<p>I must confess that I have been sending them out for about a decade now. It is an efficient way to update people with whom I am only in touch once a year. I receive several as well and generally appreciate them – much more than simply a card with a signature (Yes, now I know you are still among the living. But what have you been up to?)</p>
<p>I do try to keep it light and to one page with good-sized print and a photo or two. One short paragraph per family member (four of us) plus a few general paragraphs.</p>
<p>But I remain self-conscious as I know these seasonal items are much maligned.</p>
<p>Perhaps we can seek each others’ feedback on our letters – just as the kids ask for feedback on their college essays! ;)</p>
<p>Dread them. Received mostly from Evangelicals in the Midwest Bible Belt … second and third cousins! If you don’t respond promptly they follow up to ask why. (Hey, I really don’t wanna hear how your rabbit breeding project is going … especially since you plan to eat them in a few months.)</p>
<p>I love them. I don’t get very many of them. The only thing I don’t like are long detailed descriptions of illness and surgeries in the letters. Would prefer to leave some of the details of these types of things to the imagination.</p>
<p>I love them. I 'm fascinated with what people tell me–and also incurably curious about other people’s lives.</p>
<p>We’ve been sending them for a few years, in style similar to jyber’s, and to apparently good reception (well, I hope people are being honest!:))</p>
<p>I love them and I send them. It just seems more personal. I like reading stuff like “Timmy played in little league” or Susie got poison ivy at summer camp. It makes me smile to remember those same experiences.</p>
<p>The ones that I have trouble with are the ones with everyone in the family super achieving. I always wonder how it must feel if you receive one and your family is struggling or one of your kids is failing. Most of the ones I receive hit the right balance and I enjoy those.</p>
<p>I love receiving them. The person who wrote long-winded, boring letters seems to have dropped me from her list, and the rest are all fun to read. I try to write one myself, but there’s a problem if the year has been grim. I don’t go on about bad news, illness, etc., but I do think (for example) that writing about 2009 without mentioning the loss of some very significant people in our lives will be hard.</p>
<p>In 2001, I found a beautiful poem and sent it instead of a letter. That year I was feeling so incredibly grateful that all my friends and family were safe.</p>
<p>I like them. Fun way to hear from people about their life and activities.
I have a kinda dumb, tangential question. I am more of a lurker than a poster, and am still learning my way around here. I noticed at the bottom of the thread are lists of previous threads containing similar key words from the thread titles, and some seem to be about the same topic (which is helpful). It looks like there was a thread or two about the same thing a few years ago, and it looks like one was started by the same OP. Would it have been better to revive the old thread? How do you decide whether to revive an old thread versus start a new one? Sorry if this is off topic, or if this is not an appropriate question.</p>
<p>I send them and have always gotten great feedback on my letters. I definitely don’t sugarcoat things, but try to present the family’s ups and downs in a humorous manner. This year’s is a little boring (thankfully) since no one was arrested or anything! I put in a lot of pictures, too.</p>
<p>Yup, I am the OP of this year’s and last year’s threads. (Am I obsessed with this topic?)</p>
<p>I started a new thread to get new feedback without people having to read old stuff from last year. But perhaps the threads could be merged. A report to the mods might get that option some consideration.</p>
<p>We send them…if people read them, great. If they pitch them unread, that’s fine, too. I hate to receive cards from folks I haven’t seen in years that only has their name. The only thing that tells me is that they didn’t die this year. There are some letters that my H’s old co-workers send that I don’t read, but he loves to read them.</p>
<p>ellemenope- I guess there is just a way to express that without coming off as being the family that never has a bad moment. I just think that people need to remember that not everyone is super fortunate. There is a way to tell what your children are doing and there is a way that comes off as flaunting.</p>
<p>I’ve sent Christmas letters out twice, I think. I always mean to, but somehow I never get around to it before other holiday activities suck up all my time.</p>
<p>But I really, really do enjoy receiving them. I only get a half dozen each year and all of the writers are considerate enough to keep them down to 1 or 2 pages each. I love looking at the pictures (which used to be enclosed but now are more likely to be attached to an email) and seeing how much everyone has changed over the years. It’s always fun, and somewhat reassuring, to see how their families have expanded – as a group and also on an individual basis! :D</p>
<p>“But what if everyone in the family (including the dog) is super achieving?”</p>
<p>Shangr-la is doing very well this year in school … straight A’s as usual. She took the SAT in October and scored 2420 … a perfect score PLUS 10 bonus points for marking within the ovals, and another 10 bonus points for beautiful calligraphy on the writing section!</p>
<p>I hate them. But maybe it’s just because the people we get them from definitely are in the self aggrandizement category. A truthful, funny summary of someone’s life warts and all would be welcomed.</p>
<p>I have written three versions of this year’s letter. I’m having a terrible time saying anything other than “the only good thing about this year is that we didn’t have to lay anyone off.” Any ideas?</p>