Shopping Siren can sum up her love of the New Year in one word:

Calendars. 

Do I want my 2016 to be rough and tumble with puppies or cute and sweet with flower gardens? Do I want to laugh every day or learn something new? Should I geek out with superheros or go zen with white sand beaches?

Generally my answer is yes. Yes to all of the calendars! Which is why every January, I end up with two or three (or, uh, four or five) of them scattered around my house and taped to my desk at work. 

I try to be selective, but it’s hard. When else do you get to choose a theme for your year? And, apparently, my year revolves around shelter kittens getting into trouble, baseball history and sledding nuns.

Haven’t chosen your theme yet? Fear not! I spent the last days of the old year scouting around for ways to keep track of the new year.

Ready or not, here comes 2016.

* Pugs and Kisses wall calendar, Pet Life, $15.99

Created in Portland by the same designer of Pugs and Kisses greeting cards and art prints, this adorable calendar features 12 photos of fun-loving, costumed pugs. Need a fairy pug mother? June. Vampire bat pug? October. Pug in pearls? November. Because you don’t choose the pug life — the pug life chooses you. 

* Vintage Marvel Comics wall calendar by Asgard Press, Books-A-Million, $10.97

This 11- by 17-inch calendar features reproduced covers from classic Marvel comic books, including the No. 6 of “Nick Fury, Agent of SHIELD” from 1968 and Daredevil No. 99, “Daredevil and the Black Widow,” from 1973. Pages are perforated so they can be easily torn out and framed as some pretty cool wall art after the year is over. 

Note: This calendar is regularly $21.95, but Books-A-Million is offering half off all calendars now. Score! Just remember, with great buying power comes great responsibility.

* This Day in History desk calendar by Sourcebooks, Books-A-Million, $7.49

Features 366 days (leap year!) of world history and historical trivia. For example, May 31 was the day Watergate’s Deep Throat was revealed in 2005. FYI, it was not Diane Sawyer.

* Design Originals coloring calendar, Books-A-Million, $6.49  

Sized between a wall calendar and a desk calendar, this 12-month black-and-white beauty lets you color through the months with psychedelic flowers and kaleidoscope designs. A much healthier way to cope with life’s frustrations than, say, stress-eating a 5-pound bag of Hershey’s Kisses. Though, to be fair, colored pencils don’t taste as good.   

* Kingfield bicentennial calendar, Kingfield, $10

An illustrated history of the tiny Franklin County town, with “then and now” photos of Kingfield bridges, inns and more. Available for sale at many Kingfield businesses and at the Town Hall, or by contacting the Bicentennial Committee. Proceeds help support the town’s celebrations in 2016. Because when you turn 200, you deserve more than an ice cream cake. Though you definitely should get an ice cream cake, too.

* HART calendar, Homeless Animal Rescue Team shelter, $15

From the Homeless Animal Rescue Team, a cat rescue group and no-kill cat shelter just over the Gray line in Cumberland. Available for sale at HART, the calendar features “a celebration of picture purr-fect adoptions” from HART families, with proceeds benefiting the shelter’s work. Photos are sweet, funny, adorable and guaranteed to make you want to adopt another cat — or three. That’s not a bad thing.  

Best find: Yankee Golden Retriever Rescue wall calendar, Pet Life, $13

Twelve months of beautiful/happy/contemplative golden retrievers, all of them adopted from Yankee Golden Retriever Rescue. Calendar proceeds benefit the 30-year-old rescue group that serves Maine and the rest of New England. Get a cute calendar — check. Help a worthy cause — check. Those New Year’s resolutions practically write themselves.

Think twice: Shark Week wall calendar, Books-A-Million, $6.99

“Live every week like it’s Shark Week!” this calendar exclaims. Um. No thanks. As themes-for-the-year go, sharks everywhere is a bit disconcerting. If ocean predators happen to be your thing, great! But if you’re not a wannabe elasmobranchologist, your 2016 might be more tranquil with something else. Just ask your fairy pug mother.

Shopping Siren’s true identity is protected by a pair of stylish, sweater-wearing Doberman pinschers (who think colored pencils taste just fine) and the Customer Service counter at the Sun Journal. You can reach her at shoppingsiren@sunjournal.com.

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