How to Write a Great Family Christmas Letter
Share News with Family and Friends with a Holiday Newsletter
Nov 30, 2008
A Christmas letter is an easy way to share news of significant family achievements and events. A light-hearted letter can be sent alone or with a Christmas card.
How to Format a Christmas Letter
Letters can be set out in a letter or newsletter style with paragraphs about each family member and individual or a group photo. Consider including a Christmas quote or appropriate Bible verse at the bottom of the page.
Children may enjoy putting together a newspaper-style family letter where they “report” on family events from the past year. They can add photos or hand-drawn illustrations and make their own title such as the Gallagher Gazette or Chisholm’s Christmas News.
It is generally possible to print or copy plain text letters onto both sides of the page. Including photos can make the text difficult to read on the reverse side, so single-sided printing is best. Choose a standard font that is clear and easy to read, particularly if the letter is being sent to older people who may have trouble reading decorative fonts.
Letters can be printed or photocopied to post or emailed. If sending as an email attachment, ensure that any photo files included are small enough to prevent problems with downloading.
Information to Include in a Family Christmas Letter
Information that others might find interesting includes:
- new job or promotion
- new home or relocation or adult children who have moved out of home
- details of births, marriages and deaths within the family
- significant awards and achievements – graduations, school achievement awards, music exam results
- personal achievements and interests – starting a new hobby, major family vacations, family members mentioned in local newspapers
- summary of family members – ages of children, grades at school, involvement at work, church or social groups, significant birthdays or anniversaries
Remember that others may not always find the everyday achievements of young children as fascinating as their immediate family. Highlighting their current interests (trains, books, sports, TV show characters, dolls, drawing etc) and mentioning any developmental milestones (walking, talking, reading) is usually enough. Include a photo so that distant family and friends can see how much the child has changed in the past year.
For school-aged children, include information on favourite subjects or activities at school and any significant extracurricular activities such as sporting teams and music or hobby groups.
Some information may not be appropriate for a general Christmas letter. While friends may be amused to read about “a year of non-stop parties and hangovers” or “so many boyfriends this year I’ve lost count”, family members may not be as impressed.
Sharing Information about Grown Children
Couples with grown children often want to include information about what their children (and grandchildren) have achieved during the year. It is important for parents to ensure that they don’t include information that the child would not be comfortable with or references that are invasive of their privacy.
Major highlights (new baby, new job, moved house, significant relationship) are all appropriate to share along with significant achievements (awards, graduations, promotions). Children may not appreciate extended family and parents’ friends knowing that they were fired from their job, had a series of disastrous relationships, or had financial difficulties during the year.
As with parents discussing their own young children, bragging about the everyday achievements of grandchildren isn’t always interesting to others. Limit comments to major events and significant achievements.
A Fun Way to Share Family News at Christmas
An interesting Christmas letter is sure to be well-received by family and friends as a great way to keep track of significant moments from the past year.
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