December Daily 2010 | Simple Tips + Thoughts On The First Of December

December is finally here!

I'll be working on my Day One page this evening and sharing it here tomorrow.

For today I wanted to share a four thoughts on this project:



  • My goal is one story a day. Might be short (even just a photo), might be long. I'm not trying to capture every little thing minute by minute. I want to capture a sense of the season and include stories from our life right now.


  • Individual pages matter less than the whole. This is actually a really big one. Don't judge any single day on it's own...it's the whole that really counts.


  • It's completely normal if your album feels "disjointed" in the beginning. Do not stress about this. Your own photos and words will tie it all together.


  • Have fun. Savor this time of year and take this opportunity to capture a piece of your life.


Ready, set, go!



REVERB 10


A cool thing I came across yesterday (via Tracey Clark on Twitter) is a December prompt series called Reverb 10. The tagline is "reflect on this year & manifest what's next." You can sign up to receive a free daily prompt via email. I looked at the prompts from last year and they are GREAT jumpstarts for storytelling this past year. The prompts from 2009 are listed here.

I love this idea. Even if you can't play along in December the prompts would be awesome as a list to work-through for your own personal scrapbook pages or journaling.


TODAY'S POST IS SPONSORED BY | Cocoa Daisy
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98 thoughts

  1. Steph says…
    12/01/2010

    Okay, so I believe I am ready to start today! Although it is just past 7:00 a.m. - I have my idea already for day 1 - being up at 3:30 a.m. with my 2 year old who is sick. Kinda messes up my plans of doing my Christmas cards today. Big bummer since I just picked my CD up from the photographer last night - that would have made a cute story for day 1, but we need to go with it, right?

    So, here is my huge question with how I (and I am sure many others) should handle this project. Although I am happily married, my husband literally can't stand the holidays. He has OCD and as anyone could imagine, this makes any change and especially holidays stressful. I, on the other hand am a very relaxed person and LOVE Christmas. There lies my problem.

    I see so many scrapbooking work all over the place, I love this, my hubby is so wonderful all of the time, every second he is the greatest father and does everything like the parenting textbook 101 dream fantasy, and on and on. This has been a huge problem for me over the years in my scrapbooks. I don't want to give our kids this false reality down the road when they look at a book that says and out and out lie about oh, we loved our family pics....Daddy was so happy. Truth be told, he didn't want to come to our family photo shoot and just wanted the kids there. OCD tells me that he couldn't handle it, yet I am upset and sad all at the same time.

    Last year, pregnant at that, I got so fed up at his intense worry about the Christmas lights, decorations, presents under the tree being moved by the kids that I took the tree down the morning of the 26th. How sad is that?!

    Please, any ideas how to handle this would be much appreciated. I really don't want to be a Debbie Downer, yet I have to be realistic that not every day of the Christmas holidays in my house is relaxed and festive. I love my husband but he drives me crazy too! I do so much to keep him happy for the kids....any suggestions on how I should tackle those moments in my album?

    I am so very thankful for any ideas you may have...

    Reply 15 Replies
    1. Beke says…
      12/01/2010

      oh wow. You must be a very strong (or patient) lady :)
      I haven't known anyone with OCD before, and have only heard the stories. I don't know how I would handle that sort of situation, but admire those who can. I personally can't give any ideas, (as I am not familiar with OCD) but I just wanted to say keep your chin up, and I hope you can sort something out for the holidays :)
      x

    2. Judy Lucas says…
      12/01/2010

      Maybe its as simple as telling two stories - Yours - the festive one - and then maybe one on what makes that event stressful - not neccesarily who makes it stressful, etc - but something like:

      One Page - Making Christmas cards and a story of the joy of sending things to people and getting mail, etc

      Second Page - The long lines at the Post Office, the raising costs of mail, kids stealing the cards, the cluttered look when they are on the mantle (some people's thoughts (my hubby's) not mine!).

      But maybe something that shows the dark and light side of things? I admire you! You have MUCH more patience than I could ever have!

