Large nice family calendar for mudroom

[arivecchi]

Things are getting more complicated with birthdays, play dates and mutiple extra curricular activities and I need a nice (preferably framed) family calendar pronto. Any care to recommend theirs? TIA!

[happymomma]

We love the one from Pottery Barn.

http://www.potterybarn.com/products/daily-system-espresso-stain/?pkey=e%7Ccalendar%7C5%7Cbest%7C0%7C1%7C24%7C%7C3&cm_src=PRODUCTSEARCH||NoFacet-_-NoFacet-_-Sku_Bottom_Marketing_Rule-_-

We have the black frame in our kitchen and color code the activities. So that each of the kids know what activities, playdates etc. that they have.

[niccig]

How do people keep these updated? I put all appts in my gmail calendar and access it by my phone or computer. If I had a wall calendar, I would have to manually update that too. I barely keep 1 calendar going let alone 2. But I would like to have one so DS can see what he is doing too.

Thanks.

[KrisM]

How do people keep these updated? I put all appts in my gmail calendar and access it by my phone or computer. If I had a wall calendar, I would have to manually update that too. I barely keep 1 calendar going let alone 2. But I would like to have one so DS can see what he is doing too.

Thanks.

I do it by week. We have a personalized calendar that is only 1 week. There are rows for each of the 5 of us and one for "All". I update it on Sundays, as my week starts Monday. It's on the fridge, so I just pull it off and bring it to my computer and fill it out. If something gets added during the week, I add it.

[o_mom]

How do people keep these updated? I put all appts in my gmail calendar and access it by my phone or computer. If I had a wall calendar, I would have to manually update that too. I barely keep 1 calendar going let alone 2. But I would like to have one so DS can see what he is doing too.

Thanks.

I'm thinking I need a nice Tablet to hang on my wall just to display my calendar, lol. Surely such a think exists by now.

[egoldber]

How do people keep these updated?

We use the wall calendar/planner only for standing appointments:

dance
gymnastics
PE
piano lesson
library days

That way we can see at a glance in the morning anything happening that day that might require something special to go in a backpack, different footwear, etc.

Things like doctor's appointments, birthday parties, etc. only live in our Outlook/phone calendars.

[arivecchi]

The phone/ipad calendars are only useful to me as reminders, but I think I need to see a bigger calendar with the whole month so I don't double book things and can plan things properly. I think it will also be useful to my DH.

[arivecchi]

We love the one from Pottery Barn.

http://www.potterybarn.com/products/daily-system-espresso-stain/?pkey=e%7Ccalendar%7C5%7Cbest%7C0%7C1%7C24%7C%7C3&cm_src=PRODUCTSEARCH||NoFacet-_-NoFacet-_-Sku_Bottom_Marketing_Rule-_-

We have the black frame in our kitchen and color code the activities. So that each of the kids know what activities, playdates etc. that they have. Love this one. How do you color code things in it?

I had not thought of a magnetic calendar for the fridge. That would be ideal.

[acmom]

I do it by week. We have a personalized calendar that is only 1 week. There are rows for each of the 5 of us and one for "All". I update it on Sundays, as my week starts Monday. It's on the fridge, so I just pull it off and bring it to my computer and fill it out. If something gets added during the week, I add it.

:yeahthat: I do something similar with a weekly calendar (I found a DIY version on pinterest made out of a wooden frame with 8 openings- I write on the glass with dry erase markers). It hangs in my kitchen on the way out the door to the mudroom.

I write our apps, activities, etc. along with my dinner plan for the week on there. I leave standing activities on there all the time so I only have to add/erase/edit if there is a change to those and then add anything additional. The rest of my calendar stuff is on a shared calendar on DH's and my iPhones and iPads.

[happymomma]

Love this one. How do you color code things in it?

I had not thought of a magnetic calendar for the fridge. That would be ideal.

I use different color markers for different people:

pink-- DD
Blue- DS
orange- for both DD and DS
purple- Me
Red- family
brown- DH

Since we have been using the colors for awhile, kids know which color is which. I do it on a monthly basis. It is nice b/c kids know what they have that morning when they are eating breakfast since DH does morning duty 3 mornings a week.

[egoldber]

You can get large vinyl decal calendars.

http://www.pbteen.com/products/dry-erase-calendar-decal/?pkey=cwall-decals&cm_src=wall-decals||NoFacet-_-NoFacet-_--_-

They are also sized for the refigerator in vinyl

http://www.amazon.com/Avery-Calendar-Removable-12-Inches-24396/dp/B007TSAVO6/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1360955228&sr=8-2&keywords=refrigerator+calendar

or magnetic

http://www.amazon.com/Board-Dudes-Magnetic-Calendar-13888UA-4/dp/B0079XLGVS/ref=pd_sbs_op_2

Ours is in a weekly format, but with a line for each person.

