About December Daily®
December Daily® is a December mini-album project that documents the 25 days leading up to Christmas. The simple goal is to capture the spirit of December via one story per day.
Over the last eight years this project has become one of the highlights of my year and a beautiful community of memory keepers has come together to share their December stories with one another. It's an awesome way to document and celebrate the season.
Check out my December Daily® products here.
Check out all my blog posts documenting my December Daily® projects here.
Click here to read a FAQ and more details about this project.
Do I need to sign up to participate in December Daily®?
Nope! There's no official sign up required. There will be a workshop offered if you are interested in additional information, inspiration and support (details coming soon). In addition, I share all my pages each day on my blog during the month of December.
How do I get ready for December Daily®?
My general recommendation with this project is to set yourself up for success before December. I do that by getting my album and supplies ready usually in October or November. The last few years I've worked from a kit (coming soon) which has made the process of selecting products that much simpler and allowed me to focus more on the words and photos.
What do I need to make a December Daily® album?
- An album. I use December Daily® as a fun opportunity to play with a different sized album. The last few years I've used a 6x8 or smaller album for this project. Remember, my goal is to capture one story per day so a smaller album seems to work just right for the amount of content I want to include.
- Holiday-themed products. Check out my December Daily® kit that includes intentional products selected and designed by me to celebrate and document the season (available for pre-order usually in September or October).
- Camera. I use my iPhone for many of my photos.
- Printer or a way to get your photos printed.
- Some way to make it all stick together: adhesive, stapler, etc.
Do I have to buy a December Daily® kit?
Nope. But I can tell you from experience it's really simplified the process for me.
What stories should I tell?
My December Daily® tells a bunch of different stories over the course of the month. Some of these stories are long and some are short (remember, no rules). Part of my personal process is looking for that one story each day – it might be a conversation I had with one of my kids, it might be putting up our tree, it might be how I'm feeling about the season this year, it might have nothing at all to do with Christmas and might just be about going to the dentist.
Tell the stories that are true to you and your life right now. Capture the season as it evolves one day at a time. It's really a wonderful opportunity to look for beauty in your daily life and give thanks for the whole of it.
What if I don't do anything holiday related on a particular day?
No worries! It's not just about the holidays. Remember what I said above about using December Daily® as an opportunity to document the things you are thankful for this year.
If you want it to be more holiday related one thing you might find is that more than one holiday thing happens on a particular day. You can spread those stories throughout your album and just use them on a different day. The goal is to capture the season as a whole.
Is it okay to just document during December and put the album together at another time?
Absolutely. Let's be real – for many people December is a very busy time of year. Adding on a big memory keeping project might just be the thing that pushes you over the edge. On the other hand it might just be the thing that saves you and helps you focus on what's most important during this season of light. Slow down. Savor. Look for the stories that matter.
The bottom line: make it work for you. Some people like to take photos and write down their stories during December and then do the crafty part in the new year. It's really up to you and I'm here to support you either way. It's a big commitment to work on it during December, for me it's been worth it because by January I'm always ready to move onto something else and put Christmas away again for another year.
What if I want to do more than 25 days?
Go for it! From experience I've found that 25 days is the right amount for me but many people start at Thanksgiving and go through New Years. Again, make it work for you and your stories.