One Size Fits All? Choose a Planner Format

Like pantyhose, like life: there's no such thing as "one size fits all" when it comes to your Christmas planner!

What format will you choose for your personalized Christmas organizing tool?

Letter-Sized Binder or Notebook

Take a survey of online resources, and you'll find the standard letter-sized three-ring binder or notebook is the majority format for a Christmas planner.

Using a three-ring binder for your Christmas planner offers a lot of advantages. Binders, dividers and page protectors are widely available--and inexpensive. Most online printables are published as letter-sized, 8.5-by-11 pages.

The downside to letter-sized planners? Portability is a concern; it's hard to whip a heavy Christmas binder out for shopping trips or notes on the fly.

Then there's the appearance factor. While binders can be pretty--colorful papercrafting supplies come in letter format, make it easy to decorate your Christmas planner--they won't pack the eye-candy punch of a handcrafted lunchbox planner or custom notebook.

Still, for the majority of Christmas planners, a three-ring binder format is the most versatile, simplest choice.

Junior Binder or Notebook

If you're comfortable with creating your own planner pages (or resizing printables from the Web), a junior-sized 8.5-by-5.5 three-ring binder can solve the portability problem while offering the same freedom and flexibility of a standard-sized planner.

Junior-sized notebooks, dividers and page protectors are a bit harder to find; online sources make it easier to obtain them.

Those who downsize swear by the compromise!

Notebook Alternatives

Like the idea of a notebook, but looking for something with a bit more flash? Look into notebook alternatives like Circa-brand notebooks or Rollabind systems.

These sleek modern planners require a specialized punch--and can be pricey--but are as easy to use as a traditional three-ring notebook. They offer various sizes for your planner pleasure.

Index Card Files

Whether you're a devotee of Sidetracked Home Executives or the Hipster PDA, index cards offer a versatile, portable Christmas planner solution.

Integrating Christmas organizing into an ongoing index card management system is fairly simple, BUT you'll find very few printable resources available in 3-by-5 or 4-by-6 index card format.

Handmade Solutions: Christmas Lunchbox Planners and Christmas Pocket Planners

Creativity's your strong suit--and you can't imagine a Christmas planner without it? Check out creative solutions from papercrafters, scrapbookers and rubber stampers in our Tours and Tutorials section. You'll find a wealth of inspiration to create your one-of-a-kind tool for holiday planning.

Lunchbox Christmas planners are a luxe version of the index card file. Using a small-scale metal lunchbox, creative papercrafters embellish surfaces inside and out to create a pretty Christmas planner.

Hand-made dividers and index-card forms fill out the Christmas lunchbox planner, making Christmas organizing a sensory delight. It's a great solution for the crafty!

A simpler papercraft project, Christmas pocket planners are built upon a standard letter-sized two-pocket folder. Embellished with holiday-themed paper and stocked with custom-sized forms, a Christmas pocket planner offers pretty portability.