Happy Notebooking Month: Top Ten Ways to Celebrate!

It’s time to celebrate. National Notebook Day is the third Thursday in the month of May and it’s been officially celebrated since 2016. That means this year it’s May 21, 2020. I know lots of people who extend holiday celebrations, don’t you? I mean the stores always have decorations out months in advance! My mother celebrates the entire month of August for her birthday. That's where I got the idea to declare May- Notebooking Month! For this entire month, you get to celebrate everything that is “notebook”. 

There’s a lot to celebrate in the world of notebooking and there are the top ways we can celebrate! I’m sure you can think of more and if you do, please share your ideas.

10. Exchange notebooking gifts. 
Find other notebookers and arrange a gift exchange. Buy a lovely notebook, find the perfect pen, stickers, washi tape, or even a book to inspire the notebooking. Wrap up the gift and share it with your favorite notebooker. 

9. On the actual DAY, have a notebooking party! 
Parties are the best! We’ve celebrated in class before with lots of fun notebook pages and sharing and snacks, of course, snacks! Have your own party! Everyone must bring their notebook. Be creative. Have fun! Celebrate!! And then notebook about it. 

8. Begin a daily notebooking ritual.
The best way to celebrate is to show up to the page. Open your notebook every day in the month of May. Be reflective. Think about the routine or ritual you’ve created- or the one you’d like to create- around your notebooking time. Consider when and where you’ll notebook. Which tools will you require? 

7. Reflect and reread past notebooks.
For those of you who are already notebookers, take time and reread a notebook. Go back to the beginning. Pay attention. Look for trends. What did you write about? What can you learn from your notebook pages? While I’m creating my pages, I rarely love them, but when I go back after time has passed, I usually find pages I love. What do you love? What do you want more of? How can you continue your notebooking? What will you change? Enjoy this journey into the past. 

6. Find your preferred notebook.
Take some time and really consider what kind of notebooks you prefer: lined pages, blank pages, or dotted. Do you like larger notebooks or smaller and what about the cover and bindings? Hard cover or soft, spiral bound or not? There’s so much to consider. Look around and find the best kind of notebook for yourself. Splurge. Treat yourself to a brand new notebook!

5. Now the pens.
Once you have the perfect notebook, finding just the right pen becomes your new quest. Ink or gel pens? Maybe you prefer writing with a pencil? I like writing with markers and gel pens. Stabilo and InkJoy are two of my favorite brands. Go pen shopping! The right writing utensil can make all the difference. ​

4. Take time to put photos and ephemera into your notebook. 
I have a pile of photos and stuff that I’m saving to put into my notebook. It seems like I can never find just the right time. Set aside some time and make those notebook pages with the photos and memories that you want to save. Add stickers or washi tape. Allow yourself time to be creative in the pages of your notebook. What a gift to yourself!

3. Use your notebook in a new way. 
Open your notebook to write. Do you have your pen ready? OK, before you write, turn your notebook upside down. Write in your notebook upside down or sideways. Write on the page in a spiral. There’s something about changing your perspective that’s fun. You’ll see it in your writing for that day. It will have a different feel. Play with your notebook!

2. Go on a notebook outing.
Natalie Goldberg started something called Writing Marathons. Inspired by that idea, grab your notebook and write in the wild. Go to a local park and find a spot to write. Bring your notebook to a pub and write while you enjoy a sandwich. The possibilities are endless. Observe your surroundings. Listen. Write! Invite a friend to join you on this adventure!

1. Invite someone to notebook with you.
Being a notebooker is good, inviting others to join you on the journey makes it better. You can invite a younger writer to join you and spend time notebooking together or invite a friend, who already notebooks, out for coffee and bring your notebooks. You can join a notebooking group and find other notebookers too, like #100DaysofNotebooking!

However you decide to celebrate, make sure you take some time to write in your notebook. You are a notebooker! Happy Notebooking Month!!!