Keeping your family organized can be a chore, and the old method of pen to paper using a digital organizer just isn’t enough anymore. You can have a shared family calendar that everyone can access on their individual devices, but Costco offers an interesting device called the Skylight Calendar that can serve as a central organization hub for everyone in the house.
It comes in a 15-inch size and includes a classic black snap-on frame, stylus, and $20 Instacard e-gift card, providing everything your family needs to get started. There is also a larger 27-inch size, ideal for wall mounting, making it an instant, underrated kitchen upgrade.
You can use Skylight Calendar to record appointments, sports activities, trips, tasks and lists, or even to plan your errands and meals. It’s easy to add items directly to the calendar, from the app, or sync it with apps like Outlook and Cozi so that any items you add from your device also instantly appear on the Skylight Calendar. It even syncs with Instacart so you can add groceries directly from the device interface and have them delivered. However, to be able to use all the functions, you will need a subscription to Skylight Calendar Plus, but both versions come with six months free. I reviewed the Skylight Calendar last year, so I have a good idea of how it works and how it can help busy families.
How the Skylight Calendar Can Help Your Family
Skylight Calendar makes organization easy by syncing with calendar apps or letting you add items using its touchscreen interface. Assign each family member a color for easy identification, like Billy’s baseball practice, Molly’s school concert night, and Dad’s work trip. Use this coding for household chores too, so children know what they need to do each day and can check off each task as they complete them. These could be recurring daily tasks like unloading the dishwasher and dusting the furniture, weekly tasks like vacuuming and cleaning their room, or non-recurring tasks like shoveling the driveway or changing the battery in the smoke detectors. A color can match “Family” for entries that apply to everyone.
If you have a vacation coming up and need a checklist that everyone can refer to, or want to make a shopping list so it’s ready for the next shopping day, this digital wall calendar can improve your planning. Place it in a high-traffic area, like a corner of the kitchen counter, or mount it on the entryway wall so it provides easy eye-level access for everyone. It’s also an essential Costco gadget for remote workers, who can use it as a separate desk calendar to keep track of appointments, virtual meetings, and more. Although you can use Skylight Calendar without a subscription, having one unlocks additional features, which you can take advantage of right away with this six-month trial.
What you get with a subscription
A Skylight Calendar Plus subscription includes Sidekick for importing events, recipes, and lists via photo or email. I added the hotel reservation details by taking a photo of the PDF confirmation and the recipes by uploading the URL to import their details. With meal planning, you can set a schedule to avoid the dreaded “what do you want for dinner?” ” conversation. Choose recipes or ask for ideas based on meal type and dietary restrictions. Relevant ingredients can be automatically added to the grocery list. Plus, kids can collect virtual stars to complete tasks, which you can use as rewards, like Friday night ice cream. Also use the calendar as a digital photo frame, displaying a static image or slideshow when you’re not checking calendar items.
Without Plus, you can still use Skylight Calendar as a synchronized calendar that everyone can access, providing a much cleaner setup than a refrigerator-mounted whiteboard or separate device calendars. In my experience, although it is expensive, busy families will see the value in the Skylight calendar. This eliminates the need to constantly exchange messages asking when Sam’s dentist appointment is or what time Mary’s wedding starts. It allows everyone to be on the same page, in a central location with remote application access as well. Getting it from Costco offers some nice extras, including a longer Plus trial and a reduced price as well as the extras mentioned above. There are alternatives to the Skylight calendar, but Costco’s deal is hard to pass up.
