* This post was originally published in June of 2008.  It has been modified and improved.

The holidays are a beautiful time of year.  Preparing for the winter holidays can be a hectic and time-consuming task. To make the most of the festive season it helps to create your own holiday binder in which to record your plans and ideas. Here are some pages that would be useful to have:

• December Calendar – lets you list activities and special events throughout the season
• Card List – lets you keep track of who you sent cards to each year
• Gift List -provides a place for you to brainstorm gift ideas and record final gifts
• Wish List – gives you some good ideas for gift possibilities
• Holiday Budget – a budget worksheet based on projected savings for the holidays
• Gifts Received List – provides a record of gifts received and a place to refer when writing out your family’s thank you cards
• Holiday Meal Planner – lets you prepare everything from main dish to dessert
• Holiday Recipes – keeps all of your favorite holiday recipes in one spot
• Holiday Cookies/Candy Planner – stores all of your favorite cookie/candy ideas
• Holiday Party Planner – lets you plot and plan for a festive gathering
• Holiday Guest List – tracks your invitees and guests to your holiday event

All of the above pages are available to members of ListPlanIt.com to print or download in Holidays & Occasions or in ListPlanIt‘s Holiday ePlanner.  Read more about creating your own Holiday Organizational Manual here.