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I strongly considered starting this post with “it’s the most wonderful time of the year…” but I’m not going to be that cheesy. The wind is blowing, the snow is falling (here in Canada anyway) and it’s time for my December plan with me! This month the first few spreads are Christmas themed as I try to get a few things in order but my “regular spreads” are surrounded by winter animals. If you like cute things, this is for you!
Planning it out
Ok, so for a lot of us December is a busy time of year. With kids being off school, baking to do, parties to attend and then all the regular hustle and bustle of life thrown in the mix for good measure, it’s hectic.
This month, I know that I wanted to have a few extra spreads to make sure I was organized for the holidays. So of course, I looked for ideas on our best friend Pinterest (go ahead and follow me). After looking through, I ended up airing on the side of simplicity. I know that I’ll be pouring over my bullet journal for the first three weeks of the month but that last week… I hope I don’t forget about entirely.
This month I’m also going to be spending some time setting up my new journal for 2019! Exciting. But I didn’t want to get bogged down with all the drawing I need to do. That’s why I wanted to keep this layout simple.
I’m going to be setting up my 2019 bujo with a bit more of a business focus. I want to make sure that I cover everything I need to really hit the ground running in the new year. To do this I’ll be creating some new trackers! If you’re interested in seeing those when I’m all done let me know in the comments!
Christmas Spreads
Starting out December and my Christmas spreads I have a simple line tree with some little presents nestled underneath. As I said, simplicity was the name of the game for this month. The other page is blank since I’m going to use it as a November reflections page where I can write down the good, the bad and the ugly for the month.
Gift List
If you’ve signed up for my email list you already know that I’m a bit crazy when it comes to presents and shopping. I hate it but I love ending up with something that I know my loved one will really appreciate. Because of this, I spend a lot of time thinking of ideas and brainstorming ways I can make gifts before committing to them. That’s what this spread is for!
On the right side, I have a blurred out list of people who will be getting tins of homemade cookies. I have a few cookie and treat recipes listed as well as a space to put where to find the recipes when I’m ready to bake them.
I’ll be spacing it out so I bake 1-2 recipes a week over the next 3 weeks and freezing as I go to make sure I don’t have a flour blizzard in my kitchen the week before we hit the road to visit everyone.
I also included space to write down groceries I’ll need for the recipes and a reminder to buy tins to put it all in.
On the left is my gift list. I wrote down all the people I want to buy or make something for and I’ll write in a few ideas and circle the one I choose to get. I also check them off as they’re purchased or completed.
Once again this spread is simple since I wanted to make sure I could keep up with everything this month. I’ve seen some great gift lists that include columns for prices and your budget too so if that’s helpful for you, do it!
Doodle Advent Calendar
Next up is my fun Christmas spread. I doodle in my bujo almost nightly so I decided to do a “Doodle Advent Calendar”. I made boxes for each day of December up until Christmas. This way I’ll have one doodle to colour a day.
You know how I wrote a whole post on bullet journal mistakes last week? Well, I made one on this page!
I originally was going to make this spread a single page. I spaced out boxes and wrote in my title. Then I made my pencil doodles and started numbering my squares only to realize that there were only 16 spaces. Face palm.
I extended my boxes onto the left page, adding the 8 I was missing. There was still room so I threw in a “Nice List”. On this list, I can write in my favourite things about the holidays. I still have some blank space on the top of the page, what should I fill it in with? A quote? Presents? Ornaments? Gift wrap swatches?
Comment to let me know!
Calendar and Monthly Set Up
This month I’m doing winter or arctic animals! I started it off with some little cartoon ones and some patterned blue washi tape. Expect more of the washi tape this month and lots of the faded blue and greys.
For my opening spread, I put in my mini calendar on my left page as usual. My monthly goals and tasks are under the calendar for easy reference as well. We’ll be out of town for quite a few days in December and the kids are going on a trip with their dad too so there will be lots to keep track of!
I added in a few more habits for this month in order to keep me accountable on the blog through the holiday season. So I have columns for articles posted, emails sent and Pinterest pinning.
On the second spread of my monthly set up, I have my gratitude log. I added in a little whale and the quote “always have an attitude of gratitude”. I think that’s especially important this time of year. With all the cards, gifts and the commercials and shopping trips that accompany them, it can be hard to remember that the best part of the season is getting to spend more time with the people who matter to you.
On my chores page, I have another quote “Kindness is like snow, it beautifies all it touches”. I think these 2 pages turned out really cute! I really like the different font that I used for the chores title. You can find it on my Pinterest Bullet Journal Fonts board if you like it. I liked filling in the wide space with the light blue giving the spread that little bit of wintery-ness.
 Final Thoughts
Keeping the spreads this month simple will be a major key for me as I rally to get all my 2019 planning done and all of my holiday tasks completed.
Making some time to enjoy my bujo with my “advent calendar” should be fun too. I’ve never done a page like that so I’m excited to see how it goes.
I like that I have a set space for gifts and baking and that I feel ready to take on the season!
Are you going to add in any different spreads than usual to help you cope with the holidays?
