Let's Play a Game!

It's getting to be about that time of the year.  You know, the time of the year when your mailbox starts to overflow with holiday cards and well-wishes.  Honestly, getting Christmas cards is maybe one of my favorite parts of the holiday season.  Getting to see those that I'm not in frequent contact with and how much everyone has grown (or in my case gotten older). 

So here's a fun little game that I found in the December 2008 edition of Real Simple.  Play along with me.  Then at the end of the card receiving season we'll compare scores.  Come on!  It'll be fun!

Holiday-Card Score Sheet

When the season's greetings start rolling in, tally up the points for each card you receive and check your holiday luck.

Gain points when you receive cards from:

• Dentist, insurance agent, hairdresser, dry cleaner, mailman +0.5 each
• Your own mother +0.5
• Another relative +1
• Friend via e-mail +0.5
• Your boss +1
• Friend you see at least once a week +1
• Above, with reference to an inside joke +3
• Long-distance friend, devoid of any personal message +2
• Above, with personal message of at least three lines +5
• Anyone who includes a handwritten personal note of more than five sentences +5
• Long-lost friend who hasn't been heard from in 20 years +10

Lose points when:

• Card and envelope are same piece of paper -1
• Signature is imprinted rather than handwritten inside card -2
• Photo is of a helpless pet in a holiday costume -3
• Your name is spelled incorrectly -4
• Highly religious card celebrates faith other than your own -5
• Card is the same one you received last year -6
• Return-address label was provided by charity to which sender may not have actually contributed -7
• Family newsletter contains words such as gallbladder, spleen, and gout -8
• Family newsletter is from ex who is (not so) subtly gloading over his/her recent wedding and cushy new job -10
• Long-lost friend who hasn't been heard from in 20 years asks for money of a place to live -20

Bonus points:

• Gilded envelope +0.5
• Handwritten return address +1
• Card in which all family members appear to have signed their own names +2
• Newsletter or family photo in card +2
• Card with moving parts +3
• Extremely clever handmade card +4
• Oversized card requiring extra postage +5
• Card sent from foreign country +6
• Newsletter with humor at progeny's expense +8
• Card with check, cash, or gift certificate +20

I'll check in every now and then with my to date results.  This could be fun!  Join me!