Display a colorful and randomly selected Christmas message.

ChristmasWishes.ps1

<#
Display a randomly selected holiday quote in a festive color scheme
you can find more Christmas quotes at
http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/topics/topic_christmas.html

Learn more about PowerShell:
http://jdhitsolutions.com/blog/essential-powershell-resources/

#>

#The quote should include the author separated by " - ".
$texts = @(
"I will honor Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year. - Charles Dickens",
"Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night! - Santa Claus",
"Christmas isn't a season. It's a feeling. - Edna Ferber",
"It is a fine seasoning for joy to think of those we love. - Moliere",
"Christmas, children, is not a date. It is a state of mind. - Mary Ellen Chase",
"Maybe Christmas, the Grinch thought, doesn't come from a store. - Dr. Seuss",
"Christmas waves a magic wand over this world, and behold, everything is softer and more beautiful. - Norman Vincent Peale"
)

#get random text
$text = Get-Random $texts

#split the text to an array on ' - '
$split = $text -split " - "
$quote = $split[0].Trim()
$author = $split[1].Trim()

#turn the quote into an array of characters
$arr = $quote.ToCharArray()

$arr | foreach -Begin {
cls
#define an array of colors
$colors = "Red","Green","White","Magenta"
#insert a few blank lines
write-host "`n"
#insert top border
write-host ("*"*$($quote.length+6))
#insert side border
write-host '*  ' -NoNewline
} -process {

#write each character in a different holiday color
Write-Host $_ -ForegroundColor (Get-Random $colors) -NoNewline

} -end {
  write-host '  *'
  #insert side border
  Write-Host "* " -NoNewline
  #write the author 
  Write-Host "- $author  *".padleft($quote.length+4)
  #insert bottom border
  write-Host ("*"*$($quote.length+6))
  Write-Host "`n"
}

This script was first described at http://bit.ly/1PmKauh.