1-31: International Calendar Awareness Month. Marking the importance of the calendar.  We can think of at least one appropriate product. Maybe two.

1-31: National Stress-Free Family Holidays Month.  The holiday season is a time for giving. It’s also a time for patience and tempers to wear thin, and emotions to be drained. A reminder that family time is especially important this time of year. Medical centers, hospitals, health-food stores, stress-management services, churches and more can be part of it.

1: Basketball Invention Anniversary. James Naismith introduced it today in 1891, using peach baskets. A great tie-in for teams, as well as sports-oriented TV/radio stations and sporting-goods stores.

2: Safety Razor Patented Anniversary. By King Gillette, 1901. It might not sound like much, but anyone who’s ever tried to use a straight razor knows how important this day was in preventing countless facial cuts.

5: Phyllis Wheatley: Death Anniversary. In 1784. One of America’s first poets, Wheatley came to the U.S. in 1761 as a slave. Allowed to learn to read and write, she was first published in 1770. Interesting tie-in for bookstores, poetry groups and schools.

9: Clarence Birdseye: Birthday. The inventor of what most of us couldn’t imagine being without – frozen food. Great for supermarkets, food wholesalers, freezer manufacturers/retailers and more. Born 1886.

14: Michel De Notredame: Birthday. Aka/Nostramadus, a French doctor far more famous for his predictions than his prescriptions. Good tie-in idea for anything that can use an “I (or we) foresee” theme. Born 1503.

26: National Whiners Day. Even whiners need a special day. Actually a good opportunity to promote “no whining” in offices, schools, dentists’ offices, banks, stock exchanges or anywhere else moaning and groaning are likely to take place.

17-23: Tell Someone They’re Doing A Good Job Week. Everyone likes to be acknowledged, no matter what their job is. Name any business, and you’ve named a candidate for this tie-in.

17: First Powered Flight Anniversary. Wilbur and Orville put Kitty Hawk, NC, on the map this
day in 1903. An excellent tie-in opportunity for airlines, travel agencies, airports, luggage shops and even vacation/meeting locations.

31: Leap-Second Adjustment Time. Need a different year-end promo? Try this. New Year’s Eve is also a preferred time for adding or removing one second from our clocks and watches to coordinate atomic and astronomical time.