Have you ever received a Christmas card with a letter in it updating about the life of someone's family?

Question

The letter is a standard computer generated letter sent to everyone they send cards to at Christmas.

I forgot to mention that the letter is all bragging.

Answer 1

I think they are a nuisance from the people that are never heard from and then suddenly they think I'm really interested in two pages of details about them and their kids as if their lives are so exciting that everyone needs to know all their business. Then you don't hear from them again till next year. They don't even call. It's generic nonsense like spam mail.

Answer 2

Yes, I have, but it was before home computers. They were done on a black-and-white photocopier, and probably had been typed on an old impact printer. This was back in the late 1960s and early 1970s. It may even have been typed on a regular typewriter.

These "newsletters" used to be quite common, especially where people have large families. Personally, I think it is sweet that they want to share their family experiences with all the cousins and aunts and uncles. But I remember when they first became popular, my grandmother hated it, because her generation would write -- yes, actually by hand, using a fountain pen -- long letters at Christmastime that were individual to each person. Generally they would be in a separate envelope from the card, often because the little children were given the privilege of opening the cards.

Here's another fun fact: the reason the kids were opening the cards and not the letters was that in those days, you could send a card for the same postage as a post card if you did not seal the envelope. So the kids were told they could open anything that was not sealed. I can only speculate on why the post office had that rule.

Answer 3

Yes. Not only that, but I include an annual 'update' in my Christmas cards. I barely have time to keep tabs with my nuclear family let alone family and friends scattered all around the world. It's a quick way to get caught up on the major happenings, a quick way to let folks know that they are more than just a name on a mailing list.

Answer 4

Yes, I think everyone gets at least one of these. I don't know if it's bragging or not. People will naturally tell you about the good things that have happened to them over the year, not the bad. Parents will fill you in on their kids' accomplishments, not their failures. They just want to update you if you don't get to see them at other times during the year.

Answer 5

Yes I have and you are right it's all just bragging rights. It's like let me show up the rest of the family and tell them all of our families accomplishments this year. I mean what a way to make the rest of the family feel insuperior. I think those letters are awful and done in poor taste.

Answer 6

I love my cousin's holiday letter, it isn't all bragging. She is a great writer and puts a bit of humor into all of the crap she's been through all year. I hate the ones that make everything seem so perfect, perfect kids, perfect job, raises, promotions, awards. I'd rather hear about someone who is human.

Answer 7

I've known several people who do that and have received letters from them over the years. It's not my style but to each their own.

Answer 8

Yes, It is nice to hear what is happening with friends and family that you don't get to see very often.

Answer 9

Yes..I get one every year from a family that we don't stay in touch with too often.

Answer 10

Sure.

There is nothing wrong with this. It is simply an easy means to update friends and family who you don't see very often.