The MomSpeak: Holiday letters: an inexpensive alternative to Christmas cards, and more welcome than you might realize

My next MomSpeak post expounds upon the virtues of The Holiday Letter:

Holiday letters: an inexpensive alternative to Christmas cards, and more welcome than you might realize

I'm not the only one who loves holiday letters, am I?

Comments

[Jen]

Nope, you're not the only one! I used to make fun of them until I realized how much I love getting them and how much I look forward to reading everyone's news. Now we send one out every year...I try to keep it away from being "braggy" but it's fun to update everyone on what we've been doing.

[Holly]

I dig them. My mom, on the other hand, inexplicably HATES them. Whatever.

[stacy]

Well, they do sound inexpensive.

But..I'm not convinced. Of all the holiday letters I've received, not one has been fun or quirky like yours apparently was. They've been...just like the stereotype. Maybe I just know the wrong people. But boy, are those things dull!

That said, I don't think cards are a particularly great alternative. Expensive, as you imply, and the signature isn't exactly meaningful communication. I don't really know of a good way to do keeping-in-touch-just-once-a-year. So in the absence of a better alternative...

[Magda]

I like getting them from friends, and I also like doing our own. Looking back over the previous year is fun, but my favorite part is watching my husband put his flavor of humor into everything which has happened.

[kate]

i love getting them actually - even if they are braggy - it's kinda fun to make fun of them. instead of an expensive card - i just create a card in photoshop, make it into a jpg and have it printed at shutterfly as if it was a photo. it's about 15 cents per card (and you can get inexpensive envelopes at envelopemall.com). with a new baby and our goofy sense of humor - i hope people will enjoy them even if we don't share a personal note.

[adrienne]

One year (before kids) we wrote a snarky, self-deprecating Christmas letter that chronicled our year’s low points (hate letters from the neighbors regarding our lawn, plumbing disasters, social gaffes) as a cautionary tale. The big lesson of the year was “when the draining washing machine causes the bathtub to fill with water, DO NOT flush the toilet.” (Coincidentally, that was the year we got to know our plumbers on a first name basis…)

We loved the responses that year, but didn’t want to make it our annual theme. This year I think (can you tell we’re procrastinators?) we’ll include photos of the kids and family favorites from 2008 (activities, events, books, music, movies, and maybe a recipe or two).

The only award we’ve earned this year is “the official award for most belated wedding present ever” (3 years, so ever may only apply to the post-Pony Express period- or maybe we just operate on frontier era time).

Happy holidays, Asha!

[sohobutterfly]

I love them! I love doing ours, and, I admit, I love reading everyone else's too.

I'm East Indian, so our people don't really do these things. But since marrying my Caucasian Hubby, I write one every year. His family does them, so why not us? Even though I get teased mercilessly for them from a certain group of urban friends, a lot of people really enjoy reading them (or at least they tell me so!). I try to make them funny and not too detailed, just a birds eye view of our past year - and pictures, always with pictures. :o)