In some ways the page-a-day calendar is even more challenging than the wall calendar, because so many wall calendars are MADE to be pretty and restful. Whereas day-to-day calendars, with 353-354 more images to come up with in a year, tend to be a little more feisty. But this year I don’t want feisty, I don’t want funny; I might want art, beauty, science. I think I could tolerate cute, maybe even MILDLY funny? But I don’t want the Pusheen calendar again, even though I liked it this year. Too sweet and sunshiney.
I bought this one:
(image from Amazon.com)
The MET Art of Flowers. My hope is that it will be peaceful and pretty, and give the feeling of perspective that art can sometimes give, while also showing me every day what day it is, and giving me a decorative pile of scrap paper.
But I also just ordered this one:
(image from Amazon.com)
Worry Lines: Full of Hope and Potato day-to-day calendar. I do not need two page-a-day calendars, but this is not the first time I’ve ended up with two. And if this one is TOO hopeful or TOO uplifting, there is a cart at my workplace where we can put things we don’t want and someone else will take them; that’s what I did when the Effin’ Birds calendar turned out more aggressive than I’d thought it would be. But what happened was I saw this image (apparently from Instagram, which I don’t use and so I’m not sure how to link properly, but it’s apparently by @worry__lines if I’ve done that right, and please do let me know if I haven’t), and found it compelling enough that I went right to my cart and bought the calendar:
That is the level of funny/hopeful I find useful.
I will show you some other calendars I considered, in case you are still questing.
(image from Amazon.com)
(image from Amazon.com)
Cat page-a-day calendar. 365 Cats page-a-day calendar. I can look at a picture of a cat each day without feeling as if everything’s supposed to be fine when it’s not.
(image from Amazon.com)
(image from Amazon.com)
The MET Art: 365 Days of Masterpieces day-to-day calendar. Art page-a-day calendar. I find art mildly uplifting but without pressure to sustain that lift. Artists are CLASSICALLY tormented and miserable.
(image from Amazon.com)
Shoes page-a-day calendar. I have had this calendar before, and it was pleasing and fun. I wear sneakers, but I appreciate a fancy shoe.
(image from Amazon.com)
Mister Rogers day-at-a-time calendar. I am exactly the right age to get teary and sentimental about Mister Rogers, and it feels like we could use his sweetness, and I appreciate the way they’ve called this a “day-at-a-time” calendar. But I looked at the sample pages, and I found they did not hit the right note for me right now.
(image from Amazon.com)
Cartoons from The New Yorker day-to-day calendar. New Yorker cartoons don’t tend to be lol funny, they’re more quietly wry. I thought I might be able to enjoy quietly wry. But I decided against it, because I think it’s also possible I’d find it annoying and irrelevant.
(image from Amazon.com)
Paper Airplane fold-a-day calendar. Not for me, but for Paul or one of the kids. Paul has had this calendar before, and said he liked it the first time but didn’t think he wanted to do it again, but I’m still considering it for Rob and for Edward, who both have terrible skimpy wish lists.
(image from Amazon.com)
Spanish Phrasebook day-to-day calendar. And while writing this post, I remembered how keen Henry has been on his Spanish class this semester, so I ordered him this for Christmas. I like that it’s focused around phrases needed for travel, instead of just word-a-day.
My current favorite page-a-day calendar is the WeRateDogs calendar. Just the right amount of funny and awww.
My kitchen wall calendar choice was stolen from me by a kind sibling who bought me a “library” calendar but did not take into consideration that I like cheerful public municipal spaces and not gold tinged european museum libraries! Nevertheless, I have a wall calendar and will look at gold plated grand spaces all year and choose to see the beauty in my sibling trying to love me even if they missed a bit.
I have turned the desk page a day calendar over to my life partner. I’ve requested funny (puns) or beautiful or games (trivia/sudoku) but NOT motivational because I just don’t think I can take 2025 being preached at as I start my day. He’s mentioned it enough times that I think he will come through in my stocking. Excited to see what he picks!
Tangent from your post… did you know that Fred Rogers productions posts five archived episodes of Mister Rogers twice a month? I grew up watching every day while my mom made dinner in the early 80s… and now I put these episodes on “for my kids” (let’s be honest, 100% for me) and I regularly cry while watching in a wonderful cathartic way… I love them, I love him! And so many I don’t remember seeing before! Right now there is a Christmas special up :) misterrogers.org/watch
It was tradition for me to get my mom a NYT crossword page-a-day calendar. I would find little piles of completed sheets next to her favorite spots: the corner dining chair, the front porch swing, her nightstand. For myself I tend toward ones with quotes, but then I always want to keep them.
STARING INTO THE ABYSS IN DECEMBER – am now dead from laughing
Ooh I might get the Spanish one for my husband, he is learning Spanish but does not seem to be learning any useful phrases
We have loved the We Rate Dogs calendar and did that one for two years in a row a couple of years back. We also loved the Thoughts of Dog calendar even more than that but then the illustration of the dog changed ever so slightly for the worse and the experience was ruined.
I have personally enjoyed the Effin Birds page a day calendar in the past and am secretly thinking 2025 might be the year that one makes a comeback in my personal office.
BUT! The whole family has been enjoying the Strange Planet page-a-day that lives next to everyone’s favorite chair. So much so that we have all started feeling sad that it has so few pages left. The next one is already purchased and will be enjoyed for another year. Even if it’s the same exact cartoons, I think we all agree we’d want it again because it was that darling.
Many apologies because this is a bit off topic, but I can’t find where you stated which calendar you chose. I see the update that you chose one but you don’t say which one.
Anyway, I don’t usually do page a day calendars but the Strange Planet calendar makes me question that decision. Maybe I *do* need a page a day calendar.
I am keeping it a secret so the calendar twin can be surprised! But if you email me (swistle@gmail.com), I will tell you!
I’d just like you to know that your writing has been a glimmer of joy in what has been a cold, difficult month. I get so happy when I see you’ve made a new post. Please never stop.
Thanks for the introduction to worry lines! Feeling that.
I got so excited about being Swistle wall calendar twins that I forgot to come back and finish this post yesterday. So now it’s a special treat for today! I’ve already ordered the Paper Planes calendar for friends since I started reading.
My older kid gets the younger one a page-a-day calendar every year for Christmas. Usually some kind of trivia. We used to read the pages together every night and now that the younger one is at college, they save them up for our weekly family call and we read seven at a time.