Can you believe that October is almost over? It seemed like it was just Labor Day yesterday. The holiday season is almost upon us. I’ve already seen a lot of Christmas movies on television (especially on Hallmark). In fact, I think Jingle All the Way is on tonight (on one of the premium channels).
I don’t know about you, but I start shopping for holiday gifts at the beginning of September. I like to be done shopping by November, that way I don’t have to stress out during the holiday season. I like to enjoy it knowing that I am done shopping. I also don’t have to deal with long lines, non-existent parking and shipping delays.
When it comes to shopping for the holiday season, it’s not such a bad thing to think about practical presents. I personally don’t mind a gift that will make my life easier. Take for example a “pasta pot” (a big pot with holes in the lid to drain fluid out of it). A pot might not seem like a “fun” Christmas present, but it’s something that I really need. Our current pasta pot’s lid doesn’t sit on it properly anymore. Some of the paint has chipped off and the inside non-stick coating is coming off too. It looks so bad that I no loner like to use it, but I have to out of necessity. If I were gifted such a practical present this holiday season, I would be very happy with it. I’ve actually been leaving hints for my husband to get me a new one.
When people thin of calendars, they might think of them as really lame gifts. On the contrary, calendars CAN be fun and enjoyable. It’s also a product that most people can use.
I was sent some awesome calendars from Workman Publishing. They sent me some of their Page-a-Day calendars.
What exactly is a “Page-a-Day” calendar you might ask? They are calendars that show you just one day at a time. On each page their is something interesting such as a photo, facts, trivia, and more. Each day you’ll have new content to enjoy.
Here are just a few examples of their Page-a-Day calendars.
Workman sent me a few of their Page-a-Day calendars to check out. So far, I am very impressed. I honestly thought Page-a-Day calendars just showed the day of the week, the date and holidays. These calendars show all that – and more. Much more! Some include colorful photos, interesting facts, and other things that make tearing off a page to reveal a new page something that you (or a gift recipient) will look forward to every day of the week, 365 days a year.
These are the calendars that I received to review.
A daily spiritual wake-up call, with hundreds of quotes, koans, parables, and poems.
At last . . . a lucid moment. A glimpse of beauty. A plainspoken truth that unfolds and radiates calm. Filled with gems from Zen masters, philosophers, writers, iconoclasts, saints, poets, and even comedians, the Zen calendar offers a year of insight, wisdom, and, of course, the paradoxical. Discover the Zen of Bashō. Lao-tzu. The Buddha himself. Simone Weil, Franz Kafka, Gilda Radner, and Rumi: Look past your thoughts that you may drink the pure nectar of this moment.
I love a great quote, especially ones that will make me think or make me smile. This calendar is chuck full of amazing quotes and inspirational words.
It’s not 2020 yet, so I have not started using this calendar, but I have flipped through it’s pages and read a lot of the content.
The first page I opened up to was my husband’s birthday. I found the quote to be very fitting. It’s by Marcus Aurelius.
When you arise in the morning, think of what a privilege it is to be alive, to think, to enjoy, to love…
How amazing is that quote? It’s so true! Most people don’t think about how blessed it is to just wake up each morning. How many times have you woke up and dreaded the day? True, there are things you don’t necessarily look forward to, but just the mere fact you woke up and you are alive is something to be grateful for.
I read some other content in this calendar that really made me think. It’s a great calendar for anyone, women and men.
Atlas Obscura Page-A-Day Calender
Buckle up for a surprising new adventure, every day of the year.
Capturing the awe-inspiring spirit of the #1 bestselling book and viral website, the Atlas Obscura Page-A-Day Calendar features hundreds of unexpected discoveries: natural wonders, like New Zealand’s Slope Point, where Antarctic wind swirls trees into a mass of tightly tangled branches. Legendary sites, like Germany’s Unicorn Cave, containing prehistoric skeletons thought to be unicorns from the 16th century. Eccentric events, like Michigan’s Humongous Fungus Fest, featuring a 37-acre colony of mushrooms—one of the largest and oldest organisms in the world. Packed with full-color photographs and memorable facts, it’s a year of curiosity, intrigue, and wanderlust.
Anyone who knows me know that I love to learn about new people, places and things. I especially love to learn about odd things. This Page-a-Day calendar not only tells you a little bit about some very interesting places around the world, but it also includes a color photographs of each listing.
