Christmas Cards

[DCJenn]

Hey-

are we doing the Christmas Card exchange this year? That was really cool except that I can't find my handy-dandy address list.

So, anyone who wants to PM me your address, I'll coordinate it and PM or email back to everyone who wants to participate.

and don't forget to include those pictures and holiday letters. I LOVE reading the holiday letters even though the are the supposed scourge of decency.

Jenn

[Vanquisher]

Regarding holiday letters (which I am required to do to update my family as to the state of our lives over the past year), how do you:

1. Make it come off in a good way without sounding braggy?

2. Not sound depressed?

There is a very fine line with these I think. Everyone of them that I get, I hate. Ones from my cousins about their kids come off as long lists of acheivements by their kids. One from my very good friend remids us about all the church related activities they have been doing with scriptures interspersed. I love my friend, but I don't like the cards.

So I have sent them out over the past two years with much praise and thanks from my aunts and grandparents. I still hate doing them. It's on my to do list though. Gotta get that done quick. Sheesh, why is it sneaking up on me so fast this year?

[Rapunzel]

I've never done one of these but I receive them from friends. In my experience the best ones just hit the important events (good or bad) in their lives for the year - such as any major illnesses, achievements, milestones, radical life changes, etc. And, pictures - the best ones have pictures on them!

Jennifer

[PrincessFiona]

I'm in...which reminds me..I better bake my cookies and buy my secret santa gift today too.

[SueC]

Oh yeah, I'll take part in a card exchange this year, I don't think I did it last year.
Re: Letters, I've read some really good ones and lots of really annoying ones. My dad sends out a good one every year where he basically takes shots at all of us without being overly mean, though one year he pissed off my sister and I still don't think one of my cousins is speaking to him. You kind of have to have a knack to pull off that kind of humor. I think if you're going at it with the attitude that you don't want to seem overly braggy or depressed you'll do OK. I really think some people have no clue how over the top their letters appear to everybody else. And to tell you the truth, I almost find the really braggy ones even more entertaining the the regular ones because dh and I can make fun of them (now that's the Christmas spirit! )

I'll do it - Jenn I think you have my address.

SueC and I are making our cards - so look for them sometime after January 1.

RE: letters

I was never a fan, until this year when we've moved away. I imagine I'll do something - but more of a highlights - like Rapunzel mentioned. My very, very favorite was a Christmas letter we received from my BIL's HINDU (read: not Christian, doesn't really do Christmas), single (no kids, no nothing) girlfriend (now wife) the year they met. I can recite the thing verbatim b/c I read it to so many people. Here's my favorite part:

"On a personal note, I was fortunate this year to meet my boyfriend, Samir P. He's tall (no he's not - maybe 5'9"), with long hair and earrings in both ears. He wants to use his amazing talents in writing in photography to pursue a carrer as a conservationist. I can just see the confusion at dinner parties now: 'No, no, no I'm a conservaTOR, he's a conservationIST.'"

No kidding.

[Amiens]

I'm game.

Crystal

[BonBon]

Is this still on, or did I miss the boat?

[DCJenn]

Send me the addresses and I'll get them out to everyone by the 15th.

Jenn

[DCJenn]

Last chance to get in!

I'm compiling the list as we sit here!

Jenn

[mommax3]

Oh, okay!



Sally

Ah, the "holiday letter". I believe we had some funny posts last year about to write or not to write them and some seriously funny stories.

In general, I'm not a fan of the holiday letter in part because it's almost impossible (just my opinion) to carry it off with aplomb. Striking that balance between personal and impersonal / bragging versus update / you get the picture , yada yada is just #$%^ hard.

That said, I did get a funny one last year from a couple in our supper club last year. The whole letter was just funny and not to serious. The line that had me laughing was the husband said that both he and his wife went to their college reunion (same alma mater as each other) and while on campus she visited old boyfriends while he went to the library.

Mostly, I get laughs out of the letters. Maybe I'm ?

We've gotten two in the mail this year that demonstrate some of the perils involved in these notes. One from a college friend of mine who I think is a great person albeit she genuinely is a little cheesy (though sincere). Because I think she really is genuine and I know her well, I did manage to stifle my laughter when one line read, [they're expecting] "we're expecting the arrival of our child and are so eager to experience the special love that only parents know..." and then ended with something about their animal babies (terriers). Aw, I'm not doing it justice. It's just a wonderful, heartfelt sentiment that looks so stilted and odd on paper for everyone to see around the holidays. But again, maybe I'm .

The second was one from DW's grandparents. It had lines in it about their year and a line for each of the grandchildren. DW luckily was mentioned as just in her third year of medical school. There was some "old school" cut and paste / zeroxing evident (hell, almost mimeographing / ditto machine quality) with crossed out words in the final product. But the kicker was a detailed blow-by-blow of their son's health issues -- including lab values and test results -- not making this up.

Again, maybe I'm evil but I sure have fun when a letter comes in the mail. And I'm sure too scared to write one myself for fear that my doppleganger might be reading it somewhere and laughing an evil laugh.

So, instead a write a few lines in cards to a few friends and relatives and leave it at that.

But I did get an idea yesterday at the mailbox but it's too late for me this year. I'm thinking of sending a holiday picture sometime in the perhaps distant future. Those folks have the right idea -- no crimp in your hand from writing and no mispellings or other writing pitfalls.

Only one problem, I'd have to take a good photo so no one laughs.