I’m excited to share about another planner today in my planner review series. I’ve received many requests to review The Happy Planner by me & my BIG ideas (otherwise known as MAMBI) this year. This is a really nice quality planner that is available locally in US craft supply stores at a mid-range price. A variety of planner add-ons and accessories are also available for customizability.
All image sources that are not originally my own photos are from the links provided below. Please be advised that some of the links provided are affiliate links and I do receive a small commission if you make a purchase using those links. This does not cost you any extra when you make a purchase. I very much appreciate your support of this blog in doing so!
The Happy Planner is dated from July 2015 through December 2016. It is disc-bound, making it extremely customizable since the punched paper can easily be removed and then added back into the planner without ruining the pages. The planner comes with eighteen months worth of dated monthly and weekly spreads. It retails for $24.99.
The Happy Planner is available in five cover options plus a recipe edition. While the basic layout of the interior and calendar pages is the same in each planner, the decorative elements, fonts used, and color schemes vary. You can check out The Happy Planner website for videos that showcase each style planner as well as links to blog posts sharing decorated weekly spreads.
I purchased the My Life cover edition of The Happy Planner to review. The Planner covers are made from laminated card stock. These are interchangable thanks to the disc binding system. The covers measure 7.75” wide x 9.75” tall with 7” x 9.25” pages.
The binding system included nine discs measuring 1.25″ in diameter. They have heart cut-outs punched in the center of each for an added decorative touch.
You can purchase expander rings for the planner to accommodate more pages. These rings measure 1.75″ in diameter and are available in four colors, including black, blue, gold, and pink. They retail for $4.99
The interior of the basic planner includes both monthly and weekly calendars. The monthly calendars are tabbed with reinforced, laminated labels for easy access. Each monthly tab coordinates with that month’s color scheme.
The month-on-two-pages spreads are clear with little decoration aside from colors to match that month’s weekly spreads. The weekends are shaded. There is a lined “Notes” section on the left side.
The week-on-two-pages spreads sit between each monthly calendar. The vertical organization includes three boxes per day that are labeled “Morning,” “Afternoon,” and Evening.” Each day is allocated the same amount of space, including the weekends, which are shaded. There is a month-at-a-glance calendar located in the top left corner with a lined “Notes” section underneath it. The bottom of the weekly spreads feature a quote or decorative pattern.
The only other pages included in the planner in addition to the calendars are a cover page in the front, one note page in the back, and next month planning sheets at the end of each month.
I was pleased to discover that I can use my Arc hole punch with this planner since both use a standard 1″ distance between rings. Because of this, I’m assuming you can also use Arc and other disc-style planner items interchangeably with The Happy Planner, depending on the sizing. This opens up a lot of room for further customization and also allows you to make your own inserts and accessories for your Happy Planner.
I like how accessible this planner is as it can be purchased at local craft supply stores as well as online. It’s also available on Amazon. I purchased the Happy Planner shown at my local Michaels craft supply store, which had all but one of the available cover designs in stock in addition to the majority of the accessories and add-ons. I was able to pick up the planner and a ton of accessories for under $100 thanks to a 50% off one item coupon I had that brought my planner price down from $24.99 to $12.50. That’s a bargain!
The accessories are reasonably priced for the quality, ranging from $4.99 to $9.99 with the exception of the box kits.
The current add-ons available include a Six Month Extension Pack, Home Planner, Decorative Planner Covers, Gold Foil Dividers, Pocket Folders, and Note & Graph Paper.
You can also purchase cute and functional accessories such as sticky notes, available in both the Important and Happy collections, that are perfectly sized to work within the planner’s calendars. There are also Red & Teal and Star & Heart notepads that are pre-punched for ease of use. The Inspiration Cards remind me of Project Life cards that are a currently popular trend for planner decoration. I’m sure there are creative ways to turn these embellishments into functional items as well.
There’s also a nice variety of coordinating sticker packs available to use in The Happy Planner. Each pack costs $4.99 and comes with a variety of decorative and functional stickers to personalize your planner.
In addition to these accessories, MAMBI also offers box kits, including two 12-month calendar options (Best Days and Stay Happy), a fitness planner, and a recipe organizer. The calendar box kits come with 12 months worth of undated monthly and weekly calendar spreads, four sheets of stickers, a pocket folder, three magnetic bookmarks, and five sticky note pads for $34.99. This is a nice option if you want an all-in-one kit to customize your own 12-month planner.
I go over The Happy Planner and the accessories I purchased in more detail in this video if you’re interested in a closer look:
It’s giveaway time! I wanted to share The Happy Planner love with you. The Happy Planner Giveaway will run until Monday, October 19, 2015 at 6 PM CT. The giveaway is open internationally. All entrants under the age of 18 must have parental permission to enter. TWO winners will win a Happy Planner and the accessories pictured below:
You can enter by following the directions in the Rafflecopter widget posted below (check out this blog post for more information on entering Rafflecopter giveaways). I’ll announce the winners on THIS blog post and contact them directly through email, as always.
Good luck!
Sometimes Rafflecopter experiences technical difficulties. If you can’t enter for some reason, try again later and it will probably work.
Overall, I am impressed with The Happy Planner, especially considering the quality of the planner and related products for the price. It’s definitely got more of a whimsical vibe, but those decorative elements do not interfere with the structure and functionality of the calendars. The disc binding system makes it extremely flexible and customizable to suit a range of personal preferences.
I hope you enjoyed my review of The Happy Planner. I’ll be back with a couple more planner reviews throughout the rest of the month. I’d love to know if you use this planner and what you think of it if you care to share.
Happy Planning!
* Post contains affiliate links. This is not a sponsored post. All opinions are genuinely my own. *
