One of the things I like best about the start of a new year is that it means it’s time to bring out a new calendar. Although I use the planner on my phone to track my daily commitments, I find that I still like to have a calendar on the wall to give me that month at a glance I’ve always had available. I keep one in my kitchen as well as one above my desk at home and one on my desk at work. It turns out that in terms of time, I am a traditionalist.
Selecting the “right”calendar is important as it’s a commitment I am going to keep for an entire year. Many times, I purchase one during my travels and I have it to remind me of a favorite trip for the coming year. In 2012, my kitchen was graced with images from Auroville, the utopian community in Southern India. I also picked up a calendar from Vivekananda Rock Memorial in Kanyakumari which is found at the southern most tip of India. While exploring Shwedagon Pagoda in Yangon, Myanmar last month, I came across a stand offering 2013 calendars with images of the pagoda. I encourage you to keep your eyes open for calendars when you travel too as they make great souvenirs that are also practical. I also like to give them as gifts.
But here we are in the final days of 2012 and I am guessing that many of you are still need of a calendar for the new year. I have done some research for you and have selected a few options that I think any WanderShopper would be glad to own. I do recommend that you make your selection soon. As I went to write this post, I discovered that a few of the calendars I had originally planned to include in this post about a week ago have already sold out. You are competing with the rest of the country in securing the calendar of your choice and many stores have them on sale so the options will do nothing but grow more limited.
My first choice is a wall calendar from Anthropologie. I actually selected this calendar for myself and ordered it in early fall. I discovered today that this one is sold out online but I think the resourceful WanderShoppers among you may still be able to find it in their stores. I like it so much that I decided to include it in my list despite the challenge in obtaining it. Anthropologie’s offering is called the Globe Trotter Calendar. It is a beautifully photographed collection of their finds from around the world. Some items are new, others are vintage. Each month features a different collection. I’ve enjoyed going through month by month and comparing their choices with items I have sourced during my travels. The actual calendar portion is small and will be best used as a reference for dates as opposed to having a space to write notes on. It is such a wonderful calendar that I know I will be saving the pages just for the pictures long after their months have passed. That to me is one of the signs of a great calendar. Its current sale price is listed as $14.95.
The practical among you, may appreciate Ten Thousand Villages‘ offering of the Forty Year Calendar. By spinning dials, you can have an accurate calendar displaying the years, months and days for the next 40 years. It also comes with allowances for leap years. This perpetual calendar is made of brass in India. It stands upright and would make a nice accent on your desk or counter top. I think it is a great, earth friendly option as it will save many years of paper calendars that eventually end up in land fills. I also like that Ten Thousand Villages is a fair trade organization so you know that your dollars will benefit the workers directly. Plus it is only $18.00 which is a steal over the life of the calendar!
Bas Bleu is offering a planner that is sure to appeal to most WanderShoppers. You may already be familiar with the Parisian Chic, A Style Guide. The book is a great resource on how to build a good basic wardrobe, listings of boutiques in Paris as well as how to capture the essence of Parisian style. For 2013, they are offering a Parisian Chic Weekly Planner. It is loaded with great ideas and resources from the book as well as many of the beautiful images. And being a planner, you will have plenty of space for recording your events and commitments. If you are looking for a calendar that you can throw into your bag and take with you, I would seriously consider this one. The book is currently sold out at Bas Bleu so don’t wait to grab the planner! It is currently being offered for $19.95.
I love looking at old maps. I think it’s fun to see how the world unveiled itself to discoverers and cartographers over the years. I also love the colors and calligraphy they chose to use in marking their maps. If you enjoy dreaming of traveling centuries ago, then you will also enjoy Pomegranates’ Antique Maps calendar. Some of the months showcase woodcuts while others are copper engravings. All of the images have been sourced from the collection of the Library of Congress which includes over five million maps. And at $13.99, it is one of the least expensive options I have selected.
Another set of images I am always inspired by are vintage travel posters. I love how they conjure up the romance of travel. Johanna Kriesel‘s artwork captures that feeling. At Barnes and Noble you can find the Golden Age of Travel calendar. Images of stylish travelers are evoked in exotic, luxurious locales. Bask in an age when travel was done right for a mere $13.49. 
The final entry in this year’s WanderShopper calendar recommendations is also found at Barnes and Noble. For obvious reasons, I was immediately attracted by the title of Wanderlust: Trekking the Road Less Traveled. It looks to have beautiful photography and I loved the John Muir quote on the cover, “Only by going alone in silence, without baggage, can one truly get into the heart of the wilderness.” $12.59 seems a small price to pay to explore your Wanderlust through 2013.
Have you selected your calendar for 2013? What made it special for you?
Image credits: All photos are courtesy of the website offering the calendar for sale unless otherwise credited.