I'm Finished With Next Year.

(Next year's calendars, that is!)

One of my vivid holiday memories from childhood is our extended family gathering at my grandparents' print shop to help make hundreds of calendars for the following year to give to customers. We'd all squeeze in to the shop on a Saturday, and spend the entire day working together.

My grandpa would print the pages for each month the week before, and then we'd all work in a line, collating them. Once we had a big stack of collated calendars, we'd tidy it perfectly straight, weigh it down, and paint one side with red padding compound. After a bit, the compound would be dry, and I'd use a knife to cut apart the stack one calendar a time. Grandpa cleverly cut December just a tad longer than the other months, so I could pull apart each calendar by feel. Then we'd staple the year's pages to a piece of cardstock that the customer could hang from their wall during the coming year.

Anyway, collating these new matchbook-style calendars reminded me of those days gone by. These calendars aren't the wall kind, though, and I only made sixty, not hundreds. Instead, they're pocket-sized, with each month on a perforated page inside. They're available in three bright colors, and would make perfect stocking stuffers or gifts for co-workers or teachers. Help yourself, right here.

You know what? I think it's time for another giveaway. I'm offering three calendars to three people (one calendar each). To enter, please leave a comment below before 9:00 am CST on Thursday, December 10, 2009. I'll use the trusty random number generator to pick the winners that morning. Please be sure to check back then so I can get the necessary info from you if you're a winner. I'll allow one week for the winners to contact me before I choose any alternate winners. Thanks for entering!