Find inexpensive wall calendars, desk calendars or customized calendars-even free calendars-for kids and adults.
You can always wait until after-Christmas sales to get your calendar for the coming year, when calendars sell at half the original price or even 75 percent off. If you want to give a calendar as a holiday gift, however, it pays to shop around for good deals. Use sales, coupons and deal-sleuthing to get the best price on your calendar, whether it will grace your own home or sit on the desk of one of your friends or family members.
Free Giveaway Calendars
Giving a free calendar as a gift is a bit on the tacky side, so keep these freebies for yourself or your kids’ rooms. Local banks, grocery stores and insurance agents give away millions of free calendars each year to their customers. Keep a lookout at the end of the year for stacks of free calendars in any of these institutions.
Charities and other institutions may give free annual calendars to donor or subscribers. Highlights magazine for children, for instance, gives a free “Hidden Pictures” calendar to each subscriber. (Highlights magazine subscriptions start at $26.04 for one year.)
Overstock.com
The online discount store features an impressive selection of discount calendars, many under $10. Next year’s calendars include: Paula Deen’s 2008 Calendar ($9.32), The Simpsons at the Movies 2008 Fun Calendar ($9.35), Harry Potter 2008 Calendar ($10.07), and the Watercolor Lesson-a-day 2008 Desk Calendar ($9.68). Overstock.com offers regular percent-off coupons and free shipping or discount shipping on a regular basis. Go to rebate and coupon sites and search “Overstock.com” for these deals.
Office Supply Stores
Need lots of space to write dates and appointments? Go for the basic look of business calendars from office supply stores. Office Depot’s selection includes an “At-A-Glance Wall Calendar, 12-inch by 17-inch” for $9.99. This calendar includes the whole year on each page, so you can plan ahead without flipping ahead. The 12-page wire-bound calendar is also environmentally friendly, containing 30 percent post-consumer content. If you order online, shipping starts at $7.95, so it makes more sense to buy at the bricks-and-mortar store.
Custom Photo Calendars
Grandparents, aunts and uncles will all enjoy a customized calendar with photos of the family to enjoy throughout the year. VistaPrint sells a photo wall calendar online starting at $7.99 (on sale in early Nov. 2007). The 11-inch-by- 8-1/2-inch calendar features a different photo for each month framed by your choice of a variety of borders, including a pirate-themed design. VistaPrint charges a one-time $4.99 photo upload fee and then allows you to upload 12 photos to create your custom calendar. Shipping varies. Wal-Mart’s photo department also creates customized calendars online that start at $16.84 with free in-store pickup.
Customize and print your calendars at home with free calendar templates at Hewlett-Packard’s Web site. The site features a variety of designs and options, including a three-dimensional cube (3-D designs are not customizable, however). To add photos, graphics or a logo, you must download the free HP Photo editor software.
