Do you do a family Christmas letter?

[bockbock2008]

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Not only do I read them, I do enjoy getting them and yes, I also send them out. I keep all of the cards until after Christmas and give them to my grandmother. She is a very crafty 81 year old and recycles used cards, She will either make bookmarks out of them or small boxes. Wedding invitations, birth announcements, you name it grandma will make a book mark out of it and give it back as a keepsake gift. She provides the nursing homes and church groups with bookmarks and the local Thrift shop (kinda like a goodwill store) with small boxes to sell their jewelry and small items in. The best part, when you get a bookmark from grandma, you always need to check it for a president.

 

[6chickens in St. Charles]

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OMG That's a great idea! Love it!

We have used the pretty front pictures to make gift tags, but those only get recycled once, for a gift. Some have made it to the tree as cut out ornaments. The bookmark is a great idea! (Like the snowman earrings we wear in August to remind us of winter) The pretty winter scenes or religious scenes sure would make great bookmarks!

 

[Dunkopf]

My Mother does the Christmas letter thing. Unfortunately she doesn't follow the rules and brags about my 2 nephews that live in the same city as her. This irritates my DW as little mention is made of our 2 biological children. No mention at all of our 5 adopted kids. I know my Mother and her quirks so it doesn't upset me too much.

My Sister who is the mother of my 2 nephews in Tx brags about them a lot in her Christmas letter. It's ok though. Her DH is nothing to brag about and she is very devoted to her boys as she should be.

 

[woodmort]

We've lived in the same town for 49 years plus taught here for 35, in that time we've had a lot of friends and colleagues that we were close to that have moved away. Christmas is the one time of year we all get together with these people as well as our far-flung relatives and we do it with Christmas cards. We don't send them to those we see every day but the out of town and state ones get Christmas greetings from us. I suppose we could do it on their birthdays but, for most, we don't know them. Likewise, as I said early most are not computer literate so that isn't possible. The ones that are close to us and know our kids get a letter in the card so they can keep up on what we (and they) are doing.

BTW, we don't send cards to those that don't send to us.

 

[mom'sfolly]

I love getting Christmas cards, and I like getting Christmas letters...

The idea is to let people know you think about them, even if you are a bad correspondent. We traditionally do this at Christmas and at birthdays. Why would saying hello, and Merry Christmas annoy or irritate anyone? I agree some Christmas letters can be very bragging, but why would you not put the best of your life in your card. I like the ones with some humor and pictures. I can't visit all my family every year, so pictures in Christmas letters give me a point of reference and a synopsis of the year.

Looks like I'm in the minority though.

 

[redhen]

mom'sfolly :

I love getting Christmas cards, and I like getting Christmas letters...

The idea is to let people know you think about them, even if you are a bad correspondent. We traditionally do this at Christmas and at birthdays. Why would saying hello, and Merry Christmas annoy or irritate anyone? I agree some Christmas letters can be very bragging, but why would you not put the best of your life in your card. I like the ones with some humor and pictures. I can't visit all my family every year, so pictures in Christmas letters give me a point of reference and a synopsis of the year.

Looks like I'm in the minority though.

I agree.. i also think its a nice idea.

 

[FarmerJamie]

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Hey Rancher, I'm going to give you

My mom has a strong faith and she is affectionately known as "the card lady" by her circle of friends. Despite limited funds and helped by a strong nose for discounts, she probably sends 10-20 cards to friends, relatives, and church pals each month. The past year or so, she sent cards to a friend of my late grandmother every month. Found out later, that was one thing that kept that dear woman going..."is my card here yet?"...

My opposition to the form is based on the samples I see that are nothing but brag sheets. DW bought some pre-printed blank cards and we are printing our own holiday message in them. This whole thread has got me thinking about maybe personalizing messages/letters to about a dozen to the closest friends and relatvies.

 

[kuntrygirl]

I am sooooooooooo glad that my CLOSE friends know NOT to send me that crap.

 

[Mahonri]

Yeah, we do a brag letter every year with a recent pic.

 

[dela1991]

We receive a yearly newsletter each Christmas from my husbands cousin who lives in Florida. He writes it in his cats "voice". So, OK, the cat is writing the newsletter about your exciting lives. I guess its not as corny because the cat is writing it. Two years ago, the cat hand wrote "Merry Christmas Rod (my husband) and Margaret (my brother-in-laws wife). I guess the cat got confused. I'm sure my husbands cousin would not make that mistake. That's the great thing about having your pet write your newsletter. You don't get blamed for bragging about your great kids or your great lives. Blame it all on the cat.

Sorry Woodmort, I have to give a big thumbs down to the newsletter.

Signed, Margaret...I mean Terri