Inside I learned about an ancient place that has a carriage that was pulled by elephants, Persian ice cream sandwiches (the sound delicious!), finger limes from the Australian bush and Cooper’s Hill Cheese Rolling, which is a traditional event where people chase big wheels of cheese down a very steep hill.
There is a lot of cool facts and fascinating information in this calendar. This calendar is filled with exactly the kind of information I enjoy learning about.
1,000 Places to See Before You Die Page-a-Day
Every day, a new destination for your next adventure!
Tick off one destination at a time from your travel bucket list. Inspired by the #1 New York Times bestseller of the same name, 1,000 Places to See Before You Die Page-a-Day calendar captures all the pleasure and passion of travel, in beautiful full-color photographs, right on your desktop or kitchen counter. There are beaches along Hawaii’s Nāpali Coast, a 12th-century castle in Belgium, and endless food stalls in Hong Kong’s night markets. Plus quizzes, savvy travel advice on going off the beaten path, and quotes from travel enthusiasts: The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes, but in having new eyes.—Marcel Proust. A gift of inspiration for any traveler—actual and armchair.
I love to travel. I have a bad case of “wunderlust.” Sadly, we don’t have the funds to travel. The furthest we’ve traveled as a family was Florida. That was when our son was two years old. He’s twenty now. Needless to say, it’s been a while.
I traveled a lot as a kid (Wales, France, Canada, Belgium, up and down the Eastern seaboard of the U.S., California, Mexico…). Because of that, I have always loved to learn about new places to see. I have a “Bucket List” just for places I want to visit (Egypt, Australia, Italy, Greece…) and things I want to see (Machu Picchu, the Great Pyramids, cage diving with the sharks in Australia…).
I know I’ll never ever travel to these places, but it’s fun to dream about them.
This Page-a-Day calendar features 365 amazing places around the globe that you “must see” before you die. If I was rich, I would check out each an every entry in this calendar.
This calendar is based upon the best selling book, which I always wanted to read but never got around to it. With this calendar, I can read a daily section of the book.
A Year of True Crime Page-a-Day Calendar
A campy calendar for those with an insatiable thirst for thrills.
It’ll reel you in, one juicy, twisted story after the next. Featuring the news headlines that catch your eye, and then keep you up at night, A Year of True Crime offers day after day of gruesome intrigue to pique your morbid curiosities. There are gritty tales about the 1990’s Clown Killer (on the loose until 2017), and the Rotenburg Cannibal, who lured victims online in the early aughts. Plus, trivia, like the inspiration behind the Silence of the Lambs’ Buffalo Bill (he was a fictional amalgam of numerous serial killers) and games: Match the criminals to the film inspired by their crimes. Here are all the gory details—serial killers, cannibal fetishists, occult followers, and innocent hitchhikers who didn’t stand a chance—with a tabloid-style page design, and photographs throughout. For fans of Law & Order: SVU, Serial, and pulpy tabloids, this gift will hit all the right spine-chilling notes.
Here is a fun fact for you – I was going to school to be a Forensic Psychologist. I wanted to be a criminal profiler. I was looking forward to attending school at John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York City. That was my “game plan” until I became pregnant with our eldest and “temporarily” dropped out of college to take care of her. She’s 22 now. I never went back to college, which is something I’ll always regret.
I have been fascinated by true crime since I was a teenager. In college I interned for a year at a maximum security prison as a “peer counselor.”
I used to read a lot of true crime books too.
This page-a-day calendar will provide me with daily nuggets of information about actual crimes.
Some pages have small black and white photos (people and places, not crime scenes). There is also some trivia, or at least one of the pages I looked at was.
If you, or someone on your holiday shopping list, is fascinated by true crime, this would be the calendar for you.
These are just some of Workman’s Page-a-Day calendars. They also have gallery calendars, which is like having a mini art gallery on your desk, engagement calendars (the kind you write in), and of course, wall calendars.
If you are interested in learning more about these or other Workman calendars, visit Workman.com. Workman also has books for children and adults. They can also be found on social media. All of their links are found at the bottom of their website.
The year 2020 is fast approaching. Now is a great time to pick up a calendar for yourself, or as a practical gift.
Kimberly
*I received free product samples to review. There was no compensation. The opinions expressed are my own and not influenced in any way.