Time once again for one of my favorite posts of the entire year. I need one calendar for the kitchen, one for next to my computer, one for Elizabeth’s room, one for each of the two boy bedrooms, and possibly one for Paul’s office. One thing that’s interesting this year is that we switched the boys’ rooms around: last year we had a big and a little in each room, leading to difficult calendar-choosing; this year the bigs are in one room and the littles in another, which I hope will make things easier. Another thing to consider is that if all goes according to plan, partway through the year Rob will be leaving his room and going somewhere he may not even WANT a wall calendar.
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Every Day’s a Holiday. This one was a finalist last year for one of the boy rooms. I am torn about whether or not I can stand to have a child tell me every day that it is National Moose Day, or National Handkerchief Day, or whatever.
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Do It All, Secret Garden. For the kitchen calendar, I definitely want a good picture: I don’t want one of those calendars that sacrifices the picture for more writing room. But…..I also like lots of writing room, so. This one has a small strip of picture, plus extra writing room, plus a pocket at the bottom for things like party invitations.
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Masha D’yans. Pretty and sweet. I consider it each year, and have not yet chosen it.
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Lang Around the World. I dig the moody, rainy, international vibe. I dig less the smaller writing squares.
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Farmer’s Market. I had this one year and liked it so much that Paul bought me two prints by the artist.
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Rigel Stuhmiller’s Farmer’s Market. Another farmer’s-market-based calendar, but in bolder colors.
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Surrealscapes. I don’t like surrealism, but the older boys do and might want this for their room.
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Master of Illusion. We had this in one of the boy rooms one year and it was popular.
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Goats in Trees. Immediate reaction: YES. Second reaction: But for twelve months?
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Trees. Maybe I want just the trees, sans goats. There is something enduring and above-it-all about a tree.
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Wolf Kahn. I like the look of this, and also the description of it as tranquility in violent colors. But so many of the pages look basically the same: whole bunch of thin trunks.
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Fractal Cosmos. Contender for bigger boys’ room.
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Tiny Houses. I would not want to LIVE-live in a tiny house, but I would like one just for me in my back yard.
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Fantastic Cities: A Coloring Calendar. As of posting, this is only $2.42, perhaps because so many people thought what I thought, which was “Oooo, I would LOVE this, if someone ELSE would color it for me!” Then I thought, maybe I could put a keyrack next to it, with colored pencils tied (or super-glued) to strings attached to each hook, and we could all work on coloring it throughout each month? That might be fun.
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A Colorful Year. This one isn’t as cheap, but has the advantage of variety: I’m not sure I’d want to color cities all year long.
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Feathered Friends. Jess thought I would like this one and she is very correct. Top contender.
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Hamilton. I suspect a TON of people will have this calendar next year.
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Super Mario Bros. Contender for the littler boys’ room.
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Pusheen. We had this one in the kitchen just a couple of years ago, but I think I’d be ready to see it again. We all liked it so much. Or maybe it would be a good one for Elizabeth’s room.
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Hot Dudes Reading. Well…OKAY!
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Unlikely Friendships. In the right mood, this kind of thing can fill me with teary hope for all of humankind.
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The Art of Brushstrokes. Looking at the back of this one gave me a pleasantly doped feeling, so this is definitely a contender.
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On This Day in History. This is one both older boys wanted last year, but neither younger boy wanted it. I might want it for the kitchen this year, for the perspective. But perhaps that would be grim.
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Fat Cats. Contender for Elizabeth’s room. She appreciates a nice fat cat.
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A Walk in Paris. This is so charming. And you know, I think fully half of the appeal is the title. If they’d just called it Paris, I would have scrolled (strolled) right past. But A WALK in Paris is lovely.
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New York in Art. I love this idea. Frequently I will like an artist but not enough to have that same artist up all year. This is all different artists. I wish I felt more of a connection to New York.
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Steal Like an Artist. I think Rob would like this one. Each month has a drawing/saying for anyone working on a project—it doesn’t have to be art.
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Codex Seraphinianus. You have got to look at the back of this calendar. I think I should get this for the older boys’ room, or for Paul’s office: they all really liked the book.
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Modern Art. A nice assortment, but it seems as if there are always a couple of pages I actively don’t want.
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World Travel Classic Posters. I love this style, and I’m in the mood for something international. Scroll down to the “Customers who bought this also bought…” section for a lot more options with this same look.
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Pets Rock. Guinea. Pig. Pope.