      Judy

    3. Robin T says…
      12/01/2010

      Maybe just pick a day when you don't really have anything going on and tell his story and feelings about the holidays. Kind of like what you wrote here--what bothers him, etc. I'm sure your kids will understand when they're older his feelings and maybe it will even help them understand why he does or says the things he does.

    4. Debbie says…
      12/01/2010

      Your post hit home with me but in a different sort of way. I have wanted to participate in something like this, but my daughter is grown and we don't really do a lot during the holidays for several reasons. I did try last year to look at the holidays outside of my home and family and found it kind of enjoyable. I tried to either take a photo or write about something everyday that made me happy during December. I would take a picture of something in a craft store that made me remember working with my Grandma making a hooked rug, or a needlepoint picture and I would write about how it felt to be crafting with Grandma. I took pictures of other people enjoying festivities and it made me happy. I used it as a way to document my memories and feelings of holidays past and present. I hope this helps and Happy Holidays.

    5. steffb says…
      12/01/2010

      I've had similar issues with scrapping as you mention in the past - the positives and negatives of life. First on the project I was working on (Ali's Yesterday and Today class as a matter of fact) I worked on it with the clear intent of not having it out for public display, but rather as something I would leave as a legacy. I figure when I'm gone I won't care what people read LOL. The other thing is I used flaps and other means to hide some of the more personal or darker sides of things. I found as I went on, I included more things "in the open." I've heard it said before these are the things that are really interesting, not sugar-coated stuff, but as you say the negative things are only part of the picture, not the whole thing. I'd bet Ali has some things to say to this - I'm sure not everything about her family is happy or beautiful all the time, I'm thinking she probably does some pages etc. about the frustrating aspects of life, perhaps they just don't end up on her blog or in national scrap booking magazines LOL.

    6. abbeyviolet says…
      12/01/2010

      That sounds so hard! We have various mental issues in my family tree, although not this one. I agree with the sentiment that it is part of your story even though you don't love it and really like the idea of including something like this either in DD or somewhere in your memory keeping so your kids later know why. A particularly love the idea of finding something that makes YOU happy each day as that would make for a brighter holiday season indeed.

    7. Karen says…
      12/01/2010

      Just wanted to add my 2 cents as a mother of a 10 year boy with autism. He also has OCD and ADHD so we have dealt with lots of issues concerning holidays. My best advice is to start today practising letting go of expectations of what "normal" is like. Whatever the challenge in your life, often the expectations of making things be what we think they should be (or what other people think should be) are more stress-inducing than the actual event. I had to learn to let go. You don't have control over someone else's feelings. You can't change how other people see/view things. You can only change how you react to them and the situation at hand. That said,perhaps you can ask your husband how you and your family can make things better for him to deal with the holidays. Sometimes the simpliest things can make a big difference. When my son was younger we hung a small X-mas tree from our ceiling from a hook because having a regular tree was too hard for him to deal with and we did that for several years. Yeah, visitors to our house thought that was odd but we accomodated my son's needs and still had our tree so everyone was happy! I hope this Christmas season will be a happy one for you and your family this year.

    8. Christi says…
      12/01/2010

      I don't think you have to make "picture perfect" journaling for your album. I think if it is realistic, it paints a better picture in the future of how hard Mom (and Dad) really did work behind the scenes to make Christmas so magical and wonderful for the kids.

      If your husband wasn't part of the photo shoot, you can either address it matter of factly: "Dad wasn't up to being part of the craziness of a photo shoot so it was just me and you kids."

      or you can keep your own perspective and say "Today I picked up the CD of photos from XX Photography. I was really looking forward to making our Christmas cards to send off to our friends and family. They are going to love these photos of the kids. Unfortunately, making cards will have to wait until tomorrow because XX was up sick since 3:30 AM."

      Both tell an authentic everyday story without becoming a rant of how it bothers you that your husband can't enjoy the holidays the way you wish he could because of his OCD.

    9. Ali says…
      12/01/2010

      Hi Steph - lots of good comments in response to yours this morning. I especially appreciate what Christie and Karen wrote.

