Thanksgiving Planner

Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. I love to cook a big dinner and set out the china and spend time with my beloved family. Thanksgiving is when we try to get together, and this year all my siblings will be here. I’m the oldest of four, and this is the first time in a few years that we’ve all been together in the same place. I didn’t even really share this here on my blog, but my baby brother, age 36, had a massive heart attack last month and actually coded. Thankfully, he was working right across the street from the hospital and had gone in when he didn’t feel so well. He coded in the Emergency Room and was immediately taken back into surgery and had two stents put in his heart before we could even get to the hospital. Long story short, this was a wake-up call for all of us and I will treasure this time with my family even more so this year. (Isn’t it a shame that many times it takes some sort of crisis to bring family together ? ) My other younger brother serves in the military and couldn’t be here then, but will be coming down with his sons for Thanksgiving. I’m even going to play photographer and get some family photos while we are all togetther, so this year will be busy and full of activities all day. I am so looking forward to it.

So, to help me plan for all this, I needed a planner that could fit in my purse and help me stay organized. This is what I came up with. It was created with a standard manilla folder, paper, paint, glue and some little notebooks.

First, I opened my folder all the way up so that it was then laying in landscape position (tabs are at bottom left and top right side) and scored two linesfrom the bottom; one at 3 3/8 and one at 3 1/2. This created my bottom fold for my pockets.

I then made sure that a tab was in the bottom left and top rigth and scored at 5 7/8 and 6 1/8 from the edge. Flipped the file folder around the scored at the same dimensions again.

Next, I painted all the edges where it will fold and show and the outside edges with a color that would match my chosen papers.

After the paint dried, I used Score-tape to seal the bottom side edges and inner folds to create my folder album. And then I had fun and decorated it as desired with paper from Pink Paislee. I also covered a small 5×7 notepad with coordinating paper on the top and back as well as a mini (5 x 7 cut in half) notepad. I attached the mini notepad to the inside cover using my ATG gun and added a loop of ribbon behind it to create a pen holder. I stamped a few little sayings from Papertrey Ink in places and kept embellishments to a minimum. That was the hardest part. I wanted to add so much more, but also knew it needed to to remain as flat as possible so that I could just drop this in my purse and be able to really use it. I misted a ribbon with Glimmer Mist and sealed it behind the back layer on the center back so that I could tie it closed. 

My dear daughter made my lists for me and we have saved them in a PDF that you can download HERE. You will need to cut these just outside the lined edges to fit. I rounded the corners and then inked them all up with a little brushed cordurory Distress ink.

Now I have an organized planner to help me plan out my menu, make my shopping lists, take notes, as well as plan some holiday projects specifically desired for my Thanksgiving festivities. I even have a place to take notes for any specific layouts I may have in mind for my holiday pictures. This could easily be adapted with a new title and colors to become a Christmas Planner too!  

I really hope one of you can use this as well. 

Thanks for stopping by today,