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Brady Bunch. So first of all: no. But I find I am happy it exists.
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Bloom County. Oh, I am SO pleased to see this. I had a Bloom County calendar in high school. I think this might be the winner for next to my computer.
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Art of the Heart. I am usually take-it-or-leave-it about Heartsy McLoveLove stuff, but this year I’m into it.
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Blue and White. I love this idea. I would love to see more calendars in other color combinations.
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Cats in Color. Strong contender for the kitchen (everyone would like it) or Elizabeth’s room.
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Albino Deer. This is so surprisingly specialized.
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Embroidered Nature. These pictures are of things made with EMBROIDERY.
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Plastic Classics. Artworks recreated with found plastic objects. It seems to me there are more than the usual number of interesting ideas for calendars this year.
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Mid-Century Modern Wallpaper. I’ve twice had a vintage-wallpaper calendar, and both times found it very satisfying.
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Prints and Patterns. This is similarly appealing, but less vintage.
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As usual, I long for you to tell me about the calendars you have purchased, or will purchase.
I love the travel posters calendar. That might be a contender for me.
I’m leaning heavily toward an Edward Gorey calendar for this year, but I’m not 100% sold. I love his artwork, but some of the pages might be a bit meh or a bit too out-there for me.
I’m also considering a Charley Harper calendar, but again, I don’t love the artwork for every month.
(Also, my family and I went to an art museum on a vacation this year, and I didn’t get to see the Edward Gorey OR the Charley Harper exhibits and I’m still bitter about it. Perhaps having a calendar would help with the bitterness. Or maybe it would make it worse. Who knows.)
I’m also thinking about one of those paint-chip calendars, where each day’s square is a different color and the whole month forms a color scheme or gradient of some sort. They’re very simple, which could lead to one of two things: I wouldn’t get sick of it as quickly, or I’d get sick of it right away.
I am feeling that SAME DILEMMA about the paint-color calendars!
I *almost* want to get two calendars: the paint-chip one for actually keeping track of dates, and another one just for the artwork. That might be a bit too much calendar for me, though.
I had the paint chip one this year and I (mostly) loved it. It was beautiful to look at and I didn’t have any of the ‘man, I have to look at this for a whole MONTH’ feelings that I sometimes get with regular picture calendars. A couple of things I didn’t love: apparently I have visceral feelings about which months should be which colors and the calendar didn’t always match up. Ex. September was gray, which is just wrong. September is FALL! It should be reds and oranges, not gray! February should be reds, for Valentine’s Day! (it is possible this is a gripe specific to me…)
I also found that in some of the months (the blues and purples in particular), the darker color gradients were just a little too dark. I could still read it with no problem if I was up close, but from a few feet away it was hard to tell if anything had been written in or not and it had me doing doubletakes, like “wait, I thought we had a thing on Saturday?”…moves closer…”oh yeah, there it is!” But all in all, not a huge deal…
Oh, that would bother me too! February MUST be reds/pinks! September should not be grey!
I got a Tiffany calendar. I’m quite looking forward to using it – the pictures on the back look so pretty. https://www.amazon.com/Tiffany-2017-Square-Flame-ST-Glitter/dp/1783617438/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1482368754&sr=1-2&keywords=tiffany+calendar+2017
I also got a Metropolitan Museum of Art page a day calendar, since I figured I could do with some culture.
https://www.amazon.com/Art-Days-Masterpieces-2017-Calendar/dp/1419721623/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1482369071&sr=1-1&keywords=metropolitan+museum+of+art+calendar+2017
And a friend gave me a calendar she made from pictures she took during the year, so I am slightly over-calendared, since I only use them at my desk at work.
We use the calendar the alumni association from our college sends every year (we’re members). It’s mostly nature/campus-without-people pictures, which is just what I want in a calendar.
I love to look at all your choices, though, and am very glad I read this post tonight! At only $2.42, I decided to order one of the Fantastic cities calendars for each of us as a stocking stuffer. With Prime, it arrives on Saturday. The kids will probably hang theirs up off and on in their rooms – other than that we’ll just have coloring parties and keep them in a drawer.
Ella had the holiday calendar last year and Charlotte liked it so much that this year SHE has it. Ella has Hamilton, but Lorelei went with a nice standby: Harry Potter.
We also have 2 word-of-the-day calendars – one in Spanish and one in English.
