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How do you keep track of birthdays, anniversaries...
and other occasions that you want to send cards for? I am looking for a template to keep all of these dates in a binder and also to keep track of cards that I've made/sent.
I dont have a template but I bought my box at Target. It has file folders that categorize by Months then have extra folders for thank you's, anniversaries, birthdays etc. I LOVE LOVE LOVE mine!
I keep my names and dates in a Word file then just access it towards the end of a month and print out the ones for the following month. I don't bother trying to keep track of which cards I send with one exception. I have a card that I love to send to men that has some playing cards on the front so I try not to send that to the same men each year.
I made the Birthday Book from the Templates for the names and dates. I have a spreadsheet on the computer with the names I give my cards and a little picture. Then I put in the names of who received that card.
Every year I make a calendar using the MS Word calendar wizard and then I put in the birthdays. I update it with holidays from my freebie Hallmark little calendar book. I add some cute clipart, staple it, and keep it on my desk. I also send it to my family so they have a copy.
I'd rather have a program that tracks the dates for me and lets me print a calendar, but so far I don't really like the way the programs work so I stick with the wizard from Word.
I've attached the 2010 calendar - it's just the plain calendar - I haven't added holidays.
I made this neat little project for my sister who has trouble remembering dates (that runs in the family). It's a large tin with dividers by month that have a birthday calendar. Cards (both homemade and storebought since she's not a stamper) slide behind the tab. She loves this and says it really helps her keep track....
__________________ Anjou My Gallery * My Blog - Dreaming in Color "Don't be afraid of the space between your dreams and reality. If you can dream it, you can make it so." - Belva Davis
I like a hard copy, so I printed a blank calendar 12 times, filled in the month and numbers, and I write each person's bday and the year of birth in the box (or anniv and year of wedding).
Then each month I can go to the next month and pull out all the cards for the next month, or make a list of what to make.
Just reading the boards. I keep a list in an Excel worksheet by month. I then put the name and date I need to get the card in the mail on a post-it and put it up on my desk door. That way it is in front of me all the time. After I get the card made and in the addressed envelope I put the stickie on the front of the envelope until I mail it. It all works well for me. I like having a master list in the computer on a spreadsheet because it is easy to look things up with the find option.
__________________ Did you know nearly 1 in 2 Americans live with chronic illness? chronic illness?
I actually use blank index cards in a recipe box. I write the name, birthday/anniversary & address on the card then file them by month.
Every time I make cards for birthdays, etc., I know what birthdays are coming up that need cards and the addresses are right there! I have a "finished cards" box and use stickies to mark the mailing date and check it often for cards that need to be mailed.
Before sending cards, I always scan or photograph them and keep them on a flash drive under the person's name so if I want to look back, I have a record and don't repeat a card (yes, that HAS happened!).
Another person who just uses Birthday Alarm. It's free and it will send you reminder emails in advance, however many days you want to be warned that a birthday is upcoming.
__________________ Lyssa Griffin Zwolanek, Gold EliteSong of My Heart Stampers14-time incentive trip earner
My method is really simple... I have a list of names, occasions and dates in an excel file sorted by date. I print it out at the beginning of the year and put it on the refrigerator. After I send out a card I highlight that line. Each year I update the list and reprint.
At the end of they year I make sure I go pick out a pretty calendar and transfer all the names from one year to the next. It's a nice reminder and brings back lots of memories when I write eah name on my new calendar. I have a HUGE immediate family (there are about 50 of us) and its nice to see whose birthdays/anniversaries fall into the months with the prettiest pictures. My wonderful mother supplied me with the days and even the years that everyone was born or married. It's helpful figuring out how old someone is and when they got married.
__________________ Bibby
'93, '07 Mount Aloysius College Alumni
At the end of they year I make sure I go pick out a pretty calendar and transfer all the names from one year to the next. It's a nice reminder and brings back lots of memories when I write eah name on my new calendar. I have a HUGE immediate family (there are about 50 of us) and its nice to see whose birthdays/anniversaries fall into the months with the prettiest pictures. My wonderful mother supplied me with the days and even the years that everyone was born or married. It's helpful figuring out how old someone is and when they got married.
This is basically what I do. Since I am a teacher, it is one of my vacation activities. I take the new calendar and add all of the names. Rather than the year of birth, I have the age they are turning, so I just add 1 when I do the new calendar.
However, I think that birthdayalarm.com sounds great, so I'll be checking it out soon!
