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I’m a big fan of recipe binders and have been sharing them online here since the beginning of the blog – I actually posted my first recipe binder back in 2009. You’re going to love a Holiday Recipe Binder if you have recipes that you’d like to easily refer back to or keep track of. Through the years I’ve updated pages and some details but I love that they are old and quite a few of the recipes go back to when my husband and I were first married over twenty years ago. I also love including copies of family recipes too.
You can see in my Recipe Binder Kit below that I used the tabs included in the kit – I find it necessary in this binder because it’s so much larger and more extensive.

I love the simplicity of a Holiday Recipe Binder – make a decision on how you want to organize it and start to file away these special recipes. Here are a few ideas to get you started:
- Make dividers for each holiday and put them in calendar order, for example: Valentine’s Day, St. Patrick’s Day, Memorial Day, 4th of July, Labor Day, Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year’s, Birthdays.
- Divide it into 2-3 sections: Holiday Main Dishes, Holiday Side Dishes, Holiday Desserts.
- Maybe you just want to do a Birthdays Binder or a Christmas Binder or a Thanksgiving Binder – you don’t have to combine all the holidays into one binder, you could do separate binders for each occasion!
- Just put it all in a binder as you get started and make a decision later on your sections.
When I first started this Holiday Recipe Binder I photocopied the recipes in a holiday color – you can see some red pages from those days. Now I just cut out a recipe from a magazine or print it on white paper from my printer.
Larger recipes are folded in half and occasionally if I have multiple different recipes of the same item I’ll pair them in the same sleeve so I can access them and cross reference the recipe.
Here are a couple supplies I’ve used to make my Recipe Binders:
- Dinner Rotation & Menu Planning Guide Kit
- a binder (or 2 or 3) – similar to what I used
- bookplates – not necessary but cute
- plastic sleeves to put the recipes in – this protects them, but you could omit them and three-hole punch the recipes if you’d prefer
- that stack of recipes that you have in your kitchen cupboard or drawer – put them to use!
- divider pages if you’d like
Do you have a Holiday Recipe Binder?
Lynn Keefer Says...
I have a Thanksgiving-Christmas Binder and a Christmas Cookie Binder. I typically cook the same things for Thanksgiving so that binder also includes a grocery list and a timeline that I print fresh each year. We also have several binders of recipes for various things, soups, entries, salads, etc. much easier than trying to remember which cookbook it’s in!
Christina Says...
I will try a recipe two or three times before it gets promoted to a sleeve protector. It makes it easier to flip through the binder and wipe up any spills or splatters as you cook But there is some nostalgia when I see the spills and creases on recipes as I have tried them, or notes as I’ve adjusted them, as it’s a snap shot of real life in our family.
Clean Mama Says...
Post authorLove that!
Jacqueline Says...
I have several binders for recipes and I also keep a box of recipe cards my mom and grandma wrote by hand, I also complete cards for dinner parties I have hosted. I put date, names of attendees, and menu with recipe references. It’s wonderful to look back at what served. One thought to all the mamas out there. Take the time to hand write some of your kids favorites dishes and treats, and give them as gifts to your children as they leave home. Those handwritten cards are what I treasure the most of every thing I received when my Mom died.
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Cassandra Kettenhofen Says...
Where do you buy your binders? My Martha Stewart binders need to be replaced. After 10 years, I think it’s time to replace them… lol
Thanks,
Cassandra