Letters in Christmas Cards-Tacky or Good Idea??

[Nutsy]

I've had them & personally don't like them.

But on the other hand I do like a personal letter. Of course if you have many cards to send off & need to include an update, then maybe photocopy is the way to go.

 

[PamOKW]

I think when it's a mass mailing newsletter it turns into one big brag because they don't want to share the truthful ups & downs with everyone. These letters I can do without. I'd rather just have a quick note than one of these. However, I also have one friend who is creative enough to write up the year's happenings in a hysterically funny way. This let's her be more truthful about some of the downs as well as the ups. I look forward to this letter but I know that type is hard for the average person to carry off well.

I also wonder whether maybe these are more common as a way for military families to stay in touch. It seems like friends & relatives with military ties are the ones who are more likely to send out these letters. I can see where they might make sense in that case.

 

[browneyes]

A photocopied letter is impersonal in a Christmas card.

 

[Disney Doll]

The one I get every year I enjoy, because they are nice people, who are normal, and tell you about the ups and downs in their year, and don't make it sound like everything is so peachy, keen, wonderful.

If I got a bunch of letters all yapping about the new boat and the big house etc, I'd probably toss them out.

 

[seashoreCM]

Good idea.

Also, with the letter on a separate piece of paper, you don[t spoil the Christmas card if you make a mistake.

You can add some hand written notes to the "Xerox'ed" letter for news to be shared only with one or two recipients.

Disney hints:
http://members.aol.com/ajaynejr/disney.htm

Been sending out an annual Xerox'ed Christmas newsletter for about 15 years, wish I had gotten the idea sooner.

Been to WDW enough times that my relatives are probably tired of my describing these trips in the newsletter.

 

[phisigprincess]

This thread cracks me up!! It's the best time of year when my dad's friend sends the brag letter out! It's the WORST thing you could read. It's a family event to sit around and read it out loud and laugh. One year it actually included the line "sometimes we have more money than we know what to do with!" I DIED!! Then again, they're like that in person too... so whatever...

But on the other hand, my aunt sends one out that's perfect. It catches everyone up with no bragging whatsoever. I agree with everyone else. It matters in what spirit you send the letter in.

 

[Joyciemc]

They don't bother me- gives me something to do for 5 minutes. We do have one relative (who shall remain nameless) that needs to discover the exciting world of spell/grammar check. Her letters aren't too braggy, but the way they are written can make it hard to tell what she is trying to say. Maybe she is bragging, and I'm just not getting the point. Don't get me wrong- she is very sweet and I love her, but the letters are always a source of confusion and amusement in the house.

 

[disykat]

I love getting these letters. I also send one. My parents used to get some that were silly - several pages of bragging, a paragraph about what they had for breakfast that day, plus a religious testamony. However, all the ones I get (and I think mine too) are only a few paragraphs and are very much like an individual letter I might send. They are pretty much what I used to handwrite when I had less cards to send. I never send them to or receive them from local people.

I do have people that I care about (relatives, my best college friends, former neighbors, etc.) that I don't see or talk to regularly and I LOVE hearing their news. It is one of my favorite parts about the holiday. I get very disappointed when I get two handwritten lines that basically say "Merry Christmas, I'll write soon" because I know that realistically it won't be happening for a while. I also go home and read the letters my parents receive since they hear from some people I don't (most of my cousins just write to the aunts and uncles and we get our news from them - otherwise our card lists would be huge). My list is about 30 people that get "the letter" plus a personalized line or two. These are people that I honest to goodness love and feel close to, even if we aren't in constant contact. I say keeping in touch by a copied letter is much better than losing them as a friend because we are too busy!

I also have to wonder if the people who are so against these still live in the same area as most of their loved ones. It took me about two moves to get to the point where I needed to go to a letter to keep something fun about the holidays from turning into a huge burden.

I say if you don't want my letter just toss it in the trash and stop sending me a card - I'll get the hint!