      I had a couple of thoughts as I read your words: first, no one has a perfect family, a perfect life, etc. No one. I don't see anything wrong with picking out the good parts and celebrating what is good since we all have bad.

      Second, your kids know that life is not perfect. They know your husband has challenges - I don't think you necessarily need to replay all that for them in a play-by-play of the day. Looking back on my own childhood there were definitely issues in my family - I know them because we lived through them.

      As the family storyteller we get to choose how we frame the stories we tell our kids. In our home right now we are having some issues with Simon's behavior at school. I might write about it and I might not - it most likely will not be a part of December Daily because there are too many other good things to celebrate this time of year rather than focus on the negative ones. If I do write about it, it will be from the perspective of a challenge, of something he's working on and through, because I think it's important to document his different phases and stages. Someone in another comment below mentioned how Stephanie Howell writes really great letters to her daughters talking about the challenges they face and the strength of family - there are so many positive things that can be pulled from our everyday lives. Those are the sorts of stories I want in my books. It's real and it also encourages an attitude of gratitude and celebration.

      I wrote this to someone yesterday who had a similar question about dealing with the challenging stories in our lives: I'm personally not a no-holds-barred storyteller/scrapbooker. There's many challenges I haven't written about. In some ways I feel they creep into my scrapbooking as a whole because it is all part of my overall life experience. I am impacted by the tougher issues (worn down, sad, etc) and that effects what I choose to focus on in the stories I tell in my blog and in my scrapbooks.

      Just one more thing: one of the things I have always really adored and treasured about my Mom is how positive her attitude is. She has been through some really big challenges in her life and has managed to really approach each day with an open, kind, forgiving heart. For her it has a lot to do with her faith. Sometimes I've wondered...how in the heck can she be so positive all the time (and she isn't of course, but overall, and in my memories of her, she is amazing at it)? She chooses it. She chooses to see the good in things, in situations beyond her control, in people. She's taught me so much about perspective and celebrating the little things that are so very good about our lives even in the middle of chaos.

    10. Ali says…
      12/01/2010

      One more thing...I almost always take down the tree on the 26th (I've even done it on the 25th before). For me, I'm done at that point :) and ready to clean things up and move on to January!

    11. Doreen Baros says…
      12/01/2010

      Your story brought to mind an episode in the movie "Under the Tuscan Sun". Towards the end Diane Lane's character realizes she got everything that she asked for, but it all came to her differently than she imagined. I bring this up, because it's okay to want a certain kind of life even though that isn't what you got in reality. I think we all imagine the kind of life we think we want, but most of us don't get those imaginary lives - in real life. That's okay, though. Perhaps it might be fun on some of your pages to reflect on your inner expectations of what you want for your Christmas holiday. Do a page of your ideal imaginary Christmas. Then if you wanted to, later in the month reflect on what things you really got, that you found came to you in unexpected ways. Sometimes it's just a slight alteration of your current perspective that reveals you are getting some of the things you really want, but just not seeing it at the moment.

      Another view might be to make a day of fun play-time with your kids (husband involved if he agrees) to have a pretend/play day revolving around the imaginary Christmas activities of the kids, yourself - and even your husband. Let it be fun for everyone to pick the things they most want to do for the afternoon/evening and do it. You might be surprised to fing out what others imagine their ideal Christmas should be if you ask them. You could even just make a page that shows check lists of what each family member sees it as an ideal Christmas.

    12. Tammy B says…
      12/01/2010

      Why don't you ask your husband to write down some of the things he finds most stressful about the whole Christmas season and what he thinks the most important parts are. Maybe by seeing it in his own handwriting he will be able to adjust a little bit to the busyness of your lives at this time of the year. My husband has very mild OCD (never been really diagnosed) and is an only child from divorced parents. He never really had any of the stresses of the season like travelling to visit with family or having so many people around that it was like being at a concert! We've been together long enough now that he's learning to deal. Best of luck to you and I hope that you can have a very happy holiday no matter what life throws your way!

