Marking the end of the year: thoughts on calendars

What are the calendars in your life? One on your phone? Outlook at work? Dayplanner?

Do you buy calendars for the wall or your desktop, at home or at work? Are you all-electronic?

Of course I’m not. I love paper too much. Having worked at a stationery shop, I’ve learned that people have very defined and specific preferences when it comes to calendars and planners. And it makes some sense, since it’s your daily companion for an entire year.

I think I’ve always had a “hang on the wall” calendar of one variety or another, mostly your traditional grid format, but my actual use of it was sporadic at best. Last Christmas, my cousin Megan gave me the lovely Snow and Graham calendar – and as excited as I was about it (I really love their graphics), I wondered whether I’d miss the writing space.

Nope. Truthfully, I don’t think I’ve gotten so much enjoyment out of a single wall calendar before. I lie in bed in the morning, staring at it, and think about the changing of seasons and how they’re reflected in that calendar. (I know this sounds like a heavy kind of thought before getting out of bed, but I think I’m most contemplative – and most unrealistic about what one can accomplish in a single day – before I’ve left my warm cocoon.) I’m sad to think of it ending in just a few short days. Whereas my (two!) calendars at work often go neglected well into the first week of every month, until someone says, “Um, it’s December…,” (I’m addicted to the Mac dashboard version) I know I’ll need a new large-format wall calendar for my room. And as it’s the thing I look at each morning while I’m putting on my prep for the day mindset, it better be good.

A month or two ago, all of the design blogs did their annual calendar roundups. And, like Christmas decorations before Halloween, it seemed way.too.early. Now, with just a few days left this year, it’s finally time.

I read about the SuzyJack calendar last year, when it was sold out. I liked it so much that I signed up to receive an email when the 2011 version became available. It’s a bit out of my price range this year, but I love how the designs are both streamlined and modern as well as seasonal. The seasonal bit is a big requirement of mine, I’ve come to understand.

I gave printable calendars to my sister, mom, and a few friends last year, and I have the same one near my desk. For whatever reason, though, this year’s version has the same designs as last year. Kinda takes it off my list.

Martha had an interesting DIY version on her website. I think I’d figure out an easy way to make the top image changeable every month, as well as the calendar pages.

On Etsy, I’ve noticed the Daydreams and Fairytales calendar – and though I like the photography, having a desk calendar might require me to actually find the top of my desk. Though it’s on my January to do list, the likelihood of this happening before the start of the year is in line with me winning the lottery.

I love this TINY calendar, but with the same problem at work: tiny calendars and messy desks are not such great deskfellows.

For Christmas, I got this sweet Space Invaders calendar, which will find a spot on my wall. You can mark the days from the bottom up:

And with considerably less deliberation than normal, today I bought this Avian Friends dayplanner from Galison, illustrated by Geninne Zlatkis, an artist I’ve followed on Flickr for some time and whose work I’ve come to love. I have one of her fish prints hanging in my room, and I’m really excited to get the planner in the mail and discover all of the illustrations and calendar pages. I decided to spring for it, despite not being able to check it out in person, due to the awesome photos Geninne posted to her Flickr account.

(for anyone interested, Retail Me Not, one of my favorite online bargain sites, lists a 15% off code for first-time Galison buyers).

I think I still have room for just one more calendar – one big enough that I can see it from my bed in the morning. Does anyone have any suggestions? This one I think I’ll buy locally one of these days – but I can often be swayed by something intriguing online.

(all source referenced/linked to, but would like to thank decor8 and Design*Sponge for the calendar roundups a few months ago)