Christmas Planner

Thanksgiving Day is on the way ... will you be ready?

Find a pretty bit of planning help with this free printable Thanksgiving planner from Web site Whaddya Lookin' At?

With menu planner and shopping lists, recipe cards and seating chart, these printable pages would be a nice addition to the Christmas planner or household notebook.

And that cover! Oh, so pretty! In .PDF format:

Free Thanksgiving Planner

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Creativity has taken a simple stack of paper sacks to a pearl of an organizer: meet Queen Cat's Christmas planner!

Posting from stamping blog Queen Kat's Stamping Castle, this talented stamper began with a base of everyday lunch sacks, then punched, stamped and embellished her way to a useful--and gorgeous--holiday organizer. I think she must have had a LOT of fun creating this planner, judging from the many different stamping techniques, products and embellishments used to create it.

The project is so big, it took two blog entries to cover it. Tour Queen Kat's Christmas planner at these two links:

Christmas Planner
More Christmas Planner

Humble beginnings--think manila file folder--don't hold back this ultra-creative holiday planner from papercrafter Daniel Dobson! Blogging as For The First Time, Daniela's got a sizzling entry in the Christmas pocket planner category.

Sewn and stamped, inked and embellish, this Christmas pocket planner is a knock-out. And don't miss the clever use of small binder clips as both embellishment and structural device. It's a stunner!

Better still? Free stamp sets! Hurry on over to Daniela's blog and leave a comment to be entered in a November 15 stamp set give-away (and tell her Cynthia sent you!)

The Cutting Cafe Holiday Planner

Zowie! Look at this amazing Christmas planner, created by craft blogger Mrs. B from Mrs. B's Craft Room: a house-shaped confection of a holiday planner.

The unique shape was created by using a Cricut Personal Electronic Cutting Machine; binding appears to have been done with a Bind It All craft tool.

Inside, computer generated lists, calendars and planners have been glued to each house-shaped page. While Mrs. B created her own lists, we think you could use down-sized Christmas pocket planner pages from Organized Christmas.

Ribbons, buttons, stickers and embellishments make this unique planner sparkle! Check it out:

Mrs. B's Holiday Planner

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Here's a fresh entry in the Christmas Pocket Planner category: this pretty vintage holiday planner from blogger Lynn at Millers-Ink.

Starting with Nicole Heady's free pocket planner template, Lynn added custom-cut tags made with a Cricut Personal Electronic Cutting Machine. These tags can be circulated to friends and family to gather gift suggestions for the big day.

With a vintage color scheme, stamped accents and smartly-embellished front cover, Lynn's planner is a long, lean home for lists and planner pages!

Lynn's Holiday Planner

Simplicity doesn't have to be boring; check out this altered composition from the Heart of a Lamb blog!

Starting with a simple composition book, blogger Doresa's holiday planner takes advantage of coordinated patterned paper, embellishments and stickers from stamping supplier Close To My Heart.

Using products designed to work together makes it easy to create a pretty planner (that looks like you worked MUCH harder than you did!)

Fast and festive? We love it:

Holiday Planner Magic

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Small and sweet and easy to use: check out Laurie's Joyful Christmas Planner!

Featured on the Stamp a Sweet Impression blog, this tiny planner is based on 3-by-5 index cards. Small it may be, but with helpful dividers Laurie's planner puts everything you need to get organized for Christmas in the palm of your hand.

But the embellishments take this planner over the top. As Laurie says, "If there ever was time to add tons of bling to your projects, then Christmas is the time!! :-)"

Lovely job. Simply lovely:

A Joyful Christmas Planner

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Here's another pretty, practical Christmas notebook from blogger Kristen Stryker.

Behind the lovely cover, you'll find sections for lists, menus and holiday planning.

We like Kristen's eclectic approach to supplies and embellishments.

Because she's mixed and matched offerings from multiple suppliers, this project would make good use of holiday bits and pieces from the supply stash.

Another inspiring planner tour to help organize the holiday season!

Kristen's Christmas Planner

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Who says Christmas planners need to be over-large ... or over the top? Check out this sleek solution from the Givers Log blog: a holiday countdown checklist.

As befits the spirit of the season, the blog offers free downloads. With versions in in blank form as well as in a pre-printed 12-week countdown, this is a minimalist approach to Christmas organizing ... and it's pretty, too!

Ultimate Holiday Countdown Checklist

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If you liked these printable Christmas planner templates, take a look at what clever blogger Misteejay has made with them: a colorful and creative Christmas planner.

Using die-cut chipboard covers in a fabulous swooping shape, she's used the Papercraft Inspirations templates to create a lavish and practical planner. Based on envelopes punched and bound into a book, this planner is both useful and creative. We love the page-by-page planner tour, too!