    13. Christine says…
      12/01/2010

      Is there a way to put a light spin on it for one day--without being disrespectful? I could see myself doing some kind of a page with Scrooge as my husband complaining about all the inconveniences he has to put up with this time of year. My husband would not be insulted by it, but yours might, so it may not work for you. Or maybe do a positive page about how hard it is for him to smile in those pictures when he is so stressed out, but he loves his family enough to fake it. Good luck!

    14. Steph says…
      12/01/2010

      Okay - you are all too kind. I hope each of you know how much your words meant to me today. I was kinda sorry in a way that I felt like I may have been stepping on the beauty of the birth of this amazing project which we are all so excited to begin! But, after reading, I mean, really reading what those of you were kind enough to tell me, I have a fresh take on this hobby I love so much, yet sometimes get frustrated by.

      I am a positive person by nature, guess that is why I am here. I am extremely tolerant and thank my own mom for giving me that gift. Each of us struggles and I needed this reminder that we are human and we need to focus on the good, but that doesn't mean denial, which I know I have always had a hard time with.

      Especially, Ali - thanks for your words, "picking out the good parts and celebrating what is good since we all have bad". Wow, well said.

      This evening, I actually did end up finishing my cards (yeah, my bad - he is now sorry he missed it and I rubbed it in a bit - sometimes he will handle that well, sometimes not, today was a good day...and in the end he is extremely happy with our little card for this year). I inserted that into my Day 1 and my story of the day put some humour into it...with 4 kids now - we wouldn't have all fit on the card anyway!

      On an even happier note, have my stuff all attached to today's pages, my journalling is done and I've sent my photos to the lab to be picked up tomorrow after dropping the kiddos at school.

      Love this project and thank you again for listening.....
      xxxxx

    15. TracieClaiborne says…
      12/02/2010

      I don't normally comment on someone's else's post but I wanted to say that a) I don't usually even have pictures of my husband in my December Daily because he works like 10 hours a day and by the time he comes home, our day is done. On the weekends, he works a lot too. I don't think I have any pics of him in the Dec. Daily from last year and that's okay. It's real life. b) I have a lot of issues in my life, daily pain, insomnia and more but I don't ever focus on that stuff IRL or in my album because I want to count my blessings and remember the best parts of my days. I focus more on my daughter and what she did for the day because she will end up looking at this story of her life when she's grown and hopefully will be fascinated by how she spent her holidays. I would encourage you not to feel that you have to show the hard parts of your relationship or your life. It really is all about perspective. You've obviously learned to love the good about your husband and look past the bad. We all do that, just some of us to a larger degree. Happy holidays!

  2. Beke says…
    12/01/2010

    Happy December 1st!
    It's finnaly here (though for me, its 10:28 pm). I woke up this morning thinking "yay, i can start my book today" I've never been THIS excited over scrapbboking type crafts as much as this one :)

    Reply 0 Replies
  3. dawn says…
    12/01/2010

    Merry December First everyone!! I can't begin to tell you how excited I am for this day and to start on my album, it's begging me to fill it up. Thank you Ali for these 4 tips for us to remember. The kids were so excited to get their advent cards this morning, instead of sharing they each get their own.Checked out Tracy's link you showed and it does seem interesting so will check it out more later and sign up I think.

    Steph, sorry to hear about your husband, it can be hard. My almost 14yrold daughter has OCD too. She has a different form of it though, where she has night terrors that something will happen to her or her family. It's been 2years and I still sit on her bed everynight till she's calm and can fall asleep. I completly understand about your not wanting to give your kids the wrong idea, as I do when I scrap in my daughter's album. There is no evidense of her having OCD and what we go thru at night, sometimes even during the day when she has to call me from school to check in with me that she is safe and that I am safe. Sometimes I want to scrap about this so as an adult she will remember what we went thru and how much stronger she will be because of this and for her kids who might have OCD too. She has told me not too, not even to right down the appts on our calender we have every month. She almost stays in denial which I'm thinking isn't a good thing either and have been trying to get her to start a journal of her own to have then. So Christmas eve for us isn't what it use to be and if we have to many nightly activities they overwhelm her before bed so we have to keep it pretty calm before bed to help her relax. I think you can only keep this a secret for so long eventually it helps to get it out as I'm just starting to do with my daughter instead of keeping it hidden and makes it more stressfull for the family and especially for you. My heart goes out to you and I admire you so much for what you are going thru and how you love your family.

