Holiday Card Score Sheet

Now that the season's greetings have rolled in, tally up the points for each card you received and check your holiday karma.

Gain points when you receive cards from:
- dentist, insurance agent, hairdresser, dry cleaner, mailman: +0.5
- your mom: +0.5
- another relative: +1
- friend, via email: +0.5
- your boss: +1
- friend you see at least 1x/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 3 lines: +5
- anyone who includes a handwritten personal note of ore than 5 sentences: +5
- long-lost friend who hasn't been heard from in 20 years: +10

Lose points when:
- card and envelope are the 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
- card plays annoying music that cannot be turned off: -4
- highly religious card that 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 actually have contributed: -7
- family newsletter contains the words gallbladder, spleen, or gout: -8
- family newsletter is from ex who is (not so) subtly gloating over recent wedding and cushy new job: -10
- long lost friend who hasn't been heard from in 20 years and is asking for money or 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 of family photo in card: +2
- card with moving parts: +3
- handmade card:+4
- oversize 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



How did you do?
Negative Points: Whoops! Did you forget to send out cards last year? More importantly, did you give the mailman a holiday gift?

0-20 points: Not too shabby. And you still have time - cards will probably trickle in until 2009 (or later, depending on when I get mine out!).

20 points and up: Well done! Looks like your mantle boasts cards aplenty. You're a shoo-in for Miss Congeniality.


(stolen shamelessly from Real Simple magazine)




Pau.




- hfs