Do you send out a Holiday Newsletter every year to friends and family? There’s nothing wrong with doing so – I do it. It beats just getting an ugly card with no photo and no news. The mail is too expensive for that. People want to know what you’ve been up to and they love to see photos, especially of your kids.

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  • Do type a letter on the computer. People understand that you do not have time to hand write 100 cards to everyone with the same news.
  • Stick your newsletter inside your card. Don’t make it your card though. People like the actual cards too.
  • Get a photo card made from Shutterfly or Walgreens or a ton of other places. Or get photos printed and put them into photo cards you buy in the store. (Target sells a lot of these!)
  • Don’t ramble about uninteresting things. “Aunt Betty came for a visit in April. Then Agnes came a week later.” Who cares!? “I dusted the living rom, emptied the dishwasher, took out the trash and did 5 loads of laundry today. Now I’m writing this.” Wow! Exciting!
  • Don’t be depressing. “After an unsuccessful hip surgery, I am now bed ridden indefinitely.” If things are very challenging for you, your closest friends will already know about it. It is okay to not send a card or newsletter every year. If you do think it is important to share some not-so-happy info, tone it down a bit.
  • Do not give horrible, depressing news to people about people you know. One year I got a newsletter from a friend who wrote about how her neighbor’s young kids (who I do not know) suffocated in a discarded refrigerator. How horrible was that? And why do I want to know? Happy New Year!
  • Don’t be a braggart, unless you want to have no friends. “We are so blessed! Bob got a big bonus this year, despite the horrendous economy. We are using it to take a world cruise next summer!”
  • Be funny if you can. If not funny, at least interesting.
  • Use a font that is easy to read.
  • Make the newsletter attractive. I do a photo collage on one side, get it color photocopied and then print out the newsletter on the other side. My photos reflect the news I write about. Everyone loves this and tells me they cannot wait for my card. It is a lot of work, but worth it!
  • Include your email address so people can start connecting to you online.
  • Have a friend who is a good writer proofread for errors.

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