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How to write a better holiday letter
Filed under: Activities: Babies
Since graduating college and starting a family, I've been on the fence as to whether or not I should write a "holiday letter". For me, this apprehension spawns from the fear that I have succumb to normalcy, and officially turned into my parents. (I love 'em and all, but when you're still in your early twenties, remaining cool is a surprisingly significant priority.) Plus -- as is common in my mom's holiday update -- I'm afraid whatever text I'd come up with would more closely resemble a family promo spot than a newsletter.
As you might suspect, this sort of aggrandizement of the family's successes is common. But if you're annoyed by your sister's insistence that her son is the most naturally gifted pianist since Mozart, take heart -- you're not alone. The boastful annual update is apparently one of the more irritating social faux pas of the holiday season.
I've yet to meet a parent that didn't think his or her kid was the most amazing child that ever existed in the history of the world, and it's natural to take pride in your family's accomplishments, but -- as noted by the linked article -- when we exaggerate our prosperity (or whatever), we may be setting a bad example for our children. As in, "don't lie, except when you want family and friends to think well of you at the holidays."
Who knows. The key is probably not to take it too seriously. It is the holidays after all -- a time when people are prone to particularly odd behavior.
But this brings me back to my letter. To write, or not to write? Anyone have a suggestion on a creative alternative to the holiday update? A family comic strip, perhaps?
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ReaderComments (Page 1 of 1)
12-05-2006 @ 9:46AM
Mike said...We make bookmarks. We put a few pictures on the one side and put a bunch of fun facts on the back. Then we laminate them and add a ribbon.
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12-05-2006 @ 10:15AM
LS said...I write few family letters - my rule is, "Something HUGE must have happened", consequently, there have been only two family letters from the LS family - one the year our son was born, and another the year we moved to a different state.
If you receive Family Fun Magazine, last month they had lots of cool ideas for 'letter alternatives'. The one that caught my eye was a photograph. It was of a bunch of stuff... candy, beads, little toys, etc., with pictures of individual family members interspersed throughout. Several of the objects in the picture represented different events in the family's year, including a leash belonging to the dog they adopted. It's difficult to describe, but it was pretty cool to see.
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12-05-2006 @ 11:35AM
Laura said...Holiday letters really become more spin than what's real. Oh mom and dad started couples therapy? Nana's moved to the nursing home? Sissy is bi-polar and had to be hospitalized? There's a line between gossip and news and updates and spreading holiday cheer. You don't want your letter to be a real downer, yet it should technically reflect the news of the year, yes? At the end of the day you're right--they are promo spots and not really letters. I think a photo or maybe a photo montage is nicer. But pick a photo better than my mom did--we'd find out later that she put in some shot of my brother and I at thanksgiving dinner with our mouths open or hunched in front of the television b/c it was the only time she could get my brother and I together and she really didn't care much about the composition of the photo. Thus she has a lot of ugly ass pics in her house.
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