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.