How to Use a Notebook to Plan the Holidays and Start 2026 Without the

The holidays can be beautiful and loud.

Even when it’s all “good” (family time, dinners, travel, gifting), the season fills your head with open tabs: dates, messages, errands, budgets, expectations. Then January arrives with the classic pressure: new year, new you.

We’re flipping that. No pressure. No reinvention. Just keep going.

A notebook helps with that in the most practical way possible: it gives your life a place to land so you’re not carrying everything in your head, and you’re not trying to “reset” your entire personality on January 1.

Below are simple, real ways to use a Dingbats* notebook to:

plan the holidays without overwhelm
make time for yourself (even in tiny pockets)
quiet the noise when you need it
use the same notebook in different ways depending on your day
keep it useful today, tomorrow, and all through 2026
gift something that actually becomes part of someone’s life

You can also benefit from our bundles here.

Plan your holidays with one “master page”

Holiday stress often comes from mental clutter, not lack of capability.

So here’s your first page, the one that immediately lowers the volume:

The Holiday Master Page

On one spread, write:

Your fixed dates: dinners, travel, school events, deadlines, work closures.
Your top 3 priorities: not the “shoulds.” The real ones, including the tradition you want to keep, and the people you want to see more often.
Your simplify list: pick 3 things you’re not overdoing this year (like cooking Christmas dinner from scratch and attending every event this season)
Your “next right thing”: the one next step (not ten) that currently makes sense.

This page becomes your anchor. Every time the season starts spinning, you come back here. Start today with your Dingbats* Notebook.

Use your Dingbats* Notebook to make time for yourself

You don’t need a 45-minute morning ritual. You need a small, repeatable moment that reminds you: I exist inside this season too.

For example, you can refer to the 3-line “Me Page” to write:

Right now, I feel: ______
What I need (honestly): ______
One kind thing I’ll do today: ______

That’s it. No aesthetic. No pressure. No perfection.

Silence the noise when you need it (the page that saves your evening)

Sometimes you don’t need planning, you need relief.

For example, you can refer to the Brain Dump method when your mind is looping to:

Dump everything in your head...Messy is fine.
Circle 1–3 items of what actually matter today.
Write down the next steps only, not the whole plan.

This is the fastest way to turn overwhelm into clarity. Your notebook is a safe place for reactions you don’t want to turn into consequences.

The best part: a notebook can be used in different ways, depending on your day

One notebook can be a dozen tools. That’s why it stays useful long after the season ends.

For holiday planning

You can make use of the tab key available in our Earth Collection to write:

gift lists + budgets
menus + hosting timelines
travel checklists
“who we’re seeing when” map

For calm + clarity

You can freely use our Wildlife Collection for:

short journaling
reflection prompts
“what I can control” lists
brain dumps

For creativity

You can make use of our 160gsm Mixed Media Paper found in our Pro Collection notebooks for:

sketches, concepts, moodboards
writing drafts
idea collecting (books, podcasts, conversations)

And of course, you can choose any notebook you prefer to keepsake your memories, including holiday highlights, travel notes, and family traditions.

Why notebooks are the optimal choice today, tomorrow, and throughout 2026

Today: it reduces mental load and gets the tabs out of your head.
Tomorrow: it helps you make decisions because when you write, you sort out your thoughts, hence making you choose better.
Throughout 2026: it creates continuity since you will always be thinking, planning, or processing.

Your life won’t reset neatly on January 1 and having a Dingbats* notebook keeps the thread, so you’re not starting over every time things get busy.

No pressure. No reinvention. Just keep going.

Three simple pages to start 2026

Page 1: The “Keep Going” page

I’m continuing: ______
One small thing I can do this week: ______
What I’ll call ‘enough’ today: ______

Page 2: Evidence I’m showing up

Add anything real, even if it’s small, like: “I kept my promise to myself twice this week.” And "I worked out twice this week."

Why gifting a notebook (to yourself or someone you love) matters

Most gifts are opened once. The best ones are used. A notebook is one of the rare gifts that becomes part of someone’s everyday life:

a place to plan
a place to think
a place to remember
a place to reset without drama

Gifting it to yourself is just as meaningful

It’s a quiet way of saying:
“I deserve tools that support my life, not just things that look good for a moment.”

And gifting it to someone else says:
“I believe in what you’re building.”
“I want you to have space for yourself.”

That’s a big message in a small object.

How to Use a Notebook to Plan the Holidays and Start 2026 Without the Pressure