    Is there any small part that your husband does like about xmas like making cookies or watching xmas videos with the kids. Anything like that then take pictures of that and treasure them and make your other pages about you and the boys and maybe decorate the tree without your husband if it stresses him, just don't make a big deal about it in front of the boys. My kids and I always decorate the tree without my husband just a habit that started a long time ago. So take whatever few precious moments you can get and hold onto those. Take it one day at a time. Hope this helps, sorry so long but you hit on something that's very close to home for me.

    Reply 2 Replies
    1. pidge says…
      12/01/2010

      I was really drawn to comment on this. I have always loved how Stephanie Howelle writes letters to her girls and is so very honest about their daddy (who is in the millitary). She doesn't make a negative conection -- she talks about love and stability within the chaos, and about the strength the girls have. It always gives you a sense of connection and honesty. Even some of the things in this post you wrote are gorgeous reminders to your daughter. I think that reminding her of how wonderful she is and how strong she is would be a great and special was to tell her how you love her without denying the situation. Ali also does such a beautiful job with Simon ... always a reminder of thankfulness and celebration. I hope this makes sense. I just felt the need to write it.

    2. dawn says…
      12/01/2010

      Thank you pidge for commenting on my story. I don't think I've heard of this lady before but will check it out ASAP. That is my goal with my daughter this next year is to tell her own story instead of me telling it for her. She really is beautiful, very very smart, amazing singing voice that I can listen to all day, artistic and fashion talent. This came out of nowhere when she started the middle school and really turned our life upside down. It is much much better but still have some bumps in the road. I've told her that our song for what we are going to is " THE CLIMB" by Miley Cyrus, it's perfect for what we are going thru. We each have our own copy for when we need to hear those words. What hurts the most is that she's a whole other person now and we had to get to know each other all over again. Next year she starts high school and I am praying everyday that it will be a smoother transition for her. Thanks for your help I appreciate it.

  4. jackie says…
    12/01/2010

    happy december 1st ali! i am excited about december!

    Reply 0 Replies
  5. dawn says…
    12/01/2010

    I just read what Judy wrote to Steph and I really really like that idea, we all feel that way about the season as much joy as it brings their also brings alot of frustrations. I might do that do some of my pages now I think, thanks Judy.

    Reply 0 Replies
  6. ale says…
    12/01/2010

    thanks for the reverb 10 link!!! i've just signed up.

    Reply 0 Replies
  7. rhonda says…
    12/01/2010

    Thank you Ali for reminding me that it's okay if the album looks disjointed. Mine definitely feels that way but I am taking a leap of faith that it will become cohesive. I love those Reverb10 prompts from 2009! I don't have a blog so I'm not sure it's possible for me to sign up for this year but I'll definitely be looking back at the 2009 ideas.

    Reply 0 Replies
  8. Natalee says…
    12/01/2010

    This is my second year doing December Daily and I can't wait to get started again. This is my favorite project of the year!

    One question though...last year I did all my journaling each day and then sent my photos to a developer at the end of the month and added them. It seemed alot more economical and I liked the quality of the photos better, but it was a PAIN and I missed being able to see a page done every day. So I'm wondering, has anyone done the math? Is it alot more expensive to print at home?I don't have a photo printer but my office printer does a pretty good job. I really want to complete each page as I go this year but I am on a pretty tight budget! Thanks!

    Reply 3 Replies
    1. Christi says…
      12/01/2010

      Natalee, could you upload your photo(s) each day to a local developer and pick them up the next day? It would be about .15 cents a print. Then you could finish today's page tomorrow (or do all of the week's photos and pick up on Saturday) Then you'd still have finished pages but save some money on prints.

