. 

The first thing we do at the beginning of the new Christmas Notebook (CNB) season is to evaluate last year and figure out what, if anything, we hope to improve upon.

Well, my evaluation was that my holidays were very unorganized, very non-decorative and depressing. I know that seems small compared to larger problems in the world.. but my house is my world most of the time and I love the Holiday season. Just 2016  season, not so much. During my evaluation I vowed that I WOULD enjoy the holiday season this year, doing the things Bob and I like to do for others and being able to absorb what should be the warmest part of the year. 

CNB begins September 1 with weekly assignments to help get us to our holiday goal of warmth & cheer. But we really begin in August putting our notebook in order.

I loved the Traveler's Notebook style that I showed you last year. I've been doing CNB long enough and it's only Bob and I so I don't need the big 3-ring binder with all the planning. This works for me.

NOTE: This post is picture-heavy. 

Because each require a small description, I opted not to do a video flip-through.

I've changed things a bit this year. Starting with a couple of extra signatures. Last year I combined Monthly/ Weekly pages in one signature as well as Room Pages/ Decorating in one. This year I decided to make each one separate. Here's a view from the top showing the signatures in place.

Four Signatures

Tabs

I used a retired SU tab punch, Recollections cardstock and my label maker - small print.

I used all Martha Stewart Christmas Papers from my stash. I've had this paper pad (okay, I bought 4 on an after-Christmas sale at Walmart 11 years ago)

The Monthly signature is the bulkiest because I printed the monthly calendar from Scattered Squirrel (I think) and glued them to the designer papers so they'd be a bit heavier and pretty. Down the middle of the signature of each month, I taped in a Shopping List so I could keep a list in that month as things came to me in my planning:

Cover

Sun - Wed plus shopping list

Thur - Sat with notes column

My next section is the Weekly

Cover 

(for both weekly & room pages as they co hand-in-hand)

Two - weekly Spread.

Each one has a note at the top as to what the assignment is about for that week.

I use a hair clip as a page marker.

Room Pages

I trimmed notebook paper down to fit

(I bought a case for .10 a ream last year after back to school)

Here, I will make note of what I need to do in each room to get it ready for decorating.

This includes cleaning/ removal of anything that will be replaced by a Christmas item.

Decorating Cover

I chose plain copy paper for this signature. I can make notes or I can paste in pictures of decorating ideas I want to try.

Cookie Tray Cover

Each year (with the exception of last year) I bake and we deliver nearly 100 cookie/ treat trays to businesses whom have served us in some way over the past year.

We live in a small community of  625 people give or take. Most of the surrounding communities with the exception of West Plains and Springfield are about the same size.

We get real hometown service from the business we frequent.

This is our way of saying Thank You!

I used three strips of the 1/2" wide super sticky tape, to add a notepad to the inside back cover of the final signature. ( the same one as used in the Monthly signature) 

And there you have my CNB 2017.  I'm a couple of weeks behind already in the planning but now that I have the new signatures in place, I can sit and get things rolling again.

Have you started your Christmas planning?

What if anything would you change from last year?

I'll pick one comment from the list to send a special Heidi Swapp Christmas Countdown Calendar!

You have until October 1st to Comment!

Merry Christmas!

CHRISTMAS PLANNER!

Since Christmas is four months away from today, I thought this would be a good time to talk about my Christmas planning. That, and the planning outline I'm about to introduce you to begins on Sept. 1. While I think about Christmas all year long in some aspect, September 1 is when I really kick the official Christmas planning into gear. 

Without looking back in one of my early Christmas Notebook binders, I am guessing I've been a part of the Christmas Notebook yahoo group for almost twenty years.

The Christmas Notebook was formed by Rhonda Coulter. I call her the Queen of Christmas. She has worked hard to fine-tune being prepared for Christmas BEFORE the holiday arrives. The concept allows you to enjoy the Holiday season seemingly stress-free. Like anything else, the Plan works when you Work the Plan. She provides the program and each participant makes it their own according to their family, traditions and how they want to celebrate the Christmas season. We learn to evaluate what works and what doesn't and how to enjoy the holiday.

Traditionally, Rhonda has us start with a 3-ring binder and tabbed sections. I've used a binder every year until this year.

While doing my pre-planning evaluation I had an epiphany. I do not need a big binder. For the most part there are only the two of us for the holidays. I put together Christmas packages for my daughter's family in Washington, I send out approx. 60 Christmas cards every year. Last year, with Bob on the boat, I finally took my sister up on her offer to spend Christmas with them. So on occasion that happens, I can still incorporate the gifts for her family in my new smaller version.

I still use this full-size binder to keep the weekly assignment outlines from Rhonda but the new Travel Journal is just for my personal planning. 

While taking advantage of the awesome clearance sale of the Bohemian Travel Journals, I picked up a red one. I also purchased some Christmas charms at HL (40% off). Add some stickers from The Paper Studio (50% off) and came up with this:

The concept behind the CNB Notebook as we call it includes the following:

To Do List - brain dumping all the things that come to us about what we need to remember in our planning.

Monthly Calendar - A place to track specific events as they come to you so they can be transferred to their Weekly Planning Page.

Weekly Planning Pages - A place to incorporate things from the To Do list into weekly tasks, insuring things are done ahead of time.

Room Pages - Where we take each room we want to decorate - one room at a time. Making a to do list of things that need done ahead of time for each room to be ready for the holidays. Everything from cleaning, to decorating. This may also include where decorations for each room are stored. Rhonda has over 120 Rubbermaid tubs. Each are numbered and she keeps an inventory of what is in each tub and which room they coordinate with. 

Gift Giving - Keeping track of who we need gifts for. This can include sizes/ color preferences, etc.

Food - Seriously. It's the holidays. There has to be food. Everything from cookies/ candy to meals for the big day. This may also include prepping meals ahead of time and popping in the freezer for those nights when you need a quick dinner, like church or school event nights. You can include tried and true favorites as well as recipes you want to try - ahead of time. 

For me.. I also included

Cookie List - I deliver over 30 cookie trays to area businesses each year. This is where I will keep my Gift Tray recipient list as well as a list of cookies/ candies I'll be making. I have a separate recipe binder just for the recipes.

The CNB travel journal is small enough to take with me when I'm shopping or want to sneak away to a coffee shop or lunch to work on my planning. And large enough to incorporate the the things about the holidays that are important to us.