There is much debate on the inclusion of a Holiday Letter (a formal “year in review” for friends and family) in Christmas cards. I'm predisposed to writing a letter, as I am a blog, because I assume people care about what I did all year. Also, my dad writes a letter every year so I’ve grown up with them. Thirdly, I live in Ohio… writing a letter is just too Midwestern for me specifically not to do.I also really like it when others send me their letters for the same reasons. It’s great when you see the return address on an envelope and know on you count on a little 2006 synopsis to be included. Like blogs, I harass friends who don’t write letters (ahem, Karen C) to do so. Most of the time they don’t listen to me. I'm getting used to it... :P
Anyway, my feelings won’t be hurt if people comment that they don’t care about the letter. I’ll write it anyway. It’s tradition. I will repeat again though that I really like to read others’ letters.
9 comments:
I read them...at my parent's we start the "competition" of the best and worst....when did "Tom and Edith's" arrive, always good for a laugh (they are TOO detailed in theirs). Then there are the ones that have no words, just a year in photos, which is fun.
I looooove reading your letters and your dads! They are always so fun! I do have to say that I wish more people would mention me in theirs. I’m too damn important NOT to!
I read the letter every year. Danny doesn't understand the letter thing (which is strange to me), but he didn't grow up with it. I don't send out cards every year, but I bought the paper to do a letter at least. :-D It may turn out that I just don't have time this year and will save it for next year, but we'll see.
Karen,
I think of them as annual blogs before blogs became popular!
I think the main customer for these are people who you know but you don't keep in regular touch with. I've been lucky enough to be a part of a lot of stuff you've written, but it's neat to see what's important to you that you would put in a letter for everyone.
I read every letter that comes to the house. I will say that before I married Kendall, my family had never done a letter. And my grandmother actually said, "I hate reading those fucking letters" before she realized we send one now...of course she responded, "Except yours...." HA!
This year I won't write one. As terrible as it sounds, I have nothing good to write about....hmmm...tried to get pregannt. Succeeded. Had miscarriage. Hated my first set of kids at the beginning of '06. Kendall worked all year. Not really that exciting, eh? Masybe 2007 will be a better year. We're at least sending a picture of ourselves.
Yes i read them, yes i mock them. I can't make this not seem catty... but my general opinion is if the person is close enough to you to know the details, they already knew them when it happened. If neither of you contacted each other all year, what makes you think they really are interested? Oftentimes they exceed "year in review" by going way too detailed and even boastful (example: Tom and Edith from martha's comment) I prefer family pictures. And year round contact. But then again I've never seen yours or your father's...(had to try to make things nice at the end)
I love the letters, even if I do keep in touch with people throughout the year. I'm sad to say that this year we are not writing one - we'll be lucky if we get our Christmas cards out before Christmas without it!
I'm also a big fan of the letters. My family has done a letter as long as I can remember. For us it started when we went overseas, and being that the internet hadn't evolved yet it was really difficult to keep in regular contact with people, so the letter worked. Now my parents get dozens of Christmas letters from people all over the world who we became friends with through our travels.
I think Sarah F's story is the coolest. The farthest away our letters come from is South Dakota. And while that seems like a far distant land to a city girl like me, it's really not that exotic.
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