I have a confession to make, one of the reasons why I love lists is because I love to write them down with my pretty markers and look at them and feel like just by writing them, half of the job has been completed. I hope I am not the only one that feels like that.

Shiloh Photography ©

My friend Jessalyn, has made some wonderful printables (very, very pretty ones) in which I would definitely love to keep my Christmas lists this year. She has four planners, A Christmas Gift Planner, A Christmas Baking Planner, A Christmas Budget Planner, and a Christmas Check list; and all of them are available in color or black and white.

The Budget Planner has six categories: Gifts, Decor, Food, Crafts, Travel, and Other. The planner is clean and easy to use; and I am sure that if we start planning our Christmas budget right now, we could start doing some shopping in advance in order to save some money, while avoiding the big crowds that in December are found everywhere.

The Christmas Gift Planner is very useful because it has, firts of all, a budget line, so we won’t forget what our limits are. Then we have four columns: Name, Gift, Store, Price. I love the *Store* column, because I am sure it has happened to all of us, we all have seen the perfect gift for our friend and then we totally forget where we saw it! And it has four options for each name, which is a great help when trying to decide. That is the good thing about planners, you can “see” your mind in paper.

In our family we have decided not to give each other gifts in Christmas; and if this is the same in yours, let me tell you of some others different ways we could use this planner (because it is just too pretty not to use it). Some families like to give money, food, bibles, etc. to different charitable associations, to missionaries, and to friends in church who are in need. Well, why not using this list as a family project to encourage this? This is what I will do. It will help us plan more carefully how much we can give and to whom we will give.

And my two favorite planners are The Christmas Baking Planner and The Christmas Checklist.

The Christmas Baking Planner (for gifts, for parties, to enjoy) is a must, and I will start filling it pretty soon! Every time I find a recipe I would love to bake, I will jot down where it is located (website, magazine, book, etc), my deadline to make it, if it needs a special box or some kind of packaging and also the supplies I need to make it. Flour, sugar and butter are always there, but there are few recipes that ask for some ingredients that we normally don’t have at hand.

And the ultimate, most useful, wonderful and lovely planner; introducing to you, Ladies and Gentlemen:  The Christmas Checklist!

It seems too simple, but it is not! In it I will keep track of everything that doesn’t fall in the other categories. For example: Christmas school projects, crafts, books I want to read with my children (I have shared with you how we really devote a lot of time during Christmas season to study and meditate about the Incarnation of our Lord), cards I want to write and send in the mail, etc. I am ready to print mine (in color of course) and have fun as I start to anticipate this special season; which I love so much.

Jessalyn, has made this beautiful printables available for free, but as you can imagine, it took her several hours to make them that pretty; so f you want to say thank you, leave her a comment saying so, and maybe you feel inclined to leave her a small donation (99 cents?) via Paypal.

Hope you have a wonderful weekend, dear friends! I am grateful for you, and for the wonderful gift of having readers like you.

Becky