We are moving offices in March to a place with no assigned seating and I am so bitter I can’t have a wall calendar. I love seeing all of these and pretending though.
Your calendar post helps me every year! Last year I went with the bicycle one and it was amazing. This week I walked into a bookstore and saw the perfect one: Hedgehogs!
https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B01F5BV962/ref=mp_s_a_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1482375719&sr=8-2&pi=SY200_QL40&keywords=hedgehogs+calendar&dpPl=1&dpID=61WzPtxsrXL&ref=plSrch
I considered many on your list before deciding on mine, and a few on your list I only WISH I’d seen beforehand! I get antsy if new calendars aren’t in hand WELL before the New Year. (My planner pages I buy in October!)
This year, Day of the Dead for my office (looooove all the different interpretations!) https://smile.amazon.com/Day-Dead-2017-Wall-Calendar/dp/1631361333/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1482385601&sr=8-2&keywords=day+of+the+dead+calendar
This fun chalkboard-y one for the kitchen, where it will hang on a pantry door we are about to paint with chalkboard paint. https://smile.amazon.com/Cooking-Love-Provides-2017-Calendar/dp/B01LPJXPP6/ref=pd_sbs_229_11?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=52JT08GY8B63T6PASWF5
Now I want to buy another for my husband’s office-iin-the-basement, just to pick another!
I just bought that chalkboardy kitchen one on your recommendation! Thank you!
Oh! And! At Book Club on Monday, one gal gifted us each with a copy of the “Hot Dudes Reading” calendar, and we laughed and laughed and laughed.
I am re-gifting mine to my newly-divorced sister.
As follow up to my last comment, I’m looking the Code calendar for husband’s office, even though it makes me nervous and sweaty to look at. I think he might enjoy puzzling them out (assuming that’s even what it is? Puzzling them out?)
I get the same calendar every year, the “Women Reading” calendar. It is a collection of art depicting women reading, and I love it every year. The one year my husband forgot to get it for me and I had to have something else, I think I felt off all year. https://www.amazon.com/2017-Reading-Woman-Wall-Calendar/dp/0764972901/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1482413564&sr=8-1&keywords=women+reading+calendar
We only have on calendar in our whole house but after reading through these, I kind of want on in every room.
And for the record, your comment about the Albino Deer calendar made me literally laugh out loud.
I always get the Paper Source Wall Art calendar. Such pretty pictures, they have templates on the back so you can make cards/gift tags/file folders when you are done, and there’s a nice variety of images.
A HUGE thanks for the Hot Guys Reading calendar, which I now pretty much have to buy for my sister-in-law.
I was really surprised to see an albino deer calendar. I’ve only seen those once in real life, at a historic house in England when I was on Study Abroad many years ago. Who knew?
Here’s a free printable coloring calendar of ridiculous facts. They also have a pre-colored version.
I have the fantastic cities color book. The artwork is beautiful and definitely frame-able.
My mom gets me a calendar every year, but now that I have a baby I might start this tradition for her.
Forgot to add the link! Ooops: http://damasklove.com/the-2017-printable-coloring-calendar/
I really wanted the big Rifle paper one for the fridge last year but decided it was too pricey and bought some scenes of Provence one or something that was aggressively FINE but I really just looked at and wished I had bought the Rifle paper ones, so this year I did it. https://www.papersource.com/item/Rifle-Paper-Co.-Floral-Appointment-Calendar-2017/3205.001/530165.html
For me, it’s the right mix of design and lots of space for writing in appointments and exactly the right size for the front of the fridge. Plus, really nice paper feel for writing. Makes me feel luxurious every time.
For my office, I bought this: https://www.papersource.com/item/Snow-Graham-Wall-Art-Calendar-2017/3205.001/530174.html
Last year for my office, I bought this: https://www.etsy.com/listing/487908513/shades-of-green-2017-minimalistic?ref=hp_rv which is really soft and lovely and I thought I’d buy again, but I was ready for more color.
Oh, how I love the calendar post! I’ve been holding off ordering for our office till I could see what you posted.
We basically ask everyone what they’d like, and then I sprinkle a few throughout the office. A few years back you linked to the Elements calendar and that has been a big hit (we are a laboratory). I’m getting 4 of those this year. You also posted a Rube Goldberg calendar last year and I personally have loved that one, so I’m getting that again. It goes in the office kitchen and I stand there and look at it while I’m waiting for the microwave. Last year I got “Things Fly Apart” for the kit room, but this year I’m doing Bloom County. I don’t know if the people in that area like Bloom County, but if they don’t, it’s high time they developed an appreciation.