    2. Natalee says…
      12/02/2010

      Thanks Christi...I am thinking about uploading and picking them up once a week or so. I live 30 miles from town so it isn't realistic for me to go everyday, but I go about once a week anyway so I think that will work. After looking at some prices of photo paper and ink I still think it's quite a bit cheaper to go that way. Thanks for your thoughts!

    3. Julie Church says…
      12/02/2010

      Natalee -

      We live in a rural area as well. I buy prepaid photo credits at Snapfish (8 or 9 cents a print) and they will mail them to you. You could order once a week and not go to "Town". Wait or look for free shipping, too - they have specials all of the time..

  9. Brooke M says…
    12/01/2010

    So excited to see your first day!! We got our first real snow here, so I am taking pictures of snow all day. I am sure I will find one (or a few) that really show the magic of a first snowfall.

    Reply 0 Replies
  10. Ann says…
    12/01/2010

    I absolutely adore this idea and want to do a December Daily for the first time, however, I have very little idea of a starting point. I did sit down and complete some journaling for today already. But, my main question is, is there a really good album you would recommend that would hold this entire project?

    Reply 2 Replies
    1. Regina says…
      12/01/2010

      Hi Ann. I say Jump Right In. You’re going to love it. I find for me that any album with rings works because my albums always get a little “fat”. Happy DD everyone. Enjoy the ride!

    2. TracieClaiborne says…
      12/02/2010

      Ann - go to the December Daily picture on the front page of this site and click on it and you can see all of Ali's past year's albums from this project. I would recommend just covering some thick chipboard (a cereal box cut down and covered with paper) and using big jump rings you can get at an office supply place. That way you can expand your album without being in the confines of a pre-made album.

  11. Regina says…
    12/01/2010

    Hi Ann. I say Jump Right In. You're going to love it. I find for me that any album with rings works because my albums always get a little "fat". Happy DD everyone. Enjoy the ride!

    Reply 0 Replies
  12. Christy Miller says…
    12/01/2010

    I'm really happy that you said "My goal is one story a day"! I'm sort of stressed about this turning out like my Week in the Life. I took so many pictures and stuffed so much stuff in that I want my DD to be more about the real season and not just tons of pictures everyday. I think I will go look at lists and other DDs and just make a short list of pictures I want to take and then I'll let the rest fall into place? I think I might even take out some of the overlay pages so I don't feel like I have to fill them up.

    Other than that, I am super excited that it is December! Best month of the year in my opinion! ;)

    Reply 2 Replies
    1. Ali says…
      12/01/2010

      This project is totally not supposed to be like Week in the Life. Keep it simple :).

    2. Shannan says…
      12/01/2010

      I do a lot of everyday scrapbooking so I am looking at December Daily more as a collection of our Christmas traditions rather than a snap shot of our lives in December. Like a handbook of how we celebrate Christmas in our family. I have a list of about 25 things I want to include and I am not so hung up on which day they occur or where they go in the album, even though I am still using the numbered countdown. Things like favourite holiday movies, picking the menu, baking, putting up the tree, late night shopping, school holiday concert, santa photo etc etc.

  13. Journal Your Own Christmas Day 1 « Thread, Ink and Me says…
    12/01/2010

    [...] 1, 2010 at 3:17 pm (Uncategorized) Every year, I want to document December like Shimelle or Ali. Last year I even cut up all the paper and made a collection of supplies. This year – I plan [...]

    Reply 0 Replies
  14. Molly says…
    12/01/2010

    I have no foundation album ready. I have very limited supplies, BUT I'm starting today anyway!! I'll make a framework on my day off: Thursday. Totally excited for this DD tradition. I love how the process motivates me to approach the season with intent, seeking that bit of holiday spirit within the everyday. Cheers!

    Reply 0 Replies
  15. Lain Ehmann says…
    12/01/2010

    So excited to be participating in my first-ever DD. You are so inspiring, Ali. Love your relaxed take on this. One story for the whole month would be better than no story at all!
    xoxox
    Lain

    Reply 1 Reply
    1. Ali says…
      12/01/2010

      Amen!

