The reasons for forgetfulness are legion; busy
lives, multi-tasking, social commitments, family
preoccupations. Birthdays, anniversaries,
graduations etcetera slip into oblivion,
unmarked and forgotten.

Or milestone events are remembered
too late - the shops are closed, the
last post has gone, and the only
option is the text message,
the email, the phone call.
This is better than nothing,
but it is scarcely a noteworthy gesture, guaranteed to fill the
recipient with a warm glow of appreciation. It smacks of an undignified last-minute scramble; an attempt to rectify earlier forgetfulness. Yes, the date has been noted, but the sense of occasion is certainly lacking.

So why not pre-empt this inevitable backslide into carelessness? Write important dates in your diary, or personal organiser or computer calendar. Frequent card shops and stock up on an array of cards. Go for a generic range, preferably with no printed greeting; humorous (raunchy, wry, ironic), bland and flowery, unashamedly masculine (boats, cars, golf), unashamedly feminine (pinks and purples, shoe and handbag motifs etc.), children's (dinosaurs or goofy animals will suit any age under ten and either gender).

Save the special occasion cards (named birthdays, anniversaries, congratulations on new jobs, get well soon) for targeted purchases - if you remember… Your card collection should be a reliable failsafe that will never fail you when you're reduced to last-minute rummaging. Buy books of stamps whenever you're standing idly in a queue at the newsagent - you can never have too many.

Now you're all set up, and there is no excuse for failure. You are about to make your friends and relations very happy. On life's special occasions no one can resist that inevitable lifting of the spirits that comes with the sight of a pile of greeting cards on the doormat. There really is nothing like a well-chosen card, a handwritten greeting and envelope, to suffuse the recipient with heart-warming feelings of being remembered, thought about and cared for. So what's the excuse for forgetting?