December Daily Tips

I am! I thought I would make some pages ahead of time but I haven't touched it. I'm going to try to make the title page on Monday. December is coming fast!

I'm hoping some folks who are doing a digi-version will chime in with tips, too. This is my first time doing DD, and I can't find many examples of digital December Daily projects.

You want to get some journaling down every day, so do whatever you have to to make that happen. I keep a small notebook in my purse to jot things down if we happen to be out somewhere and a thought comes to me (like when I'm shopping, waiting with DD in line to see Santa, at a party and I want to remember who was there, etc.), I keep a stack of blank index cards handy at home to write on if I'm there, and sometimes I write on my iPad at night. The goal for me is to jot down the memories as they happen, because once the season is over it all becomes one big blur.

I also try to take photos every day too. Some days it's easy because you're doing something like making cookies or putting up the tree. Some days we nothing remotely holiday related, so on those days I try to take photos of our holiday decor, favorite or new ornaments, or try to document favorite holiday music, movies or tv shows. I'm thinking this year I might look for some lists of photo or journaling prompts to help with those days when we're all just busy with everyday stuff.

Look on Pinterest, there are TONS of holiday prompt lists that are perfect for December Daily.

Not only do I include photos and journaling about our baking every year (which is a many decades long family tradition) I have also included the recipes themselves, many of which have been made by *someone* in my family annually for over 60 years. Someday I'm sure my daughter will love having them in one convenient place without having to hunt them down like I did. I include favorite holiday memories from my childhood and the stories my parents shared with me about their childhood Christmases since they aren't around anymore to share them with my DD. I include the stories about my favorite ornaments, who gave them to me or where they came from and why they are special to me. I need to do a better job of getting DH to talk about his childhood Christmases to include in these books because his story is part of our family story too, and I'm really making these books for our kid.

I use December Daily as a way to inject more fun and new traditions into our holidays, to slow down a bit and savor this time of year. It can be so crazy and hectic that if you don't intentionally slow it down, the whole thing blows right past. Even things as simple as making hot cocoa and popcorn and watching a holiday show on Netflix or DVD could become a treasured tradition later if you start it now! 

We have too much going on at this time of the year for me to do the actual pages day by day, that's why I try to make sure I take photos and journal daily. That way it doesn't matter when I physically assemble the album, the hardest part has already been done which is the day to day documenting.

This is what I do too. And even though I have the daily prompts, I take the photos out of order and then scrap them to match the prompts. Canadian Scrapbooker has a graphic with the prompts so, I print it and add it to the album. 

These are some really good tips, thanks! I guess the important thing is to document, document and document some more!

credit goes to scrapbookdiva!

scrapbookdiva that cover is adorable. I hope you'll share some of your inner pages as you complete them.

I do most of my work after the holidays are over. I take pictures and jot down things so I remember. Then I work on it once things have died down. I've organized most of my supplies and have some ideas of things I want to include.

I took a look at Canadian Scrapbooker. Do you guys know of any other place that has prompts?

So I really intended to do a true December Daily, what I/we do every day, but yesterday (the 1st) was mind-numbingly mundane. Now I can't decide whether to swap it with a special story or something, or just stick to the original plan. I was hoping to at least start out on a positive note, lol!

I'm not doing a daily but a holiday memories type album. So even though we put up the tree after thanksgiving, it'll go in the album. Today I had my almost 2 year old make an ornament so those photos will go in. It took all of 2 minutes but that's ok. I'll keep notes and develop photos on Friday for the week and start putting it together.

Yeah, I'll definitely have to find a way to work with the mundane stuff (the first and second days, and so far the third, lol!). My son was off school early yesterday, and I tried to get him to make an ornament with me (he's 7) but he just wanted to watch TV. Today is a pretty day and I went out and took a photo of "Texas December," including our native hollies that look nothing like your stereotypical holly except for having red berries.

I shouldn't be surprised. I also did (well, partially did and took notes for) the 30 Days of Gratitude album, and I only had about 20 days of gratitude. I mean, on the crappy days, I was happy I had a roof over my head, but that was truly about it on some days. (I'm not trying to whine, and I'm actually a pretty positive person, but there are a lot of tough things in life right now.) On the bright side, I think the days I did find things to be grateful for helped me stay more positive even on the crappy days. So that's a good thing.