Tuesday, December 12, 2006

Writing a Christmas Newsletter

I’ve just finished writing my annual Christmas newsletter. I’ve read brutal satires of these newsletters, but what are the alternatives? Write a personal note to all 60 people on my list as I used to do and wind up sending out cards in February; write nothing but our name as some people do, leaving us wondering what is happening to them; or give up sending cards all together and lose touch with people who meant a lot to us in the past? I myself like family newsletters, but then I always have had an intense curiosity about other people’s lives: why I like to read blogs; why I love local gossip; why I was utterly absorbed in my grandmother’s diary even though nothing exciting happened and there was no soul-searching.

1 comment:

bloglily said...

The Christmas newsletter is, like all genres, better in some hands than others. The more generous and kind the writer, the better the letter. The ones that give this form a bad name are those that feature either (a) a litany of complaints or (b) a series of bragging "accomplishments".