December 2025 Holiday Cookies Journal Design
- Simply Jelly Jam
- 5 days ago
- 3 min read
I have cookies on my mind.
Since I am looking forward to eating holiday cookies this winter, I decided to make a holiday cookies journal design theme!
I used archival ink pens, metallic pens, acrylic paint markers, watercolor, gouache (for masking mistakes), paintbrushes, rulers, and pencils (for initial sketches).
NOTE: While the page layouts are like Bullet Journal (BuJo) setups you have seen online, I use this journal as a diary/memory keeper, not for productivity. The BuJo-inspired pages encourage me to make note of the good things in life, even on the worst days.
In case it's helpful, below are the main points covered in this post:
Calendar Overview Pages
Yes, I am craving holiday cookies. No, I choose to believe they are different and significantly better than regular everyday cookies.
In all honesty, I wanted to draw original artwork for the last month's design in this dotted journal. After some thought and an online search for "winter bujo design ideas," I decided on a holiday cookies theme.
I also challenged myself to a limited color palette. I chose to use burnt sienna, pink, light blue, teal, and purple.
I sketched and cutout simple gingerbread people and tree shapes to serve as drawing stencils for my pages. I was not convinced that I could draw these shapes well freehand. Stencils kept my sketches from looking 'wonky.'
Hobbies & Dogs' Pages
I made a few mistakes that I covered up with gouache paint. Acrylic paint would have worked just as well. I just needed something opaque enough to mask my mistakes.
Highlights and Mood Pages
I again opted for a simple round mood tracker design. I then 'cluttered' the page with holiday cookies. I kept the highlights page empty since I will fill it with text throughout the month.
Detailed Info About the Pages
The calendar overview is where I note important dates I want to document in my journal. For example, I will make a short note of something that happened on different days.
I also highlight the best and worst things to happen during the month. I primarily want to document positive things on the decorated pages, but I feel it is also important to document bad things, especially if it is a lesson learned.
While many journal enthusiasts track their habits, I track my favorite hobbies as a reminder to dedicate time for fun. I also track the things I want to do for my dogs to ensure their happiness and well-being.
The hobbies I track are:
art + crafts,
writing, and
gaming.
I also track the following for my dogs:
when they go for a joy ride (their favorite thing to do),
when they go for a long walk,
when I care for their coat with a brush, leave-in shampoo, or bath,
when they receive teeth care with brush chews or teeth brushing, and
when they get to relax with a picnic in the park.
I especially wanted to track my young dog's training progress. We will focus on mastering a few skills. I would love for her to become a Canine Good Citizen one day. Unfortunately, I am horrible with training. We have a long training road ahead of us.
The BINGO game is just a goofy activity to note and track a wish list of things I would like to accomplish during the month.
Every night, I write a line of text highlighting one good thing about the day on the highlights page (left). It forces me to think on the bright side, especially on the most challenging days when my depression hits hard.
I treat my mood tracker page (right) as a coloring page of sorts. Each night, I will color-in a part of an image or shape that represented my overall mood for that day.
What's Next?
Struggling to come up with a theme for your journal design? Find some sticker sheets for inspiration and run with it!
Have you set up your journal design? Comment below to share what theme you went with and the materials you used.
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Thanks, and have a great day!
~Simply Jelly Jam
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