"In Defense of Christmas Letters"
Dec. 14, 1998
"In Defense of Christmas Letters"
The number of actual Christmas cards we receive each year has steadily dwindled while the number of mass-produced letters has risen sharply. These days the cards usually contain nothing more than machine printed names, while the letters reveal year-long family chronicles. Which is better?
I used to curse the printed Christmas letter. As I sat handwriting 75 individual messages to all our friends and relatives, I sneered at the laziness of those who sent "one-size fits all" greetings. What a cop-out, I thought.
I hang my head in shame at the thought of my former self-righteous attitude. Although I now send only half as many Christmas greetings, I long ago gave up even attempting to personalize each one. My handwriting days are over, mostly due to my physical disabilities, and because I realize that I relish hearing news, ANY news, from others, I feel I should provide the same.
As much as I look forward to the myriad missives I receive, I'm afraid too many people have yet to master the art of creating Christmas letters. After all, how many of the recipients really know Aunt Sue, Uncle Geno, or Cousin Jobeth's twins? Does anyone really care if your great-grandmother succumbed to gout and left you her string of pearls?
The trick is to tell a little news appropriate for all: keep it to your immediate family, and don't write anything that will cause raised eyebrows or queasy stomachs. (One letter told more about ticks in someone's hair than I EVER wanted to know!)
Keep those Christmas cards coming, folks, but if you can't (or won't) write a bit of news in the margin, by all means send the printed letter. And don't apologize for it. After all, any news is good news.