With room for photos and embellishments, her Christmas planner goes beyond utilitarian; it'll be a cherished keepsake after the holiday season is over:

Christmas 2009 Planner

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Papercrafters who want a unique, handcrafted spin to their holiday planners have a real friend in Papercraft Inspirations!

This UK-based crafting magazine has published a set of sweetly hand-drawn holiday planner pages. With templates for gift lists, calendars, shopping lists and more, their downloadable templates will make holiday planners sparkle.

Find them here for the download, in .PDF and .jpg formats:

Christmas Planner Templates

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Yes, you can make a lovely holiday planner from the most pedestrian start: paper bags.

Blogger Moxie from Stampersaurus studio brings us this creative use for simple paper bags. The planner's base is built from a stack of paper lunch sacks, folded in the center and secured with binder rings from the office supply store.

Trimmed with a lush assortment of patterned paper, and adorned with printed and downloaded gift lists, Moxie's holiday planner turns trash into Christmas treasure!

Paper Bag Holiday Planner

Such a clever idea! Stephanie from Rubber Romance Stamps shares her solution to Christmas budgeting: an envelope-based planner that holds cash for each recipient on her Christmas gift list.

Better still, this lavishly-photographed tutorial will take you step-by-step through creating an accordion envelope organizer in record time.

Using office store envelopes, cardstock, punches, patterned paper and pretty stamped embellishments, get Christmas ... organized!

Christmas ... Organized, On Budget and Oh So Chic!

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Drop around to blogger Calie's Creative Corner to see a lovely example of an altered composition book turned Christmas planner.

Adding cover embellishments and custom tabs, Calie's planner also includes a convenient receipt envelope tucked inside the rear envelope.

With a calendar added to the inside front cover, Calie will be covered for her holiday planning this year!

Altered Composition Book: Calie's Christmas Planner

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Blogger Pam Hooten over at the Iris Garden blog shares this sizzling-bright entry in the holiday planner field.

Loaded with bling and bright with creative touches, her little book can be used as a planner, a guest book or journal.

We'd love to see more shots of what's inside, but check out that cover! With layered embellishments that range from glitter to nostalgia, it's loaded with Christmas charm.

Pam Hooten's Holiday Planner

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Here's an innovative but simple holiday planner from Samantha, who blogs as the Rubber Stamping Diva: an altered composition book.

Note her custom touches that make this project sparkle! A pen holder loop attached to the back cover keeps writing tools close at hand. Inside pockets stand ready to hold gift receipts, while a just-for-fun set of beaded bookmarks makes it easy to find lists, planner pages and calendars.

Last of all, a creative ornament cover embellishment gives this easy project a dazzling creative touch. Nice job!

Christmas in July: Altered Composition Book Holiday Planner

We're of two minds about this over-the-top Christmas planner. With the most complete tutorial presentation we've ever seen--including video!--blogger Oz-somestamps does a great job explaining how to make this wildly creative entry in the holiday planner field.

But be aware: this project, lovely as it is, is fairly complex and will require some specialty tools. Using a Zutter Bind-it-All and Crop-A-Dile Big Bite papercrafting tools, this project may be for dedicated papercrafters only.

This project also includes downloadable .PDF instructions and printable pages for the planner forms found in the folder. (Once again, we're a bit divided in our praise--these forms show a lot of similarity to Christmas pocket planner forms offered by OrganizedChristmas.com. In the spirit of sharing, we'd like to have seen credit given where credit was due.... but since they're a nice variation on the theme, we're pointing them out anyway.)

Get crafting on this awesome planner from OZ-somestamps:

Christmas Planner Tutorial

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When it comes to making a workable Christmast planner, embellishments, stamped designs and lavish ribbons are nice to have, but simple's good, too! And when the Christmas planner project helps empty the craft stash and make good use of small scraps of paper? It's a stand-out project!

Check out these designs from blogger team Karen and Martha from Scrappin' Our Stash 2009. Using inexpensive pocket folders from the office supply store, these clever, sustainable folder-based planners are fast to make, fun to use.

Great job!

Christmas File Folder Planners from Scrappin' Our Stash

Isn't this fresh and lively? Check out this altered composition book, created by Bren Yule at the Inspiration Institute.

Based on a simple lined composition book, the planner's bright color scheme, clever use of stamping and embellishments and comprehensive divider tabs make it special.

We especially like the small file folder embellishment; it's just right for tucking small notes, scraps or receipts for easy retrieval. Now that's embellishment with a function!

Make Your Own Holiday Planner!

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Blogging as Mission Inkpossible, Jenn brings us this sweet and simple 2009 holiday planner.

Using a composition book as a base, Jenn's added seasonal calendars created in Excel, and a receipts envelope.

Divider tabs sort this easy Christmas planner into categories--and spritely stamps and embellishments make it pretty.

Check it out!

Mission Inkpossible: 2009 Holiday Planner