I needed to find a calendar for two new people who are starting after the first of the year. Someone urged me to get the most random calendars I could find, just to freak them out and suggested Bearobics (https://www.amazon.com/2017-Bearobics-Wall-Calendar-Publishing/dp/1624386229/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1482417484&sr=1-1&keywords=bearobics+wall+calendar) which made me laugh, but no. I’m going with Trees for one new person, and the other new person is getting 1000 Places to See Before You Die: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0761188525/ref=ox_sc_act_title_3?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER
One guy said “Surprise me” so he’s getting Unlikely Friendships. I might get that one for my daughter too, since I forgot to get her a Boston Terrier calendar for Christmas.
We always have an Ansel Adams calendar in the conference room: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0316268542/ref=ox_sc_act_title_11?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER
In the lab they are getting Elements and This Day in History: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1492634255/ref=ox_sc_act_title_4?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER
I have been getting Wanderlust for a few years now and will do that again for myself this year. It’s calming. I think you suggested that a few years ago – thank you! My brother and business partner is getting Sailboats: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1682341852/ref=ox_sc_act_title_12?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER
Two employees have requested cats and puppies; the cat lover is getting Fat Cats, and the dog lovers is getting this one: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1416242910/ref=ox_sc_act_title_14?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER
My shoe lover gets this one: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0761188568/ref=ox_sc_act_title_9?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER
And last but not least, the young girl who wears tiaras and once asked if I would mind if she wears a giraffe costume to work (Um, no) is getting: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/178718398X/ref=ox_sc_act_title_10?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=A1919NYIH5072G
Sorry to hijack your comments section! I think since you started doing the calendars posts, I have come to love calendars much more than I used to. I look forward to this post every year. : )
OMG, the Bearobics is so weird and amazing :D
We get just-pay-shipping calendars from Shutterfly or the like with pics of our girls. I enjoy picking the pictures. Do one big one per month then small pics on birthday dates. Easy grandparent gift once made.
I got a cute calendar of a little dog among the shelves at the Strand Bookstore from the NewYorkDogShop on etsy but it doesn’t look like the calendar is for sale anymore. I haven’t decided what to get for my office yet so I’m enjoying looking at your ideas! The albino deer calendar is surprisingly specific.
Oh, I forgot to mention I got a cool tip from a friend – she uses the pages from old calendars as wrapping paper! It’s a good size for wrapping books or other small items and gives you variety in wrapping paper pictures.
I usually just use whatever free calendar we get in the mail (so far I got a car one and a pet one and one from my kid’s occupational therapist) because I can’t justify $15 for one. But I gotta say that Brady bunch one is calling my name. I’ve been watching the Brady Bunch every morning at 7am as I get ready for work for the past few months and it’s pretty fantastic. Way better than news with the shitty politics that just ruin my day.
I LOVE THIS POST so much every year! And i don’t even get any calendars! Although every year it makes me WISH I got/used calendars, and this year I’m extremely jealous I don’t work in Kristin H’s office :)
I got the feathered friends one a few weeks ago and am embarrassingly happy that I chose one of swistle’s top contenders!
And I thought I had seen all the options in the nature/art/design style that I like but this post has given me a few new ideas for next year. Thanks!
Love this post every year! I had to choose earlier in the month so my husband could buy it for me for Christmas, so I was very pleased to see my pick made the Swistle list: Prints and Patterns! Was looking for something modern-artsy and this filled the bill.
I also love the world travel one, but am annoyed that they scrunch the calendar part to enlarge the graphic! And they do it on all of this series type, which is unfortunate because I like the cities one and national parks one but will never get them due to the scrunched calendar. :(
I haven’t made my final decision yet, but here are my current contenders:
Colors of Nature – https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01J6DN3MS
Vintage Cities – https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01IPLV4CS
Dirty (as in dusty, not “dirty”) Car Art – https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01ETRLSDC
Lisa Frank – https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00VKU7AWA because throwback to middle school like whoa
Food Lovers – https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01K2BQ2JE
Castles – https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01ERJPFFO
Elvis Presley – https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01IPLWJSQ
Antique Maps – https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1785244035
Artistic Graffiti Street Art – https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1785244205
Right now I’m leaning toward Colors of Nature, but the street art one is pretty awesome, too.
