I have the pleasure of being a Busy B Ambassador (I’m known as a #BusyQueenB I’ll have you know). This means that myself and a few other fellow stationery tarts/fans/addicts users have the opportunity to receive some Busy B products every month. What do we have to do? We have to write honest and open reviews about the products we are sent. That means that if we love it, we say we love it. If we think something could be improved, we’re going to tell them that too. You know me, if I write a review, I mean what I say. And on that note, let me introduce the Busy B 2018 Family Diary….
Now, I have made four videos to showcase this fab diary. Three were lost when I dropped my phone then stood on it (don’t ask) and the fourth was NEARLY complete when someone called me on my new phone and I managed to delete it. Rather than make you wait any longer, I figured a written review would do the job just as well.
First of all, I am going to struggle to describe to you the quality of this diary as you really need to feel it and see it to appreciate it. I’m really fussy when it comes to paper quality and insist on flawless printing and the Busy B Family Diary 2018 tickets all my QC boxes. If you are new to the brand I have to ask you to just trust me on this one.
The weekly layout of this diary is the real winner. You have a week to view which is split into two pages/two sections. On the lefthand side, you have Your Week. Here you have a section for each day of the week, Monday to Sunday and a handy reminder section that runs the length of the page. On the righthand page, you have Their Week. This page features a grid format for you to use for other members of the family. For me for example, I would have a section for Roy, Kieran and Taylor (for school dates, reminders, appointments etc) and the fourth column I would use as a home planner. Here you’d find home-related reminders for example, “Gas man 4pm” or “Asda shopping 10-11am”, and so on.
The flexibility of this layout is what makes this planner the wonder that it is. You could fill the diary purely with these weekly spreads and it would still be popular. Busy B do however like to spoil us all so other features inside the diary include:
- Spaces for your personal details and your partner’s details.
- Children’s information.
- Useful info (i.e. your dentist, hairdresser etc).
- Contact pages (don’t rely on having all your numbers on your phone. I did and lost them all when I broke my phone).
- Monthly birthday pages.
- A 2018 and 2019 calendar.
- Monthly calendar spreads.
- To do list page
- A 2019 forward plan section
- Notes
- Don’t Forget tear-out sheets (one of my favourite features)
- Pen loop
- Elastic closure
- Document page (for popping paperwork in to keep safe).
Those clever cats at Busy B really have thought this planner through, making it as close to perfect as I’ve ever seen a planner get.
More Busy B Goodies
I was sent two other Busy B products to compliment the diary and they do a fine job of it.
The Busy B Black Rollerball set (two pens) co-ordinates brilliantly and more to the point writes really nicely too. I’m not known for my handwriting (an understatement) however even I manage a pretty decent chicken scratch with one of these in my hand.
The second accessory is these Contemporary Busy B Page marker. On their own, they are great however coupled with this planner they are fantastic. Busy B has left a little slot in the back of the planner so that you may slot these right in, having them safe and sound for whenever you need them.
My Busy B Family Diary 2018 Conclusion
I’m not easily pleased when it comes to planners and so on. I’ve been known to buy a planner, use it a month or two then move onto something else. The problems have always been that they don’t cater for everything in my life (my business, family and home) or/and offer flexibility in how I plan. This ticks both boxes AND it’s gorgeous.
If I was giving this a star rating, this diary would get a 5/5 from me, with the accessories receiving the same.
