Keeping Christmas {Holiday Pocket Journal}

 

Welcome to the August Keeping Christmas Blog Hop! I can't believe how quickly Christmas will be here! Eep! With that in mind, I chose to make 6 Christmas pocket journals/calendars to give as gifts to keep track of holiday planning! Even though I prepped 150 of THESE and thought I'd never want to see one again {LOL!}, I decided that they'd be super fun to make all dressed up in Christmas paper and charms! Before I dive into the details, here is the list of the other Keeping Christmas designers. I can't wait to see what they have created!

Kelly Lunceford (Creator)

 Claire Broadwater

 Lori Tecler

 Nance Salkeld 

 Nina Forsyth

 Marybeth Lopez

 Nancy Penir

 Carol Hintermeier 

The paper collection that I used for the entire project is called Midnight Noel and I found it at Hobby Lobby in the Christmas sticker/embellishment section. I always love when July rolls around and the Christmas crafting section makes a come-back!

I bought the charms from Amazon and they came in a pack of about 100 or so for not much money. If you just search for "Christmas charms", a ton of options are available. I used lobster clasps to attach a spiral jump ring and then the charm which makes it a cinch to add to the elastic. 

I wanted to include a pocket planner in each of the journals. I bought these from Amazon as well and they are a two year journal so you can use it for next year as well! I can usually find things like this at the Dollar Tree, but I sent my husband and he came home with huge spiral bound student planners! LOL! I gave those to my kids to keep track of all of their remote learning things, like Zoom meeting codes, etc. Spring was a learning curve for all of that and now I feel a little more prepared!

But....back to the journals. I measured the planner size to decide how big to make the laminated journal covers. I was hoping to find something 6 inches or smaller so I could get two covers from one sheet of 12 by 12 paper, but these pocket planners were just slightly larger.

The pocket planners came with a floral cover, but were also inserted into a plastic protective sleeve. I decided to cut some coordinating pattern paper to slip inside to keep the journals cohesive and festive.

The other two sections are just like what are inside of THESE and I used coordinating paper for those as well.

I thought these might be fun hostess gifts to give at Thanksgiving, but most people start their holiday planning and shopping long before that. Maybe Halloween gifts? LOL! I'm not sure when I will gift these!

I was thrilled to find the perfect Candy Cane charm in the pack that I bought. It goes perfectly with this sweet pattern paper! The elastic that I use it also from Amazon and comes in a roll of 100 yards and is very economical. If you search for "Cord Elastic" you will find a lot of different choices!

Here's a few more of the pretty charms. I just love how nicely the snowflake looks on the journal on the left side...a perfect match!

I made one for myself, so I can't wait to put it to use organizing and planning all of my holiday purchases and dates to remember. I'm guessing there won't be nearly the amount of "places to go" this year, which is sad. I think navigating the holidays will be difficult for all of us this year! "I'll be home for Christmas....you can plan on me!" LOL!  I think it will help us all cherish our traditions and loved ones a little bit more! Thanks for fluttering by!