[Kindra178]

We have the big white board from The Board Dudes. I do it once a month. It is so nice to see what we have going on, especially when DS1's basketball interferes with DS2 and 3's TKD class. I love the Pottery Barn one too.

http://www.boarddudesdirect.com/blfrmacawico.html

[Pennylane]

I was just at Kohls and noticed they had some really nice, large family calendars! Was wishing I had a place to put one.

Ann

[daisysmom]

How do people keep these updated? I put all appts in my gmail calendar and access it by my phone or computer. If I had a wall calendar, I would have to manually update that too. I barely keep 1 calendar going let alone 2. But I would like to have one so DS can see what he is doing too.

.

This is us too. I have to keep it all on my computer/outlook and then sync my husband to it (or invite him to events he has to attend). When the week looks to be full of activities, I print it out on Sunday night and hang it up so we all have it in print. But I couldn't keep up a print calendar regularly.

[wallawala]

We have the pottery barn one, and love it.

Updating it once a month (holding my iPhone in one hand and dry erase in the other) really helps me focus on what's ahead. Reminds me of pinch points in week and so I plan ahead better than just looking weekly/daily on my phone. I thought it would be alot of work, not as much as I thought it would, and for me it is worth it.

Plus keeps my luddite DH on the same page with me. :)

[mik8]

We love the one from Pottery Barn.

http://www.potterybarn.com/products/daily-system-espresso-stain/?pkey=e%7Ccalendar%7C5%7Cbest%7C0%7C1%7C24%7C%7C3&cm_src=PRODUCTSEARCH||NoFacet-_-NoFacet-_-Sku_Bottom_Marketing_Rule-_-

We have this exact PB calendar in black too, and I use colored dry erase markers for different activities. Everyone who's seen it had asked me where I got it.

[dogmom]

I have a big wipe board/bulletin board in the kitchen. I print out our household Google calendar once a week (although I do a whole month) and pin it up. I also pin up things like the school year calendar, notices, etc. On the wipe board I put the weekly menu on one side and reminders (like Friday, Pajama Day @ school). It's not elegant, but it is very versatile. I have been considering adding some kid of place for papers also.

[KrisM]

This is where we got ours: http://www.ccreations.com/planning.cfm

Down the side is Mom, Dad, DS1's name, DD's name, DS2's name, All. We have no title. There is enough space below the grid that I can write the menu there.

I've used it since Sept. 2009 and it's held up very well. No issues at all.

[arivecchi]

Thanks for all the great ideas! Guess I will be doing some calendar shopping tonight. :)

[arivecchi]

They are also sized for the refigerator in vinyl

http://www.amazon.com/Avery-Calendar-Removable-12-Inches-24396/dp/B007TSAVO6/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1360955228&sr=8-2&keywords=refrigerator+calendar

Thanks! I think I am going to get this one after measuring my fridge. The fridge is really the best spot for it and the reviews mention that you can use two next to each other which is just perfect because I do need two months. Love the PB and PB Teen ones but don't really have space for them anywhere in my kitchen or mudroom.

[justlearning]

or magnetic

http://www.amazon.com/Board-Dudes-Magnetic-Calendar-13888UA-4/dp/B0079XLGVS/ref=pd_sbs_op_2

A note of caution in case anyone saw this and was considering it for their fridge. The calendar is magnetic so you can stick things to it with magnets, but the calendar itself is not magnetic--you have to mount it to a wall. I bought one similar, thinking the whole thing was magnetic, and was disappointed.

[squimp]

We use the wall calendar/planner only for standing appointments:

dance
gymnastics
PE
piano lesson
library days

That way we can see at a glance in the morning anything happening that day that might require something special to go in a backpack, different footwear, etc.

Things like doctor's appointments, birthday parties, etc. only live in our Outlook/phone calendars.

This is what I do, I have a google calendar that I can access on my phone and that in theory DH can access and then I keep the regularly scheduled events on the paper calendar.

[arivecchi]

Beth, thanks for recommending the Avery calendars! I got this version:

http://www.amazon.com/Avery-Monthly-Calendar-Removable-24384/dp/B0070FCHX6/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1361375961&sr=8-3&keywords=avery+dry+erase+calendar

and they look decent on the fridge. I have two of them side by side so that we can see two months and I like the fact that DH will be forced to read it on the fridge!

I also got this:

http://www.amazon.com/Expo-Piece-Original-Marker-Starter/dp/B00006IFIV/ref=sr_1_1?s=office-products&ie=UTF8&qid=1361376042&sr=1-1&keywords=dry+erase+set

So in all, I spent about $20 for a very functional and visible calendar system! :thumbsup::thumbsup: