Christmas Organizing

Maybe it's just me...

but the holidays can make me lose my mind a little.

A couple of years ago I was in a store and I panicked. Did I buy this robe for my mother-in-law last year, or did I just think about it?

I needed a way to keep track of gifts I had purchased so that I wouldn't do re-peats.

This was my solution:

It is just a composition notebook that I covered with festive paper and added some embellishments.
I created 2 sections with cardstock that I glued to the pages inside.
This first section is where I keep my christmas card list. By writing the addresses in ABC order, I don't have to search for my address book. Plus, if you're like me, you don't keep local friends in your regular address book. In this book, they are ALL together in one place, ready.
My Christmas return labels are tucked inside, so I know where those are each year, too. Another thing I do is make a little note if I received one from that family. If I haven't heard from them in a couple of years, I know to check their address to make sure it is current.
The other section is where I keep track of the gifts I have purchased for family members for that year.
It doesn't take long to write it down, and it saves me a lot of second guessing.

The beauty of this little project is that it can be as simple as you want it to be. You could just buy a notebook with 2 sections and write "CHRISTMAS" across the front.

It is versatile too. This same idea could be used for keeping track of any kind of purchases, bills, etc...