Progress on Christmas Notebook

Man o man, I've been having the time getting my pictures to download to my blog.  I recently updated my internet explorer (to IE 9 Beta) and things were going a litle kooky and looking funny.  Finally, things are working again.

During the month of January (into February), I spent a lot of time working on my Christmas notebook.  I printed out all new pages from Organized Christmas. Started making lists - gifts ideas, food, shopping lists, etc.  Even changed the look of my book.  I had some red felt fabric left over from the advent I made for a niece and used it to cover my notebook.  It's not quite finished though as I am stuck on how to dress it up.  Someone suggested adding snowflakes.  Good idea.  I hope to have it completed before February Rudy Day. 

To personalize my notebook even more I used a free program  (HP Photo Creations) to make divider pages, using a combination of personal photos and clipart. I really love using this program and have been playing around with it for days.   Here's what my divider pages look like:

Calendar:  Here I keep important event dates (birthdays, anniversaries, wrapping parties etc.), Rudy Day activities, the Christmas Countdown and my 25 Days to Christmas activities sheet.

Holiday Grand Plan:  A countdown to getting the home ready for the holidays - cleaning room by room

Crafts:  list of to-do craft projects and craft ideas/instructions

Budget:  An outline of my spending expenses for gifts, decorations, party supplies and an envelope for keeping all receipts in one place.

Decorations:  Inventory sheets, Room by Room decorating plans, decorating ideas

Gifts:  Master gift list, stocking stuffer ideas, "My" wish list, Gift closet inventory sheet, Online/catalog orders and Master shopping list

Recipes:  Appetizers, Entrees, Side Dishes, Desserts, Beverages - Keep copies of all your old (and new) favorite recipes here.  Better than searching through all those cookbooks.

Party Planning:  Guest Lists, Menus, Party ideas, and grocery lists are kept in this section.

Addresses:  Your loved ones' inforamation are at the ready in this section when it's time to mail out those Christmas cards and party invitations.  Personalized address labels and postage stamps are kept in this section too.

Summary:  Giving thought of the holidays, before and after, using the Family Values and Holiday Debriefing worksheets.

Movies/Music:  Have a collection of favorite movie classics or starting a collection?  Keep track of them with a handy list.

Miscellaenous:  keep extra forms at the ready, or for jotting down notes/random thoughts

That's about it.  Hope you like what you've seen.  

February Goals

Declutter:  This month's focus are the kitchen and my desk area. Gingerbug (creator of MHH) suggests we set the number of hours we will committ to decluttering this month.  I am dedicating 2 hours a week.  At the end of the month that will amount to 8 hours.  Not too shabby.  Yesterday (Monday) I threw out a bag of shredded paper that contained old paystubs and other things I no longer needed. Now my file cabinet is nice and neat.

Purchase two Christmas movies.  I didn't get a chance to buy one last month. 

Celebrate Me:  This month is about our beautiful faces.  I have never had a full fledge facial done before so this will be a really special treate for me. 

Locate Autumn/Halloween notebook.  Actually I have a small folder I use during the autumn season. I don't do too much for Halloween or Thanksgiving.  I have family and friends who go all out for those holidays.  I just love the season itself - the leaves turning to those vibrant colors, the smell of a fireplace being lit for the first time of the season, things like that.  To celebrate the season I invite a few friends over for a fun evening of  food, drinks, games, etc. 

Do you have things around your home you would like to get rid of?  Then why not follow my friends as they participate in Move it Out Monday.