Using Your Planner to Remember Christmas (Not Just Plan It)

Gentle Christmas Planning • memory-keeping permission • simple notes that matter

Most of us pull out our planners in December to keep everything straight.

Who’s coming when. What still needs to be done. What we don’t want to forget.

And I’m all for that. But I also want to say something that might be a little different: your planner can help you remember Christmas too.

Here’s the idea: Don’t just use your planner to manage December. Use it to hold little pieces of it.

Your planner isn’t only for tasks

Somewhere along the way, we got the idea that planners are only for productivity. Checklists. Appointments. Schedules.

But honestly? A planner can be a really sweet place to keep memories too—especially during Christmas. Not in a scrapbook way. Just in a simple, real-life way.

1) Jot the little moments

You don’t need a system. You don’t need special pages. Just write down a few little moments as they happen.

Examples:

• “We watched Christmas movies and nobody fought over the remote.”
• “Hot cocoa night.”
• “Snow started while we were driving home.”
• “That one phone call that made my whole day.”

A sentence is enough. Even a few words are enough. You’re not writing a novel. You’re just keeping a little snapshot.

2) Write down who came over

This is one of my favorite things to record during the holidays: who came by.

It can be as simple as a little list in the margin. Years from now, those names will mean more than we realize right now.

3) Save the funny quotes

Christmas always has those “you had to be there” moments.

Something a kid says. A line someone drops at the table. A laugh-until-you-cry moment.

Easy way to do this:

Put quotation marks in the margin and write it down right then. Later, you’ll read it and laugh all over again.

4) Notice answered prayers

This season can bring up a lot—joy, gratitude, stress, emotions… all of it.

If you notice an answered prayer, write it down. If you feel peace where you expected pressure, write it down. If something turns around that you’ve been carrying, write it down.

Simple ways to write it:

“Thank You, Lord.”

“Prayer answered.”

“Peace today.”

Consider this your permission

If you’ve ever felt like memory-keeping doesn’t “belong” in a planner, I’m saying it does.

You don’t need a separate journal. You don’t need extra supplies. You just need to let your planner hold a little bit of real life.

One day, you’re going to flip back through these pages. And you probably won’t remember the errands.

But you’ll remember the people, the laughter, and the little moments that mattered. That’s a beautiful use of a planner.

Tell me in the comments: What’s one little Christmas moment you want to remember this year?