I have never done a letter before. Might be worth trying since the kids are doing so much now that they are in school. Plus I never know what to write in cards besides something like Merry Xmas, love........ I do HATE the ones that brag; oh, we just bought a new house, car, just got back from our 20th cruise, blah blah. My dh and I joked that we should do one fake that is the total opposite; yeah, dh got fired, the car got repoed, so & so is back in jail. But we are both kinda smart a$$s, so our family would just get a kick out of it. (By the way, none of the bad things have happened to us!)

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Nothing is as important as passion. No matter what you want to do with your life, be passionate.
Jon Bon Jovi

I send them every year and we get many thanks and compliments on them. I know I hate when I just get a card signed with no personal message. That seems like a waste of time and money to me. I like taking the extra time and making it more personal, updated distant relatives on what is going on in our lives, the kids, etc. I only send to family and friends so it is people that would like to be "in the know" about our family. I print them on holiday themed paper, keep it at or under one page in length. I call it The ___ Family Year in Review, do an intro paragraph summarizing the year, 1 short paragraph per family member then the closing with wishing them a wonderful new year and have the typed signature which I then also sign. I think this year I will just send my letters in their matching envelopes and seals and not an actual card.

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A woman is like a teabag. You never know how strong she is until she gets into hot water.-Eleanor Roosevelt

I really enjoy getting them as I don't "keep up" with my dear friends as I really should. I like reading what everyone has been up to.

When I do mine, I have my dh proof it before I print it. He's got a real level head and will tell me if it seems like I'm "bragging".

I love the "year in pictures" idea with the captions!!! It's a nice keepsake to have too!!!

Funny! I posted the same question in another forum earlier this week:
Holiday Letters: Yay or Nay?

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I haven't done one - thought about it - but time always slipped away....

Funny story... but a little background first. Dh has a cousin who had a little girl about 3 mo after Maggie was born and spent most of the first year of her life in the hospital with serious heart issues. Please do not get me wrong I have a lot of sympathy for them and the issues that this little girl still faces. Last year tho, my mother in law in her annual Christmas letter wrote all about her Great niece and then stuck in her own 2 grandchildren almost as an afterthought with just a phrase about each of them. Yes, MIL helped her sister with watching the baby etc etc etc. But wouldn't you think that she would write more about her own grandkids than her sisters grandchild? Even one of dh's other cousins and wife thought it was odd. When we teased MIL about it her statement was that great niece was "special".

My thoughts are then talk about your life not all the extended family's lives and then expect EVERYONE on your list to appreciate it and know who you are talking about!