Cool calendars

If you are one of those super organised types, you'll have already bought your 2012 diaries and calendars and have lovingly transferred across all significant birthdays and high days.

I am not one of those types. I always forget to buy one and spend the first few weeks of the year thinking I must be missing out on fantastic social engagements when in reality all I'm missing out on is some lounging around in front of the telly and a calendar.

So, for all of you who feel you are already lagging behind in the new year, here's a round-up of some of the prettiest, most practical and a bit different calendars out there. After all, since you'll be looking at them all year you need to pick one carefully. And the real reason why I've not got one yet is because I'm having trouble picking just one. Honestly.

Pretty

This calendar print by Rifle Paper Co is perennially perfect and would look lovely in your kitchen, especially if used alongside the recipe cards Elizabeth featured. It costs £15 from Papermash.

Got a desk? It's surely crying out for this colourful desk calendar from Violet May (otherwise known as Sluttery favourite Cassia Beck). The collage-type illustrations are all printed in separate sheets so you could also use it to brighten a wall or a fridge. This is £14.58.
Desk calendar


Functional

If you are very serious about your date keeping, take a look at the Cut Out Number calendar, designed for maximum impact. Again it's an attach it to your wall job. Take your pick from the version in neutral colours that's pictured, or - to put the fun in functional - go for the primary colours version. It costs £17.50 from Present and Correct.

Crispin Finn's year planner is for people who like to seriously plan their years. Everything Crispin Finn makes is produced in the colours red, white and blue. How very British for the London Olympic Year. Unless you're part of the French team. Or an United States citizen. Anyway ... it looks very stylish, and has great big boxes to write exciting plans in. This is £12.

Or something completely different

My parents have a great collection of tea towel calendar's from various years gone by (my favourite is the 1985 design that features so many owls you'd think it had been made in 2011), so I was delighted to see the Kauniste fish tea towel calendar. It's 2012 executed in retro style. Okay, as it's in Finnish so there's a slight risk you might get confused about which month is which but come the end of 2012 and you'll definitely have learnt something. It costs 15 euros, with an additional 3 euros for shipping. 

Tastes leaning towards the twee? Me too. You'll probably like Able and Game's girl calendar. Each month features an illustration of a girl alongside cutesy slogans of the type "You razzle dazzle me" and "Not being with you is like shopping for a bathing suit" that I wish I could remember to drop into everyday conversation. There's a boy version too (sample slogan: "Rub a dub dub I want you in my tub") but I've shown you the girls one as girls are just prettier, aren't they?

It's priced at approximately £22.53 with around £3 to pay for its shipping from Australia. It's currently number 1 on my list of possible calendars.