My parents started writing and sending Christmas card letters back in the late 1970s. Coming up with a new, creative idea and selecting a photo of our family of six was only half of the annual challenge. The other half came when it was time to print, stuff, seal, address and send the 100-plus letters we mailed out every year. (Big families = lots of cards.)
It’s worth it though, now, as we have an almost-40-year family history documented through these letters and pictures. And the old pics of us kids, like the one we re-created below, are always fan favorites.
When Tony and I first got married, I took great pride in creating an annual Christmas letter for my new family. We called it “The Broullire Beat” and I obsessed for weeks over the formatting, wording, spelling and printing of each issue. It was my hope that recipients enjoyed reading it as much as I loved writing it. Then one year, I took a look at my Christmas card basket and noticed it was full of cards, but contained very few Christmas letters. What happened to them? In this digital age where everyone is connected on social media, has the need for Christmas letters vanished? In my estimation, even daily Tweets and Facebook posts could never replace the care and craft that go into a long, detailed Christmas card letter. But sadly, that’s the state of today’s world.
I used to think how funny it would be if everyone wrote in their Christmas letters exactly what they experienced during the year, instead of dressing it up in pretty language for distribution. The letters would be a lot more authentic if instead of saying, “Our family keeps busy with various after-school activities,” they wrote: “Getting our kids to all their practices and games on time requires the strategic planning of an air traffic controller. We’ve put more carpool miles on our minivan than a New York City cab driver logs in a decade, and our family hasn’t had a sit-down dinner together since Easter.”
A few more examples:
Letter: “The addition of our new bundle of joy has led to some transitional times, but our cozy home is overflowing with love.”
Truth: “We haven’t slept through the night since we brought her home from the hospital, and my husband has taken to going into work early to grab a catnap. If I still own an outfit that’s not stained from her spitting up or blowing out a diaper, it’s buried forever under the mountain of laundry in our bedroom. Please, Santa, bring an excavator… or perhaps a storage unit where we can live until our baby graduates. Her toys and swings and bottles and bouncy seats and ALL THAT OTHER CRAP have completely overtaken the house.”
Letter: “Junior, now a sociable teen, still enjoys guitar but has a new interest in computer science.”
Truth: “Since he turned 13, the only verbal communication we’ve received from our son is in the form of grunts and sighs. Non-verbals focus on eye rolls, shoulder shrugs and frequent door slams. We’re considering sound-proofing the basement as his purchase of an electric guitar competes regularly with his fellow ‘band’ members’ shrieking, wailing and pounding cacophony — pausing only temporarily to text us and request pizza or nachos be sent down immediately. When he’s not in the basement, he’s glued to his laptop where he competes in video games with friends around the world, but cannot be bothered to come downstairs and say goodnight to his family. I got a ‘Happy Mother’s Day’ email from his Code of Conduct avatar.”
Letter: “Hard to believe our youngest will graduate in May. Our ‘nest’ sure will be different next year! For now, we are getting our finances in order and helping with college applications.”
Truth: “Sassy Miss Senior-itis is driving us to pull out our prematurely gray hairs, and we are counting down the days until she moves out. While she’s shown a vague interest in applying to schools, we’ve set up campus tours at half a dozen colleges — all of which are several hours’ drive from home so she can’t ‘pop over’ to raid the fridge or drop off laundry. You are all invited to our ‘changing of the locks’ party in September. Bring champagne.”
Perhaps the traditional Christmas card letter has gone out of fashion. But I will always be one to send holiday greetings from our household to yours — wishing all of you a safe, warm and blessed Christmas season.