  16. janice says…
    12/01/2010

    reverb 10...I do not have a blog...any way to get the prompts?? Or any other way??

    Reply 1 Reply
    1. Ali says…
      12/01/2010

      They send the prompts to your email :).

  17. Patty says…
    12/01/2010

    Yay so happy that today is December 1st. Here in NY we have started December out with a very windy, very stormy day, not much of a holiday spirit day. Have you ever made pages in your book that were not so cheerful and holiday spirited???

    Reply 2 Replies
    1. Heather says…
      12/02/2010

      Why not scrap the snowstorm outside, then contrast that with the warmth and coziness of the inside of your home? To me that totally says relaxed. :) Or you could use the crazy whirlwind of snow outside as a metaphor for the busyness of the holiday season... Or even just appreciate the snow for what it is: true winter. I live in Houston, TX and I'd LOVE to have a snow page in my December Daily album! :)

    2. Ann says…
      12/03/2010

      My Dec. 1st started out as a very windy, rainy 65 degrees and ended and 44 (30's with the wind chill) - it was too ugly to photograph, but I have lots to journal for my first day!

  18. LuckyGirlAmy says…
    12/01/2010

    Yippee! December is here!
    We normally put up our Christmas tree the day after Thanksgiving, but this year we were lucky enough to spend Turkey Day in Disneyland, and in all the "return from holiday hub-bub" our tree is still not up! So I am actually excited to be able to document the decorating in my DD album!
    Fa lalalala lalala!

    Reply 1 Reply
    1. jennifer says…
      12/01/2010

      I wasn't planning on starting my DD until the 1st, but we did a bunch of Christmas related things last weekend and I wanted to include them so I started early Nov. 26 to be exact. So, other years when you decorate after Thanksgiving, you can start your DD early like I did. I am loving it so far.

  19. Sally says…
    12/01/2010

    Thanks for the day 1 encouragement Ali! We are recovering from the flu around here - so everything is LOW KEY, and we don't have ANY decorating done yet. Not how I thought we'd be starting out December, but I will just tell THIS story instead! =)

    Reply 0 Replies
  20. annie says…
    12/01/2010

    I'm so thrilled to start working on this! I love those reverb 10 prompts!

    Reply 0 Replies
  21. Carrie/scrapchick says…
    12/01/2010

    Excited! Checking out Reverb! TFS!

    Reply 0 Replies
  22. Paula G says…
    12/01/2010

    Steph - you are SO not alone! Hope that makes you feel better. I know that sometimes when I look at family scrapbooks from others, it seems like everyone's world runs smoother or obstacles get handled better. But then rationally I know that's just not so - it's just easier to scrapbook the good. My daughter has Aspergers and Sensory Processing Disorder,and was diagnosed 2 years ago at age 11. I am still not over the heartbreaking part, yet that is mixed with how much more than ever I love her. So even though it's not the same exact situation, I can imagine how you feel - because my vision of "how things would be" and how they now are don't match. She loves Christmas, but in her own way. Sometimes she can't be as giving as I envisioned, and many activities that most kids love are too overwhelming for her. Sometimes I'm torn between feeling bad that she's "missing out" yet I ponder how can it be missing out if it's something she doesn't want to do? It sounds like you have alot of acceptance along with your frustration, and I wish you much peace and many blessings.

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  23. pam says…
    12/01/2010

    -So excited to start the December Daily digital style. I have no idea what I'm doing, but look forward to the process! Thanks for the reverb 10 prompts...how great are they?!
    Now that my kids are teens and some of that child-like fun has been removed from our holidays I look forward to celebrating even the little things with them.

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  24. Michele H. says…
    12/01/2010

    thanks for the thoughts ali! this is exactly how i want to approach my album this year:)

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  25. Mel says…
    12/01/2010

    Hoorah. December is here. I've had festive overload today with snow, making christmas cards with my niece and playing festive tunes. Been waiting for ages it seems for today and now so many things to write about. Fantastic, thanks Ali.

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