 

[FreshTressa]

Originally posted by deadheadbelle
DH has a friend who sends a letter every year & we look forward to it. The reason we look forward to it is so we can call our other friends & laugh! She uses the letter to tell how well their life is, how much money her husband is making now, how smart her kids are, etc. I think it can be a good thing for families to be able to get updates, but some people take it to an extreme. Last year, the letter included the square footage of their new home (which, in case we were wondering, is in one the nicest suburbs of Chicago), the color of the carpet she chose & why, the multiple vacations they enjoyed (including the specific information regarding the "SUITES" in which they stayed), etc.

I guess it depends on the person who sends it & their intentions. We get a kick out of her letter just because we know her & we know it makes her feel good to let everyone know about her success.

OMG-that is exactly what my cousin does!!! She goes on and on about how much money they spent on stuff and the "incredible deal she got at Nordstroms. She found a St. John's sweater dress on clearance for only $295!!". And about the "gorgeous view they have from their new log cabin vacation home that they got such a great deal on. It was only 550,000 AND in an exclusive area on the lake." WHAT A DEAL!!!. Oh, and of course her first grader is learning latin and greek in school and has now translating the Illead for the family after dinner. I swear she just includes it to make herself feel rich or something.

I guess I don't really mind them, I just wonder if the senders realize they are such a source of amusement for my mom and I. Maybe my mom and I are just petty too . It is probably just my cousin that I find annoying and not just the letter. Her mom sends one out too, although it is not QUITE as bad. She also brags about the daughter's accomplishments.

 

[luvmarypoppins]

O.k. O.k. I confess. Yes, I am one of those who send out the letters. I don't do it in a bragging way , but i sure do LOVE to tell everyone about our magical trips to disney and what the 3 ds are doing. Can you believe we actually know people who don't have e mail (shuddering). Besides taking care of the 3 ds, I use to have my 91 year old grandma with us, so there was no way I could write a personal letter. It was neat when some relative said, wow I really enjoy your letters. It made me feel good. I knew she read it. I also feel it helps to cut down on miscommunication and gossip within your circle of family and friends. Everyone hears the same story. I have time to write a little 2 line personal note. Nothing annoys me more than getting a card from one of the relatives who only sign their names. O.K. I do make exceptions for the elderly ones, but thats it.

 

[Disneyland_emily]

One thing we've found works better is to color copy different pictures of the past year showing vacations, achievements etc onto one sheet with a little caption for each. It kills two birds- One it shows my son growing up and it also shows what we did without lengthy explinations

-em

 

[FOJMO]

My father used to refer to these as "encyclicals". He HATED receiving them! Mostly we got them from one particular family that was the bragging kind. We really don't need to hear all about every accomplishment each child had that year and what their grades were!

I have done these in the past, but only include them in the cards of people we don't keep in regular touch with so that we can catch up with each other.

This year, I bought some Christmas note paper and will write an original note in those cards for those particular people.

I plan to take my cards and stationery with me on Friday to write during my 2-hour chemo session. It'll be an uplifting way to pass the time at a not-so-nice time of the day for me...

 

[peg2001]

All I can say is that I'd love to get one of these letters from Delswife.

Peggy

 

[CEDmom]

As a kid we used to receive a few of these letters and they were annoying. I swore that I'd never send one out. Well, I have to admit that I started doing one last year . I don't send it to many people just those that I still keep in touch with but don't get to catch up with very often. I try to make it funny and short. This years doesn't even fit on a page (and there's no mention of square footage anywhere ). I also include a quick personal note in each card but I just don't have the time (really I don't want to make the time) to write long notes in each card.

 

[clhcpaca]

You also need to consider those of us that can't do handwritten notes. I have trouble even doing my addresses on the envelopes in handwriting, because of problems with my hand and wrist.....writing really aggravates the condition. I have thought about not even sending cards for this reason; I'm going to try to do the envelopes on the computer this weekend and even sign the cards that way. If this insults people, I guess that they can not send me a card and I can take them off my list.

