Ladies and Gentlemen as I get older I notice I’m actually oddly pumped about flipping the month on a cool or funny wall calendar.
Why? I’m not completely sure, the main calendar that I ACTUALLY use is google calendar on my phone or computer, that has been my go-to calendar/planner for years now.
That being said, it is now December of 2024 and I have to admit I’m kinda bummed to retire the 3 wall calendars that have been with me all year: The Pokemon calendar I use at work, the Dungeons and Dragons calendar I have in my home office, and the Dollar General Peanuts calendar I have in my kitchen. All 3 have been a joy.
Looking ahead though, I find their successors lacking… Specifically the new 2025 Dungeons and Dragons calendar just doesn’t excite me the way the 2024 calendar did.
So here we are, shopping for new wall calendars that I’ll either buy or put on my Holiday wish list and admire from afar. As I’m searching, as always, I find myself stumbling upon some real gems and wondering: “Is there anyone that reviews yearly calendars?” I laugh at the thought of calendar reviews and then I immediately type in a google search for exactly that. You know what? There really isn’t a lot of calendar reviews. I mean I would be surprised if there was a glut of them but really there’s almost none. The top search results I got were, of course, people who SELL calendars. So of course they are ready to tell you about the best calendars for 2025 but they have skin in the game. They either designed the calendar they are trying to sell or they bought a crud-load of calendars that will become more and more worthless each day past January 1st.
Me? I just want a cool picture of a dragon that I can ADHD stare at for about a month and then get a momentary dopamine hit when I realize “OH I get to change the month!” Look, it’s oddly satisfying and I’m pumped anytime I can get a dopamine blast that doesn’t come from 1. my phone 2. eating something I shouldn’t 3. buying something I shouldn’t.
Speaking of which, it’s time for some disclaimers, some of these links ARE affiliate links so if you DO buy one of my ridiculous recommendations I will get a kick back. DO NOT feel obligated to use my links, but if you do I’m super grateful and I promise you that, for my part, anything on this list I definitely WOULD buy. (Heck by the time you’re reading this I just may have purchased one or two of them) I equally would smile big if I saw any of these on the wall if I walked into one of my friends, family, or coworkers’ office, kitchen, or she-shed and saw one hanging. Also not everything on my list will be an affiliate link. Several of these are just awesome and I want you to know about them… THAT is the real point of this list.
Second disclaimer: I didn’t do research on any of these choices so IF they are swiping images or engaged in any shady practices? I’m unaware of it. I wouldn’t knowingly promote something that steals art, but I might accidentally do that and If I do? Please feel free to set me straight on it, but remember I’m just a man who sees a shiny squirrel and as a service to you I report the shiny squirrel, so be gentle please. So let’s get started.
https://amzn.to/4g43Sumhttps://amzn.to/4g43Sum
Oh man you had me at “Hello” with this one. Why? First of all the pun is right there in the title, I love a good pun.
Then it’s cats dressed up as Iconic music personalities? What’s not to love?
The art style is super minimalist, with a Eric Carle Painted Paper vibe! I would be so looking forward to Freddie Mercury and Prince as I flipped through the months on this one and I don’t even have a cat!
1d12 Wooden Dice Desk Calendar!
Yes I know I said I like Wall Calendars for the cool pictures but I ALSO told you about my Dungeons and Dragons calendar. I did say I was ADHD right? Well I am and this was too cool not to throw on the list.
This one is just fun, I’d enjoy changing the month on this as much as I’d enjoy changing a wall calendar, unfortunately the calendar IS the image. You only get one. Beyond being a dice and beyond showing the months of the year? That’s the joy that you’d get out of it.
Unfortunately after the year is over it kinda loses all of its charm and feels a little wasteful, but a clever artist could definitely repurpose this pretty easily without needing to just throw it away at the end of December.
Another plus on this one is that it’s classy looking, in fact… this might just be the classiest calendar I put on this whole list. Don’t hold me to that but yeah that’s just a likelihood.
Speaking of NOT classy! Man this one even wears its trashiness right in the item description! (if you’re confused you have to click the link to see that) I’d argue, however, that this one wears a sort of ironic cult classiness but then I don’t think I’m the best arbiter of class so take that with a grain of salt.
This one sells itself or disqualifies itself, if you love old Ninja or Kung Fu movies then I don’t need to sell this one to you; but if you DON’T like those things then this one isn’t for you.
That being said? This one TOTALLY IS for me.
Spider-Man Across the Spider-verse
Yeah, I’m probably getting this one.
Look I LOVE Spider-man and I love so many versions of Spider-man that this one just makes sense for me.
This is your box standard mass market kind of wall calendar but honestly they kinda nail it. The street art meets interdimensional travel art style of this calendar was a big part of the movie and they incorporated that into the design of this calendar in a very slick package and I don’t mean that in a derogatory way. This Calendar just works for me so I wouldn’t be surprised if this was on my wall come January 1st.
https://amzn.to/3ZyxzOwMedieval Snails
The whole idea here is awesome, I don’t know that I have ever thought “You know what I need manuscript style images of? Snails. I need Medieval Snails and I need them every month of the year.”
But now that I’ve thought it, I really am having a hard time NOT thinking it.
Look I think at the outset I made it clear that my list was NOT for everyone. I was hoping to throw you some ideas that you’d never think to look for and I think this installment likely fits that niche very nicely. These monthly images are pretty cool while being bizarre, random, and hilarious all at the same time.
This is a fun one that I could see next to my desk at work. The image plates have good color and incorporate a fun design style for the featured images.
Classic Godzilla monsters are just good dumb fun. These plates feature more than just Godzilla, and Mothra looks great in the mix. If you love that old school Kaiju vibe I think they did a nice job on the calendar for this year.
Biased Plea to Support Artists!
Guys I’m so prone to capitalism that I have a hard time even walking out of Walmart or Dollar General without a new calendar but if you can, I totally recommend reaching out to independent artists who make their own calendars. It’s a great way to support an actual living artist (as so many calendars are now made with AI image generation this year) and nothing beats 12 months of art from an artist you love. So I’d like to offer at least two of the artists I love below:
Check out Arden Ellen Nixon she puts out a calendar every year and if you reach out to her you may still be able to get your hands on her 2025 calendar.
Also check out Christopher R. Mihm he makes movies telling his own stories in the style of vintage drive-in or matinee films from the 50’s 60’s and 70’s. Mihm also puts out a limited run of calendars each year with still images from or based on his movies.
Charity Calendars
And while we’re talking about throwing money out there; how about some calendars that generate funds for nonprofits? Well, I found a decent list of wildlife calendars here. I think that’s a great way to help out people who are helping out. Knowhatimean?! If you find some more good ones I’m definitely interested in a cool calendar that supports a good cause.
Conclusion
There you go, in this lil blog post I showed you:
5 wall calendars that I had to fight myself not to just go ahead and order on the spot.
A desk calendar twelve sided die that’s totally wasteful but infinitely rad.
Some indy artist options and…
a link for nonprofit charity calendars.
I hope you enjoyed my browser window shopping as much as I did and more importantly I hope the rapidly approaching new year brings you twelve wonderful months and I hope there’s maybe a lil dopamine in it for you every time you flip to a new month as well.
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