I finished my December Journal a couple of days ago but only just took some photographs before putting it away with the other memories of Christmas past.

I made it 6 x 6 this year, really simply.  I didn’t feel the need to fuss or over-prepare and I resisted the urge to get caught up in all the online hype.  I wanted to do what I do in my own way, because that meant I knew I’d complete it! 

The first couple of pages use images cut from catalogues/magazines.  The White Company played right into my hands by including a 6 x 6 star on the front of the catalogue which arrived as I was working on the first pages and it seemed too good to leave out.  Above was the front page of a brochure I picked up in Berlin and showed the window display of a shop we visited.  I was going to use my own photo but then soon realised that their commercial one was better than my ham-fisted effort!

I try to include stories which are not told elsewhere but clearly, there are some similarities to photographs included in my December blog posts.  I know that I’ll look back at this page and gasp “Good grief, in 2015 I had all my cards made by the 2nd!”.  The 3rd tells the story of my WI Christmas lunch but behind the flap is a reminder that before that, most of us had been to the funeral of our friend’s husband.  I frequently add hidden stories and photographs like that.

I hang onto jolly pieces of post like this one from my Canadian friend Nadine to stuff them with bits of paper and there’s always a post about the Stuart Singers Christmas concerts as well.  Time to get out that musical washi tape and yes, behind that ticket are a few thoughts about the event!

I’m not sure the “walnut whip page” works very well design-wise and were I starting afresh, I’d not cut the circle on which to write the story.  I don’t really know why I did, but hey ho!  Done is better than perfect.  I not only forgot to take a photo on the 15th but didn’t pick up a menu or anything whilst I was out either, so relied heavily on ephemera from my collection.

Daylesford provided the picture for this page – or rather, I really liked their marketing campaign this year and was glad to be able to cut this particular image down to 6 x 6.  I posted the little paper ornament to facebook but still wanted to include it here and was glad that it fitted into that corner.

I’m seldom stuck for something to include, though it’s sometimes tricky to make this year’s pages different from last years, especially when we are doing much the same things.

So there we are, finished. A straightforward story of a straightforward Christmas.  None the worse for that – in fact, the lack of drama and crisis is a relief and the story of routines and traditions is definitely a comfort.

It’s even better seen from the clean start of a new year, too.