To hate smug round robins at this time of year

[lastqueenofscotland]

Seriously, do people really think I give a shit if their insufferable teenager passed their GSCEs, their vile adult children haven't been fired from their jobs or their toddlers have successfully mastered the art of occasionally shitting in a potty.

Why do people send these? Does anyone care? Surely they are only the object of ridicule?

I loathe them. Because they are not just people saying hi, and it's been an ok year, and hope you are all ok. They are (probably 95% of the time,) sent purely to brag about their achievements and that of their children... and the holiday to Malaysia, and the husband's promotion, and their son's £35K wedding, and the 10 grand kitchen they have had fitted, (with a big range,) and their daughter's new pony.

They never ask how we are, and never even mention our names. It's just 'hi all.' And there is always a pic of them and their kids and dogs - pedigree ones of course!

I usually open it, take out the Christmas card and then bin the 'round robin.'

This is an interesting thread. Have to say I receive about four Christmas letters each year, just outlining what the families have been up to and I really look forward to them. Real snail mail letters! I must be lucky. My friends don't seem to brag and even achievements and milestones are facts rather than boasting imo. I love their updates. I'll confess I send one too, to about 20 friends and rellies and let them know about the good and bad in our year. When I read stuff like this I wonder if perhaps I come across as a braggart? That is not the intention and I regale friends with our woes as well as highlights. My annual letter seems well received but....?
One year when I was poorly for most of December I didn't send one with the cards and had notes and emails in January asking why and enquiring after my health. I was told by all that the letter was missed because they look forward to it.
So, another way of looking at it, perhaps you lot are just a bunch of envious cynics who can't be happy for others?

Best one we received was from dhs not so dsis. All about their wonderful year and then continued by slagging off all the other siblings and their families except us.
Would love to have seen the ones she sent to the other siblings to find out how what she had said about us!

Exactly what olive said.

If anyone is feeling left out and wants one, I'm happy to forward the shit one we get. It will mean about as much to you as it does to us!

Maybe we should jointly craft a round robin letter here for those people who feel left out?

Christmas wouldn't be Christmas without my sister and I falling over laughing at the round robins (as kids). I must have successfully self edited as I now have no friends who send them.

But oh the laughs we had at "Frances has just returned from scaling Mount Kilimanjaro, pausing only to build a school, and pass all her A levels with straight As. Wilifred seems to be following in my sporty footsteps securing places on the hockey, lacrosse and swimming teams"

This thread has cracked me up.

The sheer arrogance of the senders, is off the scale. To think anyone gives a shiny shit

I love them purely for the amusement factor! We get one from DH's friend every year, its so embarrassingly smug and cringeworthy that I actually look forward to it!

missyB1 I had to check twice to make sure you aren't me as I could have and was about to write exactly that.

Actually we usually get 3, sometimes 4, and I do quite enjoy reading them in horrified fascination. Maybe because we don't facebook much at all in DHs case

We had a classic a few years ago which banged on for a whole side of A4 about their attempts to get planning permission for a big shed.

I will admit here that I send letters to about half a dozen people but I don't think they count as Round Robin because:
a) I do a generic letter but then personalize each one to add a few paragraphs specifically aimed at that recipient e.g. asking after family members by name, how their DS enjoying his Uni course etc.
b) It is only to a small number of people who I like to catch up with not broadcast willy nilly
c) I don't think it is a braggy one. I mention holidays and important landmarks but definitely don't do a list of boring achievements (Who cares what anybody else got in their Grade n bassoon?)

We've had a fantastic year.

Barry is now top dog on Block B of Feltham Young Offenders Institute.

Kylene got a new tattoo and we have got a new mattress for the front garden. (I was sorry to see the old one go, but we are really happy with this new one and some of the springs are already bursting through)

Gnasher, our Staffie, mauled another postman, so that's put a stop to all those busy bodies trying to serve restraining orders on Dazza.

Look at me blowing my own trumpet. How are things with you?

My parents friends used to send them, and one family did a poem for each child's achievements and worthy pursuits during the year. My brother and I used to like having a giggle at them and coming up with equally flowery grandiose language to describe our invented failures. They are so unbelievably smug and therefore cringey I have no idea why people send them. Surely people realise the recipients will take the piss out of them?

My American stepmother used to do them. We’re NC now; but I suspect she stopped after her two eldest became total druggies and went to rehab!

Facebook is just a year round extension of it...

Isn't it just? People bragging under the guise of it being nice to "keep in touch"....

My parents uses to get a superb one made to look like a newspaper. It was called The Smith Times. The sport stuff was on The back page and everything!

Oh God when I was married we used to get one each year from the most annoying couple on the planet - so full of boasting the letter practically burst out of the envelope.

John got another promotion this year and is now King of the Universe.

We welcomed little Tarquin into our lives in July - luckily Sharon popped him out the morning because She was doing a triathlon in the afternoon.

Arbuthnot, our eldest, is head boy and retained his world record in memorizing irrelevant shit so he can bore people to death.

We had to hire five more gardeners as the 12 we already have are finding landscaping the extra 700 acres we bought a bit too much. We take our duties of providing employment to the locals very seriously.

Hope you and your plebby little family are well.
Lots of love
The Arseholes.

Pages and pages of 'aren't we amazing' drivel.
No you aren't - fuck off.

Literally the ONLY thing I enjoy about visiting my mother at Christmas is reading her round robbins from her batshit aquaintances from 40 years ago who she doesnt like but still sends Christmas cards to!

Nobody sends me any maybe I need weirder friends??

I do actually like facebook; I have family and friends in far flung corners of the globe and it's great to keep in touch. But many people do give an edited version of their life ... And the more they bang on about how amazing their relationship is, the more I know it's actually shite.

I love receiving round robins, and I hate to think that some people don't send them because they're afraid we (or others) will think them smug/boastful/all the other insults people have used here. Seems quite natural for people to select the good things that have happened and write about those - all posters complaining about that, do you really want to hear about the round of norovirus and the broken washing machine instead? OK if the writer has a real gift for making that stuff amusing, but most don't.

One year one of them went for something "a little different this year" (direct quote) and made their RR into a calender for the upcoming year with a photo and caption about what their family was doing "this time last year"

So say for example similar to may 2018 it had a pic of the their garden with a quote saying "this time last year Roberts hydreaniasases were coming up beautifully"

It was the BEST THING EVER!!!!

do you really want to hear about the round of norovirus and the broken washing machine instead?

No, I’d rather not hear any of it in round robin format. If someone is a close enough acquaintance to want to share details of their life with me, they can give me a text to catch up in a less one sided way.

I'm so jealous I've never received one. I did think of penning a spoof one, and then I had a glass of wine and forgot.

RebeccaBunch

@relaxitllbeok

It's not that people don't want to hear from people. It's the fact that most 'round robins' are pure bragging, and they never ask how you are, or anything about you. It's just an A4 sheet of bollocks I don't care about, that has been photocopied for 25 people.

I’m very disappointed. I wanted to know what the smug round robin (bird) had done to offend you. The one in my back garden is definitely smug and round but not offensive.

My best one ever contained two sides about the new IT system that had been installed and the various tribulations of working in the public sector (but I’m so marvellous I cope like a fully canonised saint).

It finished with one sentence to cover the death of both her parents....
And no, they weren’t NC or anything,just very low priority to her wildly fascinating job.

Apologies for linking to the Telegraph, but this seemed highly relevant to this thread....
www.telegraph.co.uk/christmas/2016/12/17/round-robin-letters-say-really-mean/