[This is the most creative, elaborate theme I have seen in six years of collecting Christmas News Letters. It looks like the Milton Bradley board game, "LIFE". The "Game Board" - the path along the squares - is a spiral, starting in the upper left-hand corner and ending in the center of the page. It loses a little in the translation from a 16 MB Word document to a 300 KB HTML page, but you will, I hope, get the idea. The lady who created it is a Lieutenant in the Salvation Army. There are some notes at the bottom about terms she uses. ]

The Game of

Ruth S----- 2010 Edition

1. For one or more friends or family members.
2. Choose a game piece below - I drove each of these vehicles at some point this year.
3. Flip a coin - heads move 1 space, tails move 2 spaces.
4. Read each square carefully.
5. Everyone who reaches the end wins.
6. The prize is best wishes for a Merry Christmas.
7. Thank you for playing.
8. With love,

Ruth, Merlin and Hannah

[These are the game pieces mentioned above.]

[This is the game board mentioned above.]

			START HERE	January March 5.5 miles and perform timbrel routines in Tournament of Roses parade.	Spend a month in Mitchell helping Major Linda J.	February Attend regeneration, The Salvation Army's young adult retreat. Praise God for His amazing work.
						March Learn to drive the canteen. Lose a turn to practice.
Experience the Corn Palace Festival - that's the WORLD'S ONLY Corn Palace Festival.		September Attend LifeLight Festival and lose voice from all the screaming at the Family Force 5 concert.	Single Officers' Retreat, Orlando, Florida. A time of rejuvenation and meeting new friends.	Vacation in Tampa, Florida with Rachel and Aaron.		April Donate blood. Move forward one space if you are Team Edward.
Move to Mitchell, SD. Lose a turn to unpack.
Donate double unit of blood - total 1 gallon since moving to Lincoln. Go back to the beginning if you are Team Jacob				October Best friend from childhood gets married. Attend Angel's wedding and get an extra turn.		Attend Youth Councils with the teens of the corps. Being a leader is tiring! Lose a turn and some sanity.
August Attend another SACEP. You think a semester long class is tough? Try cramming it into one week!		YOU WIN! Merry Christmas and a Blessed New Year		November Vacation in Spearfish, SD. Lose a bet in Deadwood. Just don't get into a duel...		May Take two vacation days to spend time with family
		December There aren't enough words to thank God for his abundant blessings this year.		Move from apartment into a house in Mitchell. Lose a turn to pack and unpack again.
Go ahead 3 spaces for having a super "Doctor Who" party, including a TARDIS cake.			Adopt Hannah, a chocolate lab.			Attend SACEP, a week of continued education. Lose a turn to work on homework.
						Vacation in Chicago, see Cubs play - and lose - in Wrigley Field for the first time.
Babysit a 3-year-old and a 5-year-old for a week while their parents are leaders at camp.	July Attend Junior Girls camp and teach the Insect Life badge.	Lead VBS for the first time. Average attendance 125. Only God could do that!	Attend Commissioning weekend in Schaumburg, IL. Shake hands with General Clifton. What a rush!		June Donate blood. Jacob who?

Sent in by Alert Reader Ruth S., from Mitchell, SD.

Notes:
A timbrel is a small instrument like a tambourine.
SACEP is Salvation Army Continuing Education Program
General Shaw Clifton, LLB, BD, PhD, AKC, is the international leader of The Salvation Army.
VBS is Vacation Bible School.
A TARDIS is the time and space travel machine used in the TV show "Doctor Who". It looks like a 1950's London police box.
Team Edward and Team Jacob refer to the "Twilight" series.

This is one page of over four dozen devoted to Christmas news letters. The main Christmas News Letters page has links to more examples, plus some general guidelines and specific suggestions for writing Christmas news letters. If you have an example, either good or bad, that you'd like to share with the rest of the world, send it to me and I'll add it to these pages.