What to do as a family in December

December goes by faster than any other month: between work, presents and the tree it is over before the family notices it happened.

So it is worth writing down in advance — otherwise all that is left is the rush and the last night of the year. The three plans below are three different Decembers: the house, the street and the presents.

Three plans for December

Each one opens in full: the weeks, a project for everybody in the family, the goal of the month. Any of them can be rewritten for you and printed on two A4 sheets.

• Cosy MonthWhich small thing changed the house the most?Week 1 Fixing what has annoyed us for monthsWeek 2 Buying what was missing: a lamp, a shelfWeek 3 Decorating: windows, the tree, the lightsWeek 4 An evening in: candles and a Christmas filmGet the flat to a state where we want to stay in it for the holidays.

  Fixing, buying what was missing, decorating for the holiday — and staying in.

• Winter Fun MonthWhat turned out to be the best fun of this winter?Week 1 Skates: onto the ice, the whole familyWeek 2 Sledges: hunting the best hill aroundWeek 3 A snow fort in the yard, the whole yardWeek 4 Fireworks on New Year's night — off we goSpend December outside, not at the window: ice, hill, fort and fireworks.

  Skates, the best hill around, a snow fort and the fireworks on New Year's night.

• Presents for EveryoneWhich present was the best one to give away?Week 1 Making family cards for every relativeWeek 2 A secret Santa inside the familyWeek 3 The wish tree: a stranger child's letterWeek 4 Thanking the cleaner, the porter, the doctorMake the presents by hand and give them to more than our own.

  Cards for the family, a secret Santa, a wish-tree letter and a thank you.

How it looks on paper

Each plan prints on two A4 sheets. Open an example, change it for your family and print it — moods, progress and notes are filled in with a pen.

Build your own December

If none of them fits, build your own: the theme of the month, four weeks and a project each. It prints the same way — two pages, and onto the fridge.

Other families put their seasons up too — there are more on the showcase.