Jennifer Manis

Hello there!! It’s snowing a little bit outside and that makes me so happy and ready to get out my December albums and reminisce.

I wanted to share a few different ways you can document your December. It doesn’t have to be a pretty album and with expensive papers and embellishments. As long as you get your photos and words down, you’ve done a good job! Simply making the time to record it all is the biggest challenge.

First, I am currently working on this pretty album below. I got it last year from Felicity Jane, along with a kit that I used inside. I didn’t put it together last year because I wanted to think about what I wanted to be in this album. I finally decided to make it a ‘best of Christmas’ album. The photos I cherish the most from over the years are going in here. I have enjoyed putting it together so far!

Of course, one of the most popular ways to record the season is with a December Daily. One of the most recognized faces of this project is Ali Edwards. She has so much inspirational content, so check her site out.

I have been making a December Daily album every year since about 2010 I think. Some years I put a photo/sentiment for all 31 days of December, some years it’s just a 12 Days of Christmas theme. It can be whatever you want it to be!  🙂

This album below has a collection of Instax photos in it. Some albums can be tiny, to just highlight a specific series of photos. The design of this album was inspired by my favorite, Dear Lizzy.

Another way I’ve been recording December since 2009 is with Shutterfly books. I gather my favorite photos from December at the very beginning of January and put them all together in an album and Shutterfly ties it up with a bow! Not really, but it’s a fun process. Just put aside to do it soon after the holidays, because the more time that lapses, the less likely you will be to get it done. Sad, but true.

If you sign up for their emails, Shutterfly offers a few free books a couple times a year. My advice is to put the book together, so when the coupon code comes out, you can just hit ‘buy.’ My word of warning is to allow yourself time to upload the photos. I use a Canon DSLR and the files are quite large, and it can take hours to upload the photos. And, remember to save your work. Check more than once. Trust me.  🙂

Another way to document December is with a classic layout! I have been making scrapbook layouts for many years now, and it’s still satisfying to create a bunch of layouts and put them in an album.

This year, I’m using a Traveler’s Notebook to record December. I guess you can say I have been taken over by the planner community, so it’s natural to reach for a planning style book to document this month! I got this particular TN from Michaels over the summer for $3!

Here’s a peek inside…

Papers are from One Little Bird (2015), washi is from Sugar Paper for Target, and wooden numbers are from Felicity Jane (December 2015 kit).

Thanks for making it this far! I hope you now have a few ideas about how to get your December holiday memories down. Make it simple for yourself. You’ll be glad you made the effort!