Assuming the world doesn’t end on 12-21-12 pegged as the “end of the world” based on the Mayan Calendar, you then have only a little over a month to brace yourself for 2013. Just a few weeks more and you’d be joining in the chorus of the Auld Lang Syne, watching the fireworks and coming up with your New Year’s resolution. But don’t forget to pick out a new calendar!

In case you haven’t yet decided on what theme you’re going to use for next year’s calendar, here are 15 awesome designs that you can take inspiration from.

The Zoo Calendar

The Zoo Calendar brings back fond childhood memories of seeing wild animals that were once confined to textbook pages only. Coming in a paper craft kit, it consists of six animal designs—gorilla, stag, ostrich, porcupine, camel, and crocodile—all of which are cut out from a sturdy, white material.

Every design carries two months of the calendar on each side, which means you just have to flip them once the month is over. The great thing about this calendar is that it’s practically fuss-free. You only need to pop them out of the board, assemble the animal figures on your desktop, and you’re good to go.

The Idiom Calendar

The Idiom Calendar features eight popular idioms: “Tip of the Iceberg” for the cover; “Red Herring” for January and February; “Gild the Lily” for March and April; “Don’t Mince Words” for May and June; “A Drop in the Ocean” for July and August; “Go Against the Grain” for September and October; “Misery Loves Company” for November and December; and “A Day in the Sun” for the back cover.

Each idiom is incorporated with refreshingly painted images that bear keywords from the idioms themselves. Another great thing about the Idiom Calendar is that it is made from recycled paper and is acid-free.

The Planet Calendar

If you enjoy looking at the night sky and gazing at the heavenly bodies, then you will fall for this design. The Planet Calendar has its own special case that consists of a big circular hole and a set of smaller ones. The actual calendar is printed on twelve different kinds of textured paper (one for each month), which you will insert in the case.

The fun part comes when you slide the calendar in. The textured part of the paper is seen through the big hole, while the numbers in the calendar are seen through the smaller holes.

The Planet Calendar also doubles as a centerpiece, because it looks like a triangular picture frame when you fold it in the seams. You can also find Solar System symbols embossed on one of its sides, which add texture to the piece itself.

The Fluid Animals Calendar

If you love animals, the Fluid Animals calendar is another treat for you and your wall. Created by Ben O’Brien, also known as Ben the Illustrator, this calendar features colored drawings of animals that have a transparent effect.

According to O’Brien, these illustrations started out as pencil drawings he did before working. One of his colleagues described his drawings as “fluid,” because of the simple shapes and designs that made up an entire pencil drawing. O’Brien has long been in the arts and design business, so he took it a notch further by finishing the drawings digitally and published Fluid Animals as calendars.

The Color Calendar

Spread color and good vibes in your office by propping the Color Calendar on your desk. This calendar focuses not only on colors but also on the energies they represent. Just like a notebook, Color Calendar is bound by rings, only that it is horizontal. It has a page for each month of the year, and each of these pages features a specific color and the energy it imbibes.

Perhaps you have seen other calendars such as this, but what makes the Color Calendar unique is the Ukrainian patterns it forms upon flipping the pages.

Work + Play Coaster/Calendar Set

You may never want to leave your dining table if you have this coaster-slash-calendar nestling your glass or mug. Artistic and functional at the same time, the Work + Play Coaster/Calendar Set will brighten up any place where you decide to have tea or coffee.

This set comes with 12 coasters, where each month of the year is printed on one side, while a decorative pattern is printed on the other. It also comes with a wooden rack to keep your coasters organized when not in use, and of course, to display the current month.

The Antalis Calenclock

“Functional” and “ergonomic” are two words you rarely use when describing calendars; that is, if you even bother describing them. In this calendar’s case, however, the two given words are the befitting ones for it is not only a calendar—it is also a clock. A cute clock.

The clock is attached to twelve pages of the calendar representing each month of the year. Aside from what you usually find on a calendar, the Antalis Calenclock also has inspirational words embossed on the right bottom corner of the page.

The cool part is that once the current month is over, you can tear its page in the middle vertically to reveal the next page. And when December’s over, you still get to keep the clock bearing the advice “Treasure Every Second.”

Surprising the Future

Surprising the Future is more than just a calendar. It is also a coffee table book that showcases photographs and a storyteller all at the same time. Designed to celebrate great ideas and victory over challenges, Surprising the Future features spreads of fantastic black-and-white photographs, along with a month of the year printed on one corner of the page. Each spread also includes predictions made by known people that were disproven in the pursuit of bright ideas.

If you’re the sort who finds enjoyment in entertaining people or simply in acquiring memorabilia, Surprising the Future would be a great addition to your collection.

The Calendar Matches

What makes the Calendar Matches design really awesome is that you can literally burn the days off after it has passed. The pages of this ring-bound calendar are made of real matchsticks attached to the pages themselves. Each matchstick represents a calendar day. The idea is, after each day, you tear the respective matchstick, strike it, and see it burn. There is no way you will find this calendar uncool.

The Companhia Athletica Calendar

Created especially for a gym in Brazil, the Companhia Athletica Calendar was intended to provide motivation to the customers to keep on working out.

This calendar begins with a silhouette of an overweight body. But as the months go by, it reveals a more fit body. If you share the same sentiment when it comes to reaching your fitness goals, the Companhia Athletica Calendar is one of the things you need to keep you going.

The 3M Earplugs Calendar

From one bright advertisement to a creative calendar idea—this is what company 3M achieved when they launched an ingenious earplug ad. 3M’s Earplugs Calendar has a total of 43 ears—12 for each month of the year, and 31 for each day of the month.

The mechanics of this calendar is simple. You just have to place one earplug on the current month and place the other end on the corresponding day.

The Tamiya Calendar

If you are a hardcore Tamiya fan, get ready to squeal in delight, for they launched a calendar that is not supposed to be thrown out—ever. Unlike your usual calendar that you would probably dispose of as soon as December 31st is over, the Tamiya Calendar serves another purpose because you can actually assemble the pages into twelve different modeling kits.

The Onion Calendar

Believe it or not, this calendar was made to promote neither onions nor calendars. It was actually made to promote Wüsthof Knives, a brand of knives from Germany. But why choose the onion among all known ingredients? This is because Wüsthof Knives claim that with the use of their products, it is actually possible to slice an onion in 365 ways. The number 365 is then translated to a calendar, and the rest is history.

A perfect piece to accentuate your kitchen wall, each page of the Onion Calendar shows what an onion looks like after each slice. The last page displays a picture of a single Wüsthof knife responsible for the 365 different onion cuts.

The Keskin Calendar

For many businesses, gaining and keeping customers is the be-all and end-all of success. This is why they incorporate customer care in every possible way they could—including calendars. If you agree with this principle, you might find yourself owning a Keskin Calendar.

Initially distributed to Keskin dealers, every page of this calendar shows a different tire rim that Keskin makes. You will also find the dates strategically printed within the rims, giving it a sophisticated look.

Mash Creative Calendar

In 2012, design firm Mash Creative released the last installment of their calendar trilogy, A1 calendar posters. Named as the Gold Edition, this calendar is printed on black Plike paper using metallic gold paint and white varnish.

On the poster, you will find the words “Seven Hundred and Eighty Four Hours,” which signifies the number of hours the year 2012 has. Printed in significantly smaller letters is the actual calendar dates and days.

So which of these calendars are you planning to welcome your 2013 with? Share your pick by leaving a comment below!

Written by Beverly Tenorio: Beverly Tenorio is a writer and relationship marketer for Printrunner.com, a leading socially responsible online printing firm that offers calendar printing services and various printed marketing media.