Christmas For Dummies

Speaking as the Chief of Christmas Dummies (and one who has been known to have a few Scrooge-like tendencies)--

Just last November, after myriad years of total Christmas disorganization (perhaps a sub-conscious rebellion of sorts?) I finally came up with the perfect Christmas planner.

I unearthed an unused binder (notebook) from our deep, creepy basement and tucked a Christmas-Victorian-ish calendar page into the clear plastic on the front of it.

Then on the inside, I added those clear 'plastic pocket pages,' you know, sheet protectors, the kind you buy at Office Max (or cheaper at Target), in which you usually slip in pages of a report if you are the college or executive type (both of which, I am not.)

Then into those clear plastic pages I started tucking in things like:

Mailing lists: Ones for relatives and old friends and internet group friends, etc.

Tom's and Naomi's Christmas gift lists

To Do Lists

Self-stick address labels

Gift tags

Christmas stickers

Christmas cards to send

Copies of our annual family Christmas letter and family photo

Magazine Christmas stories and how-to articles (to keep me in the mood)

Receipts for the gifts I bought

'What To Do Differently Next Year' lists


Then after Christmas I added favorite letters,photos and cards from relatives and friends which had arrived in the mail.

Well, I'll tell you. This year I feel like I am downright cheating at Christmas! Here before me, I have this Christmas binder just bulging with all the things I need to keep me sane and organized this December.

So I thought I'd pass along this idea in case any of you wanted to create your own Christmas For Dummies book, too. I know some of us don't "do" Christmas well.

Yes, some of us need all the help we can get.



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