Christmas Project #1: Christmas Checklist

Ok so I'm starting a weekly Christmas project/idea post. From now on until the week before Christmas day, every thursday I will be posting something related to the holiday season. I hope by doing this, people that check out my blog, papercrafter or not will be inclined, influenced and inspired to make something "homemade" this season.
First post will be a checklist. Many of you know that i'm a checklist junkie. I list everything I need to do, buy, make and accomplish. I don't ever start my week (or day) without a definite goal written down. So when I stumbled into a dilemma last year not remembering who I gave christmas cards the year before last I decided to make my own checklist/minibook. My main vision for this book is that it should be nothing too fancy, can be used year after year and will help me remember those little things that I wouldn't consider jotting down during the chaos of the season.
This is what I came up with. It's an 8x4" minibook out of scrap cardstock and christmas paper from a kit I got on sale at Michaels. (personal note: I LOVE purchasing kits cause the papers and embellishments ALL COORDINATE, taking the hard task of matching everything away)

I punched three holes on the left side for some small size key rings, which you can purchase at the office supply store. I used the key ring cause like I said earlier, I wanted it to last me for a few years, this way if I need to make more sheets inside, I can just make holes and add the rest of the papers in the book.
Like I said, I didn't want creating this book to take up all my time so I kept it simple. Again, all embellishments from tha same kit as the paper. If you wanna know the exact manufacturer, its the Rob and Bob Studio christmas kit from ProvoCraft. I'm sure Michaels or Joanns have something similar right now (and it's probably on sale too)
Tabs are a must for these kinds of books as well (I think so!) They help navigating the specific section so much easier. Another great and easy tip for tabs is stapling them on the side instead of trying to get glue on just that part that will go on the paper.

For the inside pages, I started by making some templates in MS Word for the calendar, cards, gift list, gift recieved and newsletter. After I made all my templates and making sure they fit inside my pattern paper pages I printed them off just on regular computer paper, trimmed each box a little with scissors and adhered them on my papers.
This is what the first page looks like. I decided the calendar should be the first one to see since that's probably what you will glance at most of the time.
Next was the "cards sent out" section. In my template I wrote down "name" with a line to handwrite the last names of family and friends, then check box for each year. This way I can remember who I gave cards to the year before. If you're making your own christmas greetings, this is also a great help bec. you will have a guestimate on how many you NEED to make.

Next was shopping list. Don't you just hate it when you get the same gift two years in a row. Well it's worse if you GAVE the same gift two years in a row!!! That's why a shopping list is handy. It will help you organize who you need to buy for and at the same time have that info from last year so you know that you can't buy Uncle Sam another sweater this year. Hahahaha!

Gifts Recieved is next on the book. This is great when you make thank you cards after the season. You will know the right people to thank for what gift. Clever huh! :)

And last on my book is a place to store copies of my newsletter. I have been making newsletters for over a decade now (my mom made me the official newsletter writer in my family too) and it's nice to have a home for all these letters. If you're newsletters are a letter size long why not devote a page to one letter each.

And here's the back. Nothing too fancy.

So there you have it. simple yet effective. totally me.
A few more things to note......
*Make this your own. If you want it to be bigger, make it bigger. If you think it should be smaller by all means make it smaller. Make it fit your lifestyle1
*Add some ribbons to the key rings for a nice touch
*Add or delete sections if you think you need to.

And finally if you want a copy of my word template, leave me a comment here with your email addy or just email me at graceelainetolman@yahoo.com and I will send you the file. I'm not sure how to do a pdf file so bear with me here.

Happy Holidays,
Grace