I do like to receive the newsletters (even better that just getting a card with a handwritten signature!!!). I have friends from high school that live over 2,000 miles away and I like hearing from them. And, I don't really care where the correspondence is a newsletter, cards, handritten or typed.......just the fact that they are thinking of me is nice!!! As for relatives, I would just like to hear from some of them....they also live very far away--and it seems to be out of sight---out of mind.

I wish everyone a Happy Holiday season, Cindy

 

[Pembo]

I love to read the bragging ones! They are just so darn entertaining. They usually come from people who aren't anywhere near as happy as their letter reads.

I do send them. This year's letter is very short. A paragraph saying how old each of my kids are and what year they are in school. A paragraph on dh getting a new church and the fact we moved. (I didn't send address changes to everyone when we moved~too lazy at the time. ) And a paragraph on supporting our troops. Oops forgot the quick mention of our trip to WDW! And the title of my letter is 2003 - It only takes a wish....

Short, sweet and to the point.

 

[myjulybabes]

I don't know that they are "tacky" per se, but I've never understood the POINT. If you aren't close enough with someone to get a call or email when something big happens, why would you want to read about it later? I don't know, that's just me. Maybe with a big family that's spread out all over the place. With the exception of a BIL in Hawaii, my family all lives within an hour or 2 of each other. I've never written one either. I wouldn't know what to say. How's this?

"Nick is doing well in school, in fact, he skipped a grade this year. However, in his school pictures, he looks like a turtle because he was trying not to look at the big umbrella lights, because his granny, who he lives with, has decided that his sensory integration dysfunction doesn't warrant treatment. Margaret had to have her school pictures re-taken because she fell in the toilet on picture day (I kid you not, this actually happened). She's very good at cutting with scissors, but is in trouble every day because she can't keep her mouth shut at naptime. Aidan has stopped hitting his therapists, which is great news. The bad news is, he now flashes them instead. But hey, he's saying 6 words now (at 2.5 yrs old). Mike has managed not to kill any of his incompetent co-workers, or get fired for telling them what they could do with their password problems. Me, I'm back on the Prozac, because I have one kid that looks like turtle, one that falls in the toilet and never shuts up, and one that flashes his therapists. It's enough to drive anyone insane! And don't talk to me about the dogs. The big one ate a recliner and a matress and boxsprings and has set in on another one. The little one has made it his mission in life to mark every inch of the house as his territory, even though he's long since been neutered. Merry Christmas everyone!"

 

[WDWLVR]

We've been doing Christmas letters for over 10 years now. I send out cards to not only family, but people that I used to work with and I'm still friends with even though I don't see much of them anymore. I try not to brag, but do cover events in our life during the year like vacations etc.

i enjoy them when I get them from others as well. It beats a card with just their name signed and nothing else - doesn't tell me anything they have been doing.

Sure I would love to handwrite them out, but I just don't have that kind of time. So I design the cards and the letter is printed inside.

 

[grinningghost]

I was so excited to respond, I didn't even bother to read the other posts. My cousin is the braggiest holiday letter writer EVER. In fact, it's a big joke between me and my parents, we can hardly wait to get it every year just to laugh. There's always a few things we can count on: SEVERAL fabulous vacations, OUTSTANDING academic performance from the children, BIG promotions, NEW amazing big people toys, etc., etc., etc. It's just plain sickening.

 

[Liz]

My mom gets one of these every year from a friend and every year I listen to her complain about all the bragging. I try and tell her I'm sure these people have bad stuff happen in their lives just like everyone else, but they aren't going to write about it in their Christmas letter.

Another friend of mine sends out a Christmas letter each year. One year she had a couple of spelling errors and some errors in grammar. She told me one person she sent it to actually made corrections and sent it back to her!!!!