How to make a holiday notebook

Plus, a peek into mine

A few of you have been curious about what’s inside my holiday notebook. It’s not pretty inside; I wish it looked more organized, but the lack of apparent organization is precisely what makes this notebook work. 

I don’t follow the same plan or traditions each year; instead, I’m trying to notice what matters to me in each new season and align my intentions accordingly.

I started this notebook after experiencing a huge mental breakdown from anxiety and undiagnosed ADHD during the holiday season of 2021. Initially, I used it to make notes about what didn’t work and what to incorporate the following year. The next fall, I used those reflections to inform the shape of the upcoming season’s plans.

A holiday notebook is a record-keeping journal and a planner, all in one.

The fact that it is my notebook and not someone else’s system keeps me focused in an era where it’s ever-increasingly easy to get distracted and derailed.

The following low-budget YouTube video is a tour through my notebook. Feel free to listen at 2x speed, and maybe grab a notebook during the lengthy preamble. I hope it inspires you to find a creative way to support yourself through this fun yet fraught season.

HOLIDAY NOTEBOOK IDEAS

• tape in favorite recipes

• track completed tasks

• make a list of cozy holiday movies to watch while wrapping presents

• have your kids cut-and-paste their wish list items

• start a “Consider for next year” page

• draft your holiday budget

• print and tape monthly calendars for visualizing the season

Photo by Tim Wildsmith on Unsplash

PRO TIPS FOR THIS PARTICULAR YEAR

Have you noticed how the calendar changes every year and that affects the feel around the holidays? Things to note for this year:

• Thanksgiving falls very late in November this year, which reduces the number of days between Thanksgiving and Christmas.

• If you have school-aged children, your winter break might be December 23-Jan 3, which means that break is front-loaded with Christmas and then followed by A LOT of days during which post-Christmas doldrums may hit your household.

CLOSING RANDOMNESS

Having trouble getting started on tasks? Try my 5-10-15 modification to the Pomodoro method.

Super inspirational studio tour.

“With emotional and spiritual work, we’re moving toward a future so unfamiliar we’re not entirely sure it exists.”

“What doesn’t help me sleep”: a poem

The Post-it tabs I use in my planners (and the above holiday notebook) - white | solid colors | bright colors