49 Days ’Til Christmas – Update Your Holiday Planning Binder

This post is part of the #100DaysTilChristmasChallenge – one small step every day to make the holidays more joyful and less stressful.

We’ve made it to 49 days ’til Christmas, and by now, you probably have a good chunk of your holiday prep underway — menus planned, budgets started, and a binder full of printables (or… maybe a pile of them sitting nearby).

But here’s the thing: a planner can only help if it’s set up in a way that actually works for you.

Today’s challenge is about taking a few minutes to reshuffle, organize, and update your Holiday Planning Binder — your Pumpkins to Presents Planner — so it’s easier to use for the busy weeks ahead.

You don’t need to start from scratch. We’re simply giving your system a refresh — pulling out the pages you reach for most, filing away the rest, and setting up your binder so it helps you instead of hiding under a stack of papers.

Think of it as your holiday planning reset day — a calm, cozy moment to get organized before things really start to speed up.

✨ What You’ll Need to Refresh Your Holiday Planning Binder

Before you start, gather:

• Your current Pumpkins to Presents Planner (or whatever binder you’ve been using)
• Section dividers or tabs
• Sheet protectors (for your most-used pages)
• A hole punch
• Pens, highlighters, and maybe a fresh cup of coffee

The goal today isn’t perfection — it’s function. You’re creating a planner that works with the way you plan now, not how you thought you might back in September.

🎁 Get All the Printables in One Place

All the pages mentioned in this post — from calendars and checklists to the Thanksgiving planner — are available inside the Holiday Hub.
Grab your access and download anything you may have missed so your binder feels complete.

📘 Covers & Overview

Start with the foundation — your cover and overview pages that keep everything cohesive.

🎁 Standalone Printables:

• Pumpkins to Presents Planner Cover
• Holiday Planning Binder Checklist (today’s printable)
• Holiday Calendars (September–December)
• Holiday Bucket List (optional, from earlier in the challenge)

💡 Tip: Keep your Holiday Hub login info or challenge tracker here so everything stays in one place.

📅 Planning & Scheduling

This section holds your big-picture planning and scheduling pages — everything that keeps you ahead of the holiday chaos.

If these pages have gotten mixed together or buried under new notes, pull them out and reorganize them in a way that makes sense now.

🦃 From the Thanksgiving Planner:

• Thanksgiving Details (p. 4)
• Thanksgiving Timeline (pp. 12–13)
• Thanksgiving Checklists (pp. 9–11)
• Weekly Planner (p. 39)
• Thanksgiving Day Schedule (p. 40)
• Thanksgiving Day To-Dos (pp. 33 & 44)
• Our Traditions (p. 49)

🎁 Standalone Printables:

• Holiday Party Planner
• Holiday Crafts Planner

💡 Tip: Place this section directly after your monthly calendars — it’s the heart of your holiday schedule and the part you’ll use most in the coming weeks.

💰 Budget & Shopping

By now, you’ve likely been adding gifts, meal plans, and purchases as you go — so take a few minutes to clean up your budget section. Move outdated notes to the back, file receipts, and update your totals.

🦃 From the Thanksgiving Planner:

• Budget Overview (p. 7)
• Budget Breakdown (p. 8)
• Shopping List (p. 21)
• Kitchen Inventory (p. 25)
• Dinner Inventory (p. 29)
• Turkey Planner (p. 26)
• Portion Guide (p. 19)
• Dietary Restrictions (p. 20)

🎁 Standalone Printables:

• Holiday Budget Planning Worksheet
• Gift Lists
• Family Wish Lists
• Handmade Gifts Planner
• Gift Wrap Inventory Sheet

💡 Tip: Slip receipts or order confirmations into a page protector at the back of this section — they’ll be easy to find for returns or last-minute tracking.

🍽️ Food & Gatherings

If your kitchen pages have become a little chaotic (and whose haven’t?), take this time to reorder them by event or meal type.

🦃 From the Thanksgiving Planner:

• Menu Ideas (p. 15)
• Final Menu (p. 16)
• Recipe List (p. 17)
• Recipe Card (p. 18)
• Potluck Planner (p. 6)
• Cooking & Baking Schedules (pp. 22–24, 42–43)
• Oven Space Planner (p. 41)
• Leftover Recipe Notes (p. 46)

🎁 Standalone Printables:

• Fall Baking Bucket List
• Holiday Menu Planner (if separate)

💡 Tip: Use sticky tabs or divider pages to separate Thanksgiving recipes from Christmas baking. Your future self will thank you in December.

🏡 Home & Traditions

This section holds the cozy side of the holidays — everything from décor ideas to guest lists and family traditions.

Now’s a good time to clear out what’s already done (like your Halloween pages) and move forward with what’s still relevant.

🦃 From the Thanksgiving Planner:

• Decor Planner (p. 28)
• Thanksgiving Table (p. 30)
• Kid’s Table (p. 31)
• Buffet Server Setup (p. 32)
• Hosting Checklist (p. 34)
• Guest List (p. 5)
• Guest Room Checklist (p. 35)
• Fall Cleaning Checklist (pp. 36–37)
• Gratitude List (p. 47)
• Thank You Card List (p. 48)

🎁 Standalone Printables:

• You’ve Been Booed Printable Pack
• Halloween Checklist
• Please Take 1 or 2 Trick-or-Treat Signs
• Mailing Address Printable
• Holiday Card List
• Tradition of Giving Worksheet

💡 Tip: Add a few blank pages or sheet protectors here for keepsakes — notes, family photos, or holiday cards you want to save.

💫 Family Fun & Keepsakes

This section doesn’t need to be perfect — it’s just for fun.

🎁 Standalone Printables:

• Halloween Movie Night Bingo

💡 Tip: Add a pocket or envelope for mementos, like family recipes, notes, or photos. You’ll love flipping through this next year.

🩶 A Binder That Works for You

Take a look at your refreshed planner — everything is in its place, and it finally makes sense again.

This isn’t about making your binder look perfect. It’s about making it useful — a tool you can actually rely on to keep your holidays organized, calm, and joyful.

So take a deep breath, flip through those freshly organized sections, and enjoy that sense of control that only comes from knowing exactly where everything lives.

🌟 Don’t Forget

Head to the Holiday Hub to grab any printables you missed and print today’s Holiday Planning Binder Checklist to keep by your binder.

If you’re following along on social, share a photo of your updated setup using #100DaysTilChristmasChallenge — I’d love to see how your Pumpkins to Presents Planner is coming together.