thoughts on creating a December Daily

 There's been a lot of talk about December Daily albums. Personally, I love the concept. There are so many things that happen in the month of December and if I scrapbooked a layout for every event I'd have a whole scrapbook just for the month! I love being able to put together a small album that shows a glimpse into the holiday season. It takes so much pressure off me to feel the need to scrapbook each and every thing that happened.

So I thought I'd share a few tips & ideas about creating a December Daily for those of you who've never done one...or maybe I'll have some new tips for those of you that have done it before! I'm planning on doing this year's album with the beautiful Bedford Falls kit. Everything is right there for you to create your entire album & still have goodies left over for other projects!

The first year I used a 6x6 acrylic album and last year I used a 6x6 American Crafts chipboard album.

I love using the D-ring album better simply because it holds up to wear and tear better. My albums get looked at...a lot. And my December Daily albums sit out for all to enjoy. So I need something a bit sturdy. This year I think I'm going to go with the 8x8 version of this album.

Of course, one of the main things that's in this album is events that take place during the month - school parties, get togethers, etc. But what about the simple, everyday stuff? Like, a yummy Christmas cookie to kick off the holiday season...

Don't forget stringing up the lights! Do you ever look at old pics and think 'man, look at the cars they had back then!" Do you think our cars will look funny in the background 20 yrs from now??

The stockings...you can't forget the stockings! I know for our family my December Daily will look different next year with the addition of baby #3 :)

On the days that not much happened I like to use pictures of decorations. Because let's face it, not every day will be so momentous that you want to record everything that happened! Don't forget to record the everyday things like the weather. Maybe it's a warm December, maybe a cold one, maybe a rainy one like we had last year. It's sometimes hard to get used to considering I'm originally from Michigan. But it's definitely something to record...especially if you live in a location that's different from where you grew up.

 

Every year I have a cookie swap and I love to take pics of Christmas cookies. Makes me hungry just thinking about it! But in my December Daily I not only take a picture of the cookies & treats that I make, but I also create an envelope & put those recipes inside.

And not every page needs a picture. One day last year I took my kids to see Polar Express at the IMAX (very cool by the way!). So I kept the ticket stubs along with the Polar Express gold ticket they gave us at the movies and that was our 'photo' for the day.

You'll notice that all of my pages are different. Some use page protectors, some don't.I also like to have pages peeking out from behind other pages. I love the look that creates.

Creating a December Daily is really not as daunting as it may seem. You can make it as simple or as complex as you want.

**I usually try to start with at least half of my album created (at least the base pages) before December 1st. Add pictures to your album every few days to keep on track. I usually at least try to journal what happened each day even if I didn't get a chance to print out pictures.
** If you're printing pictures at home, be sure to have an extra ink cartridge(s) handy. I ran out of ink last year.
**I like to keep all of my papers/embellishments together when creating my album. I bought one of those clear 12x12 boxes & kept everything in there so it was handy when I sat down to add pictures to my album. Since I'm using the Bedford Falls kit this year I'll have everything together when I work on my album!

For more inspiration, there's a whole section on the message board here. You can also check out all of my December Daily posts from last year on my blog here. If you create one this year be sure to share it over on the message board!!