I found a template on a website (don't remember the name) several years ago. I have 2. 1- is for christmas cards where I can put the name, address ect; 2- is for birthdays and important holidays and dates. I printed out about 10 of the X-mas one and just stapled it together- I use it every year. The birthday/holiday one I printed out 5 sheets of- I have places for name and age or DOB and reason/reason and I check it off as I have them done. When the cards are made for these holidays I have a large card box sorted by both Months of year and holidays and I placed the finished cards in there and I have a smaller card box sorted for all the extra cards I make each year- these are sorted just in a couple catagories like love, male, female, just because.
I wish I remembered the website but I don't. I have saved copies of this template on a CD. This has worked very well for me. I keep these booklets stapled and on a pegboard in my craft room.
My mom uses a calendar she purchases every year and updates. It works well for her.
Years ago I got a card organizer from Hallmark that is a big box. It has folders for each month, with places to write names/dates on each so I can always tell when a birthday or anniversary is coming up. It also has folders for general occasions - birthdays, thinking of you, get well soon, etc. When I make a card that I think will be perfect for someone, I put it in their month's folder and can grab it when I am ready. Otherwise, I raid the section for my other cards to make a choice. It is also a good way to keep all of my leftover Christmas/Halloween/etc. cards for future use.
Thank you stamphappy1650, that is a great template, I am now printing it out on about 100#CS and going to use my neew zutter to add the coils. I usually take time before the New Year to add all the dates to my kitchen desk calender and I am able to keep track of the pertinent dates. This one should be perfect and not at all flimsy,tfs.
You are wanting a perpetual calendar template for your binder. The problem I have with most of the templates is that they give one line per day. I don't know about you but in my life for some reason I tend to have several family and friend's birthdays/anniversaries on the same dates. So I would want at least three lines for each date if I were hand writing them in.
However, if you want to update every year and keep it tidy you should be able to do it in Excel and add in dates as necessary etc.
I actually use blank index cards in a recipe box. I write the name, birthday/anniversary & address on the card then file them by month.
Every time I make cards for birthdays, etc., I know what birthdays are coming up that need cards and the addresses are right there! I have a "finished cards" box and use stickies to mark the mailing date and check it often for cards that need to be mailed.
Before sending cards, I always scan or photograph them and keep them on a flash drive under the person's name so if I want to look back, I have a record and don't repeat a card (yes, that HAS happened!).
This is a brilliant idea!! I would have my box without a lid so I could easily see the next date coming up. When I sent out that card all you have to do is rotate the card to the back of the box. And with this system it would be very easy to add cards.
What I like most about this idea is that the address is right on the card so you don't have to get the address book to complete the envelope. It is all right there for you.
This is a brilliant idea!! I would have my box without a lid so I could easily see the next date coming up. When I sent out that card all you have to do is rotate the card to the back of the box. And with this system it would be very easy to add cards.
What I like most about this idea is that the address is right on the card so you don't have to get the address book to complete the envelope. It is all right there for you.
Going to have to get right on this...
I too love this idea and am going to get the cards tomorrow xx jo xx
I really liked the rolodex birthday/anniversary organizer that I saw on the gallery a few days ago. Sorry I don't have a link. The tabs were divided by months with a card for each day of the year.
I use Google Calendar--at the start of each month I look to see what I need to make cards for that month and go from there...I love it because I can access it from anywhere. I also use it for reminders on my dog's medicines, work appointments, hair appointments, etc. It's great and it's free!
I made a sign and posted it above my table! Really. It's a cute little sign, and it says, "Young at Heart" and has little hearts on it.
I used the computer to print out everybody's name and birthdate (including year if I have it,) and that has helped a LOT!
Before I started doing this I tried to use a binder. It was all organized and everything, I just neglected to open it. This way it's on my wall!
I just type all of them out in chronological order on a sheet of paper; not a calendar or anything. This way I don't have to keep redo-ing it every year. Every once in a while I'll glance at it to see what card I ought to make next.
Each year at Christmas, one of my brothers-in-law gives each household a calendar for the upcoming year with bdays and anniversaries. I hand write dates for my side of the family...then check things off as they are mailed. I never worry about duplicates, since I rarely mass produce the same bday card. The book is nice, but I do plan on transferring the info to an Excel spreadsheet. I have a spreadsheet for the "Challenge Chasers" here on SCS. I can print off labels if needed (at Christmastime)...or sort the data by birthday to see whose is coming up. My second spreadsheet page has columns for each month where I list when I send cards to whom (i.e. bday card to one person, get well to another). I really like how this has worked, so doing the same for family will be a plus in 2010.
