I’m so excited to share my December Daily updates here! I think I’ll be doing them in batches for now, so here’s my first week of December all wrapped up and ready for flipping. Though I haven't done some journaling on some pages (well, okay, in all but one! hahah).
As I’ve written before, this is already my 4th year doing December Daily. You can read about my DD background here! I’m really committed to finishing all the way from Day 1 to 31 because I absolutely love flipping through my past albums. Actually, I love flipping through anything filled with memories - my journals, our 12x12 scrapbooks, the photobooks I’ve made for us before I went on to paper crafting, and of course, my travel journals.
I always imagine future-us, super old and barely going out, curled up on the couch with a cozy drink (or honestly… junk food), flipping through everything I’ve made through the years. That thought alone makes DD worth it.
I’ve seen other people do their DD in small binders and they’re really neat, and part of me wishes I started with one of those. But there’s a different kind of kilig knowing our albums are handmade from scratch. The downside? They’re not as sturdy as store-bought albums, so proper storage is very important.
This year, I’m using Traci Reed’s Make Merry collection for my album, from the base, to the pages, to the decorations. I might sprinkle in a few non-TRD pieces here and there, but let’s be honest… 95% will definitely be Make Merry.
So without further ado, here’s Day 1–7 of our DD!
Day 1
We kicked off December with a grocery run. Yes, scheduled for December 1 specifically for DD content. We are in Saudi! That grocery run is big! hahah! We also went to Starbucks for a drink and my favorite cheese croissant.
For this page, I added:
the Starbucks drink sleeve
our photo
pieces from my advent calendars: The Happy Planner Stickers Advent Calendar + a duck advent calendar from Chummy
and an ephemera that says “Have a cup of cheer” because… perfect.
Day 2
It’s Ton’s promotion “monthsary”! He’s been in his new role for a month now, and he treated his section heads to a thanksgiving dinner.
Later that night, we finished watching The Bear on Disney Channel. And of course, a little fam photo made it into my Day 2 spread.
Day 3
I made tanghulu this day! Grapes and strawberries covered in hard sugar coating since my sweet tooth was calling. I’ve wanted tons of these back in Malaysia but they were pricey, so DIY it is.
We also went out for a stroll because winter nights here are finally cool. We grabbed winter socks for a Cricut KSA challenge, then stopped by The BLK, a nearby coffee shop we discovered last Saudi National Day. The place is nice, the people are nicer, and the prices are the nicest! We ordered cinnamon rolls and one Spanish latte to share… but the Pinoy staff gave us two “para may tig-iisa.” So sweet!
Day 4
Because of that whole latte situation… I stayed awake until 8 AM the next day! Hahaha! That was why we were supposed to have just 1 cup! I binged Netflix while also fixing the packaging of my craft fair projects.
By the time Ton woke up, Lucky was already screaming and biting me, demanding that I sleep. He doesn’t sleep until both of us are asleep and knowing how much he loves sleep, that is love. So the morning was spent sleeping, of course. That's our morning selfie I sent to Ton to tell him we were finally sleeping!
Day 5
We attended Happy Sandscapes’ Karaoke Night at Somerset Al Khobar. The moment Nicole messaged me, I already wanted to go as Somerset (or any Ascott property!) will always have a soft spot in my heart.
Before the event, though, I had a very fun stop: gold shopping! I ended up getting SAR 2,050 worth of discounts (yes, you read that right!) plus a whole bunch of freebies. I got:
a pair of gold earrings (around SAR 50 in value),
two wireless Bluetooth earphones, and
two pretty gold pens!
Definitely a super fun and unexpected shopping experience to kick off the night!
It was also perfect to have a staycation because the next day was the craft fair—no need to drive back to Al Ahsa. For this DD page, I included:
We went with our friend Mark and had such a fun (and kinda loud) night.
Day 6
Twinkle & Sparkle Craft Fair Day!
This day definitely deserves its own blog post, which I’ll link once it’s done.
For now, Day 6’s page features:
a photo of our table, turned into a pocket
more photos tucked inside
and a printed copy of the event pub
Day 7
Gingerbread Day!
We decorated the gingerbread I bought from OMB, one of the vendors from Twinkle and Sparkle. I piped the icing and Ton poured (yes, not sprinkled) the sprinkles.
It was so good, and it made me happy because decorating gingerbread has always been something I’ve wanted to try. I’ve also wanted to make a gingerbread house one day, and it’s definitely in my bucket list. These aren’t really traditions in the Philippines, so they feel extra special.
For this page, I included:
the sparkly snowman ribbon from the gingerbread packaging
a photo of our gingerbread
our little family photo with Lucky
and the OMB branding
I added a doily too because it feels “bake-ish,” and finished with the sentiment “’tis the season.”
And that wraps up Days 1–7 of my December Daily!
I love how cheerful and homey this project already feels.
If you’re also working on your DD this year, and find yourself stuck on what to document, definitely check out Traci Reed’s December prompts! They’re super helpful and inspiring. And of course, take a look at her Make Merry collection, which I’m loving so much for this album!
More DD pages coming soon.
