Hello! Hasn't this been a fabulous week so far? There has been so much inspiration and I love how everyone has a slightly different approach to preparing their December Daily albums.
I started with my teal [email protected]! album, the December Documented Collection and my [email protected]! Christmas sets. So much holiday goodness in front of me...I couldn't help but get in the Christmas spirit. My family might have thought I was just a little bit crazy when they heard the Christmas music coming from my studio! But just look at this...how could I not!
Now that my children are older, some with families of their own, our Christmas schedules and rituals are always changing. I miss the days when I could just decide it was the day to go visit Santa and off we went. These days, coordinating work, college and family schedules of all 7 of our children is almost impossible. Who would have thought that I would miss the days of coordinating nap times and matching outfits! I remember as a homeschooling mom when we would take the whole month of December off school and plan a new activitiy for every day. That would make for a fabulous December Daily!
However, things are definitely different these days. I have learned to be more flexible and spontaneous and with that in mind, I created my own version of a December Daily! I may not have something to document every day of December, but I do have many different categories of events that I want to remember about this holiday season. With that in mind, here is my album:
Don't you just love that teal album? When you do a Christmas album every year, it's tough to make it unique year after year....but that teal album...a FABULOUS change for me this year!
Inside every traditional [email protected]! album, you receive coordinating pages and 3 of the cardboard dividers.
I incorporated all of these and added 3 more of the cardboard dividers...which I used to divide my album into 6 parts:
- Decorations
- Deliciousness
- Celebrations
- Dear Santa
- Christmas Eve
- Christmas Day
My first section is Decorations. Over the years, with the help of PINTEREST, my decorating style has evolved and I love to add new homemade items to my tree and house every year. This part of my album will include photos of my house all decked out for the holidays as well as traditions like putting the Christmas lights up.
The second section of my album is titled Deliciousness. There is never a lack of holiday treats and baking day is always a huge event around here!
Parties! Everyone loves a great holiday party so section three of my album is to collect memories of all the wonderful times throughout the month where we celebrate Christmas. Whether it is a cookie exchange or the Church musical, all those photos will go in this section.
My children range in age from 13 to 33 and it doesn't matter which one you ask, they will all tell you that they believe in Santa. Santa is magical and in our home represents the love the Lord has for us. After all, He gave us the greatest gift of all, his Son. This part of my book will hold all our Christmas lists, the kids' Christmas exchange lists, and yes, our family picture with Santa.
Section five will document Christmas Eve at our house. Every year since before I can remember, my extended family has come together to celebrate on this special night. There will be over 50 people in our home and even SANTA makes an appearance every year. This is truly one of my favorite events of the whole year and it gets a special place in my December album!
And finally, Christmas Day. After a quiet Christmas morning, all the kids and their families will gather here at our house for a family day full of football, food and fun. I love these special moments when everyone is home again.
I'm super excited to use my book this year! I have plenty of extra page protectors and album pages that I can add in if I need more space for photos and journaling. I love the flexibility that the [email protected]! system gives me. I can just move cards around if I need to!
Supplies Used:
- Teal Snap Album, Album pages and Cardboard Dividers
- December Documented Collection Kit, Stickers,Basics & Alphas
- [email protected]! Christmas Cards, Stickers & Pockets
- [email protected]! Sticker Alphas
Thank you so much for letting me share with you today! Check in tomorrow as Alissa Fast shares her December Daily album!
And hey, if you've created a December Daily (or similar) album using one of our [email protected]! Binders, we'd love to see it and add it to our Pinterest "December Daily with Simple Stories" board! Link me up to your album in the comments!
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I really like how you set up your album! Categories instead of daily. It looks wonderful!
Posted by: jpscraps | October 18, 2013 at 06:17 AM
What a wonderful idea! Love it and just may have to lift it. Your Dec Daily is simply beautiful and totally inspiring!
Posted by: Sandra L. | October 18, 2013 at 10:39 AM
Love the idea of doing categories. Nice base to start your album.
Posted by: Keianna | October 18, 2013 at 03:43 PM
Love IT!!!
Posted by: SammyD | October 18, 2013 at 03:56 PM
Soooooooo fun!! I love love love that snowman on the front!!!
Posted by: Julie Tucker-Wolek | October 18, 2013 at 04:49 PM
What a great idea. We too have older children and one living away from home so our "traditions" have changed a lot as well. Thanks for the inspiration :)
Posted by: Vicki Parker | October 18, 2013 at 05:11 PM
I love the categories, it's so much more doable for me. Sometimes I don't get a photo for everyday and that can stress me out! Your book looks super cute, totally going to pin this so I can refer to for reference. I just picked up the snap cards and am excited to use them :)
Posted by: Katie's Nesting Spot | October 18, 2013 at 06:43 PM
This is SUCH a great album! I love your six sections, which you can make your own, instead of forcing a page a day. What great memories this will hold-----and I really like the teal!
Posted by: Kathy P | October 18, 2013 at 08:11 PM
This is, by far, the BEST December Daily album I have seen in 2013!!! It is FANTASTIC!
Posted by: Theresa Grdina | October 19, 2013 at 07:18 AM
Love your idea of changing it from daily to special events during December. That is so cool and makes it more practical for my lifestyle and the different celebrations during the holidays. Thanks for the great idea.
Posted by: Dorina D | October 20, 2013 at 08:35 PM
Absolutely love this December documented with flexible dates
Posted by: JoAnn H | October 25, 2013 at 11:56 AM