December Daily: What's Working

I can't tell if I am more on target for sticking with this album this year, but I do think I'm enjoying it more and I know I have simplified some parts for myself. Here's what's been working so far for me, most of which is demonstrated with the Dec. 11 page:

1) Not worrying about daily photos. I tend to be able to find a little of something -- a tag, a receipt, a Starbucks bag, a drawing by one of the boys -- that adds some visual interest. Having fewer photos makes it easier to work with the pages. Plus, since I don't print my photos at home, I don't feel like I'm waiting for photos as much. If I know I'm only going to have a single 4x6 photo, I can build most of the page around that and then just stick on the photo later.

For the Dec. 11 page, I plan to include two or three wallet-size photos on the left side later, but the snowflakes do a good job of being a visual.

2) Being open to ideas for a story that may have nothing to do with the actual events of the day. For some reason, while I was getting my hair cut on Saturday, I had a whole walk down memory lane in my head about the giant tree my Dad used to decorate. I'm planning to write that story down and then have it ready for any day. Robby wrote a winter poem in school that I'm going to type up (the paper was just way too big for the album) and use on one of the days. I find myself remembering many details about Christmases past that I'd like to include in this album.

The Dec. 11 page above is mostly about the activities of that day, but I also touch on my overall enjoyment of paper craft decorations and my annual tradition of cutting snowflakes.

3) Not allowing myself to write down every detail of the day. In the past, my December Daily albums and my attempts at Week in the Life tended to run like this: We woke up. We got ready. I ate a bagel. The boys ate waffles. We went to school/work.... The minute I find myself thinking this way, I stop and remind myself to boil the day down to the simplest piece(s) I want to remember. Taking fewer photos also seems to help keep me focused on just the highlights.

Dec. 11 was a fairly ordinary Sunday, and I could have turned it into a dull hour by hour list so as not to leave anything out. Instead I focused on just one part of the day -- making some decorations.

4) Using the baseball card pocket page protectors. I was sure that trying to use these would make things more complicated than necessary. In fact, I have found that using them sparingly is turning out to be a good way to include the "little stuff" neatly.

Okay, this one is not demonstrated with the Dec. 11 page.

5) Enjoying the excuse to play and create. I look forward to making time at the end of the day to play with my pages and supplies. I have been making big messes, which I take as a good sign. I like that I included actual snowflakes, instead of only a photo of them done or us making them.

What about you? Have you been keeping up and how?