...and I may check out birthdayalarm.com too. All the organizational tools in the world become pointless with my flimsy memory! I cannot count how many belated bday cards I have sent!! LOL!!
__________________ Kim in Illinois, Dirty Dozen Alum, QFTD#207, FS798, VSN Moderator, Weekly Sketch Challenge Team
I have tried almost every method and my favorite that I have been using for many years now is my cell phone. Most of them have calendars that you can sync to your computer. Blkberry uses MS Outlook. When I got my first phone I entered all BDs, anniversaries, and special days. I use the 'repeat yearly' option. Then I set a 3 day reminder for each so I have time to make a card and get it mailed on time. To keep track of people's ages I write the year of their birth. It looks like this:
Chris K (1975) that's for BDs. For anniversaries it looks like this: Jim & Denise (1977)
Then I make it an 'all day event' so it is always at the top of the day. I never have to update unless there is a birth, divorce or death because it rolls over year after year.
This has been a no fail system for me for a long time. I used to have a calendar that I would re-write all the special dates on during the Christmas holidays. But that was too much work. The other good thing about this is that if something should happen to my phone OR my computer I still have a back up on the other. Painless!
As far as keeping track of which cards I send to people: I take a photo of all my cards and keep them on my computer. They are listed as "Birthday", "Get Well", "Anniversary" etc. So the title of the card would be: "Birthday Chris 09", or "Anniversary Heidi Mark 09". Then all the birthdays are together and likewise the other occasions. If I send the same card to more than one person it would be, "Birthday Chris 09, Mike 07". Works well for me.
One more person for the wall calendar!! I like to do this every year. Add new aniversaries, and b-days. It's a little cumbersome, especially in this electronic age, but I like it. Plus I'm a visual person.
jennik
I use my hotmail calender, it sends you reminders, and you can store addresses and special notes as well. I also have a birthday book that is similar to an address book that I can look up.
does anyone know of any software or any site where I can input all the birthdays, anniversaries, etc and it will print out the months with all the data on them each year? This would save having to re-write each year. I've looked for this before and have been unable to find it. Thanks.
does anyone know of any software or any site where I can input all the birthdays, anniversaries, etc and it will print out the months with all the data on them each year? This would save having to re-write each year. I've looked for this before and have been unable to find it. Thanks.
Or does anyone know how to do this with word (mail merge?) or excel? Either of those would work too. I just don't know how to do it and I'm hoping someone out there has figured it out already.
Or does anyone know how to do this with word (mail merge?) or excel? Either of those would work too. I just don't know how to do it and I'm hoping someone out there has figured it out already.
Honestly, I am working on it (and have been since I saw this thread) I have the basis of a template in Excel, but need to tweak it a bit if you can wait a couple of days. Excel isn't something I excel at.
I made this neat little project for my sister who has trouble remembering dates (that runs in the family). It's a large tin with dividers by month that have a birthday calendar. Cards (both homemade and storebought since she's not a stamper) slide behind the tab. She loves this and says it really helps her keep track....
I need to do SOMETHING, just haven't yet. Thanks for all the great ideas! Wall calendars don't work for me because I always miss those bdays or anniversaries that fall the first few days of the month. I have October showing on the calendar all month, but if someone's bday is Nov 1, well, no chance to get a card in the mail in time! I've even lost track of my own wedding anniversary as it's June 2! lol
Gotta get going on some kind of box/list/perpetual calendar!
thanks again for great ideas everyone!
__________________ "If only there were some kind of giant world wide river of information, available at any time to anyone in the world who has the right equipment, that is relatively easy to use, and available at a nominal expense.......but where would we get such a thing?" Brian Nelson
Close to My Heart makes a really nice perpetual event calendar. Last year I stamped each page with an appropriate image and then put in all the family dates and gave it to Mom for Christmas. She loves it- it hangs in her kitchen and she never misses a birthday or anniversary now.
I use Google's calendar and have it synced to my iPod Touch. I have it set up to remind me one week in advance. In the title of the event, I include in parenthesis the birth year or wedding year so that I can keep track of the age or how long a couple has been married.
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How do you keep track of birthdays, anniversaries...
