From Jacci Howard Bear,
Your Guide to Desktop Publishing.
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Calendars make great gifts and promotional items. You could even develop a business around personalized or specialty calendars, including some of the ideas presented here.

Today's calendar creations are more than a bunch of numbers in a box. Get creative and adapt these ideas using software you already own, a little imagination, and templates you can download from the Web.

Basic Monthly Calendar Gets Personal
Personalize monthly calendars with your own photos, your own dates for birthdays, anniversaries, or significant events.

Preserve happy memories. For the month of November or December use a photograph of Uncle Harve carving last year's turkey or a closeup of the family Christmas tree with its collection of ornaments gathered over the years.

Relive significant moments. Put Mom and Dad's Wedding Photo on the Month of their Anniversary.

Honor a lifetime of achievement. The year Grandma turns 100 give a calendar to everyone at her birthday party that is full of significant dates and photos of her life from birth to present.

Coordinate your calendar. Give a gift set of personalized calendars along with matching birthday, anniversary, and other special occasion cards. Use a family theme or decorate with your own artistic creations.

Keep family history alive. Use photos and birth dates of long gone ancestors. Create a collage of all the 'Juniors' or other family members -- past and present -- that share the same name, the same birth month, or the same occupation.

Watch baby grow. Make a Calendar Baby Book. Start with the month of the child's birth and for each month provide a place to record 'firsts' measurements, and other milestones. Decorate with appropriate graphics or baby photos of the parents.

Plan Ahead with Special Purpose Calendars
Create a calendar for busy cooks or forgetful husbands (or wives) who want or need to plan ahead for special occasions.

Don't forget the cranberry sauce. The absent-minded Chef in the family would appreciate a custom daily/weekly meal planner for the holidays. Put in reminders for ordering the Thanksgiving turkey, when to start baking and freezing cook ahead dishes, or the best times to stock up on seasonal ingredients.

Never forget another birthday. Keep birthdays and anniversaries handy with a business card size calendar listing significant dates for family and friends. Make it a folded business card style and add a birthstone list, favorite colors, or sizes.

Promote Your Business Month After Month
Personalize business calendars with more than just your business name. Make an impression every day of the year with these ideas for promotional calendars for yourself or to create for a client's business.

Highlight local hot spots. Use photos related to your business or your locality. Purchase or take your own photos of local landmarks, festivals, and historic sites.

Sell yourself month after month. Make your calendar double as a portfolio. If you restore antique dolls -- feature some of your restorations in the calendar. Is your business landscaping? Get permission from your satisfied customers to feature their yards in your calendar, along with notes and tips.

Send monthly reminders. Guarantee that your name is seen month after month. Instead of sending out a yearly calendar in December, send a postcard calendar or a bookmark calendar each month of the year (a week or two ahead of time). Make it a picture postcard -- something new or unique -- or include monthly quotes, tips, or important industry dates.