Christmas Letter

[fixer]

As I sit here sleep deprived, I need to ask does anyone else send a letter along with the Christmas card? DW was raised that you simply must recap all of your activities from the past year in your Christmas card. I, on the other hand, always just signed it and sent it on it's merry way. In all fairness, DW would be doing this if she was home.

[Edna_E]

I get them both ways, and I vary the way I send them from year to year.

[Lady_V]

No... I don't send letters. My life isn't that exciting that I need to publicize it to everyone I know.

I have only received one 'letter' in the last 20 years... and even then it was from a family member we couldn't recognize if they were standing in front of us swinging a branch from the family tree...

[TheRootedNomad]

When I do send Christmas cards I generally send them early and put my letter of Thanksgiving in them if I've done one. I so rarely send cards though I'm surprised I haven't been taken off everyone's list.

[MoonMommy]

I only send the card unless it is someone we don't see or talk to that often and then I might jot a quick note. My dad always hand writes a note, sometimes really long, in his cards. However, he is sending them to his family overseas whom he only really "talks" to at this time of year. So, it is basically his "update".

[freebs]

i do send a letter, just giving basic info like what age the kiddos are and what grade they are in school. Then what activities they are in now. i have family that i dont speak to on a regular basis to keep in in the loop so i jsut do a rundown and mail it out!

[corpsefeet]

if we haven't told you what happened during the year when it happened, then it isn't their business.... sorry. If you weren't important enough for me to cut in the first time around, you aren't important enough for me to send a letter to. and another thing, if you don't know what age my kids are, you aren't worth the postage.

[madhen]

I have thought about sending a letter, but never get around to it and, to some extent, don't think I have anything interesting enough about my life to make people bother to read about it!

I used to sometimes get a letter from one of my cousins. I didn't necessarily find it exciting or boring to get one. I did read it; it was kind of dull; but at least I knew that year what was important to her.

I haven't received a letter in ages, though.

[UUMomof3]

We did send a letter last year, full blown multi-photo deal. My FIL complained that we didn't get pictures in of both dogs.

This year I'm not sending anything, except a card to some a friend who unexpectedly lost her mother this summer. It'll be a tough Christmas for her and her partner.

We usually get letters from three folks: a set of family friends who recap their annual travels, my father and stepmother, and my DH's relatives in another state. Truthfully, I just skim them. Except the one that pushes religion, that one I just recycle.

[danni]

Both my younger and older sister send a letter. I would like to but I just can't seem to find the time. Right now I'm more focused spending the time making the holidays memorable for my kids. Doing things like making gingerbread houses, looking at christmas lights, going sledding are all more important than a letter.

[forHISglory]

I LOVE Christmas letters! I love to get them and give them. We have made a letter every year of our marriage, and it's a wonderful chronicle of the events of our lives. I scrapbook the letters that we both give and receive, along with the photo cards that we get. I love looking back on them and reading them.

[HisDaisy]

Before I was married, I sent my Christmas cards without a letter, but I included a hand written note on some of them.
Now we send out a letter with our cards. My DH is a writer and really enjoys writing a Christmas letter. The letter usually recaps the years in some sort of funny way and we do get compliments on the letter we send. To us a letter is way to keep up with family and friends that we don't see very often. We have moved quite a bit and have family and friends all over the country.

[Greebo]

I never read christmas letters. If I didn't care enough about you to ask about your life as it was happening, I don't care enough to read about it at the end of the year...

[pigtailsmom]

In my family, it is pretty much expected that you will send a photo card and usually a letter at Christmas. I really enjoy the letters and especially the pictures as I have several cousins who I only see a few times a year. It is good to see how their kids are growing and helps my kids to recognize them when we do see them. I just did my letter this year and instead of writing a whole letter, I am using the letters CHRISTMAS and taking the letters down to spell out things that we did this year or are important to us. Ex: C Crafts, H Hunting, etc. I then wrote a sentence or 2 about why that was important to us this year. I didn't feel like my life was that exciting, but my kids and husband have things worth sharing. I think it varies from family to family. We never get letters or pictures from my husband's family. I do send to them, but only a few.

[peanut]

I send letters to some people and not to others. Usually my siblings get them, and my dad and that's it. DH likes to send them to people he does family history with. I don't like that. I don't know those people from a hole-in-the-ground. I don't like them having information about my family.

This year there will be no Christmas letter, and no cards either. We rarely hear from my siblings unless it's an emergency, so we see no need to keep them up-to-date. They can always phone or email if they want information.

We are finding a lot of people dropping Christmas cards, and each year we cross off more of those who stop exchanging cards. Most people are just not into the extra expense and hassle of buying and mailing cards and letters these days. I know for me, just to do family out to first cousins cost close to $100CAD last year.

Jean