My British cousin and I do a calendar trade every year. This year he sent me a Bansky calendar and I sent him a Frank Lloyd Wright one. I like to send an American art or architecture calendar but it’s getting harder to find new ones after doing this for a few years. I should have sent him the Hot Guys Reading one. He and his husband would have gotten a kick out of it!
So late to this party, but I actually purchased a calendar this year (and last), instead of just letting my husband pick up some freebie of random landscapes or sailboats or something from his office to hang in our kitchen.
Last year, I got the Thomas Kinkade-Disney mashup calendar (http://amzn.to/2hVGghy). I am NOT a Kinkade fan, and while I grew up on Disney films, it isn’t like prints of the artwork are particularly compelling to me. But something about the Disney scenes in Kinkade’s style works so well and is so soothing and uplifting. I figured I’d frame some of my favorites when the year was up and hang them in my office or my daughters’ room. I liked it so much, I ordered the 2017 calendar, even though I knew a couple of the pictures were the same.
Well. Turns out fully half the pictures are repeats, and now I am incredibly torn. At least three of the images that are not repeats are ones I would really like to have. But the ones that are repeats are ones that I feel I’ve seen the most already (this makes no sense, obviously, since months are all basically the same length, but I still *feel* like I’ve been staring at Beauty and the Beast and Sleeping Beauty scenes forever). If I return it and get something different, it’s possible that next year’s calendar will have the new scenes I want, plus fewer that I already have. But if I miss out on that one scene from Tangled because it doesn’t go back into a calendar before I’m bored of the whole enterprise, I think I will regret it.
I got my older daughter a calendar for the first time (she is six) because she’s been trying to learn the days of the week in kindergarten (this is a sticking point for her, I don’t know why), and because she really likes anticipating fun things coming up. This is the one I picked: http://amzn.to/2i6JzDk
And every year I order this for my office: http://amzn.to/2hDQTm7. It is super boring but I’ve found when I’ve tried to go without it, I can’t stand not having the whole year available at once. I only write in a handful of work deadlines, but I probably check it at least once a day to set deadlines for authors, plan vacations, or figure out how many weeks I have until some upcoming event.
This is my third year getting the jumbo 1Canoe2 wall calendar (https://1canoe2.com/products/2017-xl-wall-calendar-dwellings). I love that after the initial purchase, you just have to buy a refill. This year I also bought their desk calendar (https://1canoe2.com/products/2017-butterfly-desk-easel-calendar) during their Cyber Monday flash sale.
My other calendar tradition is the Sadly Harmless calendar (https://www.etsy.com/listing/481695608/2017-calendar-kindred-spirits?ref=hp_rv). Her illustrations are charming and I’ve re-used them as prints before.
My sister got me a “cats of Rome” calendar while she was on her trip this fall and I am eyeing the Paper Source Artist Calendar (http://www.papersource.com/item/Paper-Source-Artist-Calendar-2017/3205.001/842612062430.html) for my office.
We’ve just started needing a family calendar (that I constantly have to remind my husband exists and has the information he NEEDS on it, gah) and last year we just used a free OSH one. It was fine. This year, I think I’m going with this Charlie Harper one – https://www.amazon.com/gp/huc/view.html?ie=UTF8&newItems=C33062YFLQZA75%2C1 I love his art and think it will please me greatly. Talk to me about the pens you use on your calendars, if you get a chance. I’m big into pens right now, with the Sharpie Fine Point as my go-to.
I have three favorite pens:
1. Kikkerland Retro – I keep them in my Amazon cart and buy them when they drop to the $5-6 range
2. PaperMate FlexGrip Elite – they’ve changed the barrel design and I don’t like it as much, but I have a bunch of the old design
3. the free pens my bank gives out
Rob loves the Sharpie Fine Point! He says they’re the right amount of “skritchy,” and also that they write really well.
I finally picked a calendar. I ordered a calendar of the state parks of my state. Received it today and now I can read about the various state parks, dream a bit of visiting some of them this summer, appreciate the beauty right here in my state. I imagine they have calendars like this for every state.
I also got a page a day calendar a few weeks ago. It is called Keep Calm and Carry On and it is comprised of motivational quotes by various people. It helps me keep an attitude of well, keeping calm and carrying on, rather than whining or despairing about various things.
I’ve read your calendar posts for years but I have always had hangips about going through with a purchase. It feels great to finally have a calendar. I kind of want to keep buying. Need one for my office, and my home office…