There’s nothing like a good old fashioned notebook for helping keep your Christmas organising on track.
Don’t get me wrong, I also love apps and spreadsheets for organising on the go and sharing things like gift list ideas with family and friends (check out my post on the best Christmas apps) – but there’s nothing like physically crossing something off my to do list with my favourite pen.
There are loads of planners to choose from, so I’ve had a good rummage through some of the popular planners on the market and highlighted their pros and cons to hopefully save you some time and energy choosing the best one for you!
If you’ve not seen them before, most Christmas planners are fairly cheap to buy and are usually split into sections to help you plan all aspects of Christmas, from decorations and social events to meal plans and presents.
By the way, I’m not receiving any money for reviewing these products – they’re simply Christmas planners I think you might find useful.
Let me know if you use a planner and if there are any others you like!
Joeji’s Christmas planner, Amazon, £9.95
This hardcover planner is both pretty and practical, with handy tabs to help you find what you need quickly and easily.
Fab features include meal plans, recipes, shopping lists, gift and Christmas card lists and pages to help you plan your Christmas budget and spending.
It’s particularly good for keeping track of gift ideas for others in one place with ‘bought’ and ‘wrapped’ tick boxes.
I also love the calendar view for each day in November and December, helping you plan what you’ll do and when at the busiest time of the year. Fantastic for visual task planning!
It’s also eco-friendly as there’s enough space for about three years’ worth of planning in this very handy notebook.
One thing to bear in mind is that, if you’re left handed, the spiral-bound format might make it awkward to use.
Cath Kidston’s Christmas organiser, Amazon, from £35.31
This is a luxury hardback, spiral bound planner with tabbed sections and an elasticated band to keep it closed.
If you have the budget and (like me!) you love beautiful, quality stationery, this could be the perfect planner for you.
It’s made from sustainably sourced paper and has a super gifts section to help you keep track what you’ve bought, including handy ‘ideas for next year’.
If you’re left handed, the spiral-bound format might make it tricky to write in.
The cooks amongst you might like the food section’s conversion tables, including oven temperatures and cooking times for all the traditional festive meats.
It also has a few pages where you can glue in your own recipes from magazines or online recipe sites.
The diary section has a good amount of space for your notes, and there’s a handy pocket in the back cover where you can keep important receipts.
Cath Kidston stickers are also included for helping you flag up your most important tasks and notes – a nice touch!
Briar Holiday Books’ Christmas planner: the ultimate organiser, Amazon, £5.99
I particularly like the first section of this planner as it’s exactly what Christmas Organised is all about.
It’s a Christmas ‘bucket list’ – where you can make a note of the memories and experiences you want to enjoy next December. Love it!
Another nice touch is a section at the end of the planner called ‘favourite holiday memories’, so if you like to look back and appreciate what you enjoyed most, this could be a good planner for you to try.
There are also sections for Christmas cards (sent and received), gift lists, meals and menus, grocery and shopping lists – plus the all-important Christmas budget.
The ‘Christmas countdown checklist’ will appeal to those who like a list of tasks to complete each day of December.
There’s enough space for about eight tasks each day – and a handy page per day for the busiest times: Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and New Year’s Eve.
The ‘online order tracker’ is great for online shoppers who want to keep track of what they’ve ordered and when – and if it’s been delivered.
There’s only space for one year’s worth of planning, so bear in mind that you’d have to buy a new one for each festive season!
Rosewood POD’s My Christmas planner, Amazon, £3.49
Apart from the cover this Christmas notebook is black-and-white and quite basic – but it’s also cheaper than many other planners, so if you’re looking for a budget option this could be the one for you.
It includes a daily tasks planner from late November to early January, making it easy to plan your time and keep track of progress from the run up to Christmas and into the new year.
I found the bullet point Christmas ‘to do’ lists helpful and easy to use.
This paperback notebook can be used for one year of Christmas planning and is great for keeping your notes all in one place.
Molo Stuff’s Gin-gle all the way Christmas planner, Amazon, £6.99
This paperback planner has gift budget pages which link the presents bought and wrapped with the price paid, so it’s easy to keep track of your spending as you go along.
I also like the ‘Christmas thank yous’ page which helps keep track of those all-important thank you notes.
This planner also has a ‘my wishlist’ page which can be used either to list gifts you would like to receive (nothing like a bit of hinting!), or perhaps for a reflective wishlist for the coming new year.
There’s a calendar view section for planning what you’ll do and when, plus an area for meal planning – but bear in mind that the available space for you to write in is very small.
However, most of the sections are repeated, so you could potentially use this for two years’ worth of Christmas organising.
I hope you find these reviews useful – let me know if you have a planner you particularly like and I’ll share it with the Christmas Organised community!
All prices and details are correct at the time of writing (21 April 2021).