Christmas "round robin" letters? <shudder> Why oh why?

[Bonsoir]

Am I being unreasonable to wish that the government would impose a punitive tax rate on offenders?

"MrBonsoir acquired his new 4x4 (see photograph - new style numberplates just visible!) just in time to drive us and all our new equipment to Courchevel, where the boys, as ever, exceeded themselves on the slopes and got gold and silver stars respectively."

I'm going to do mine as a Powerpoint slideshow. Poncetastic.

Ooh yes, I'm going to do mine on YouTube!!!

copied from the latest one I received

"X has spent a big part of the year unemployed, as despite all his efforts and various job applications he wasn't offered a position that he found suitable and satisfying. This was surprising considering his excellent qualifications"

I guess I don't have to say what I'm thinking!!!

PMSL At Tarquin's business contacts
BUT seriously I haven't written my cards yet and want to feel a bit more in touch with people, various rellies and ex-colleagues who i miss and have somehow not managed to see since last xmas so how do you put something person in all of htem? without resorting to naffola round robin
My xmas card list (i.e. for those to "return" from last year) is over 60 people.

god I love them. Best crimbo entertainment ever

I love them! And as the people we get them from are friends, we want to hear about them, and see photos. We just don't manage to see them all every year. (And it's ok to laugh at them too).

I can't stand the To You From Us variety of cards. No point. Drop me from your list if you can't be bothered to say more than that.

I also like to read my MILs round robins... now that is a bit odd, I grant, as I don't know these people, but I feel like I do now as I've been reading them for 12 years. Am I the only one who does this?

I don't mind them.
Sometimes it's good to get some news, even if you have to wade through the spin.

Actually I got a very honest on elast year when an old friend from Uni ( now emmigrated) said she hadn't been in touch much because her husband had been very depressed

I send them - we've moved house (new city) again this year, so it's a way of letting people know where we are and that we've settled. I don't force anyone to read it, and wouldn't take offence if it's put straight in the bin.

I love reading them. I am very nosy.

StiffUpperHip - I read any I can get my hands on.

YANBU. I hate round robin letters, but am guilty of the "to you from us" type cards, with usually one sentence or so. Avoid naff printed messages inside, obviously.

For me, it's mainly to say we're thinking of someone at Christmas - is that wrong? For those of you that don't tell your family history and hopes and dreams to all and sundry at Christmas - what do you write in cards?

I confess, I typed a letter this year. Tried hard not to be naff, but for my aunts, great aunt and some other relatives that I never see or speak to (and neither does my mum), I feel the need to tell them how we are and what we have done - and indeed, what we look like.

My bosses boss (who is american) sent me a christmas card last year with a naff round robin in - I didn;t really want to hear about his porsche driving, perfect children etc

I get a few from friends whose artistic skills are great, or ones who have more interesting lives than general. I don't mind them, I enjoy reading about my friends, I don't get them from people who aren't friends. I also can't be doing with the "To you, from Us" cards - even a "hope you're all well, we're fine" would be nice. Otherwise they just seem to be duty cards, no real feeling to them at all.

I have occasionally sent them myself when the year has been particularly eventful - e.g. - got married, Mum died, had baby - because it's BIG eventful stuff, not swanking.

I think those of you who shudder at them (apart from the swanking ones) have no interest in your friends, or get a lot of cards from acquaintances who aren't really friends. Either that or you're incredibly insular and couldn't care less about other people's lives.

MummyGirl It's taken a few minutes for me to work out that USofA is America, and not some kind of settee Think I need a lie-down

I get one every year from a colleague that I last saw around 12 years ago. I really do not want to hear about his perfect, globetrotting lifestyle complete with perfect wife and super perfect fundraising events for charities in 30 nations all with pictures of grateful children.

it makes me gnash my teeth and hurl it into the fireplace.

why it induces such rage I don't know perhaps it would be because mine would go:

Dear people,
We had 30cm of snow in Feb.
went camping in a muddy field at Easter. got wet.
This has been the least thundery year for many a year.
went camping in France got wet. I got chilblains.
this past 2 months have been some of the wettest on record.
dd broke her toe this autumn.
It was quite cold last night.
hope you have a nice year.
BadGrumpyKitten.

ThumbleBells, you're kidding, right? (re not caring about friends' lives) The thing is - if you're really that close friends, then surely you communicate throughout the year? And I write letters to my grandmother, aunts etc during the year - a letter is not just for Chrismas, you know?

We've just had one, 4 sides of A4. Going on about their holidays in Australia, Poland and various breaks in the UK.

Couldn't bear to look at much of it! YANBU, Bonsoir.

Nobody on MN has any need to send a round robin- any showing off to be done can be amply accommodated by covert boasting here. AIBU to be fed up of my child constantly solving quadratic occasions at the supermarket, AIBU to wonder why versace never have any size eights left in the sale and I always have to pay full price as I have sensitive skin and can only tolerate raw silk etc etc

MisSal, no I wasn't kidding but I guess it depends on your definition of "friend". I use it to describe people with whom I was very good friends with at school, Uni or my first job, who now live a long way from me and whom I may not have seen or spoken to for years - but I have never fallen out with them so they are still my friends and I am still interested in what goes on with them. This may not be the same as other people's definition, I appreciate that.

I never minded them until this year, always thought they were naff and unecessary, If people do not know you well enough to know what is going on in your life, why bother keeping in touch.

Anyway, this year my fathers letter has gone beyond what is acceptable and has included details(incorrect at that) about my very recent marriage break-up. this has been sent to some people I still see to say hello to in the street, but are no longer part of my life iyswim.
Worst of all I am hoping he "forgot" to include a copy with his card to my in-laws or it could be very damaging of my relationship with them

I think at OP stated there should be a government ban on the things

The ones in the third person are always my favourite. They come across as if the family are so grand they have hired an independent biographer to chronicle their year.

"Fanjella was Mary in the Nativity play again (Troy and Lucretia did question the fairness of this with the teacher but she insisted that Fanjella was the most talented, and the play would not be the same with an inferior performing child cast in the part). Needless to say she said her line perfectly, and Troy and Lucretia put themselves to shame by weeping copiously once again - the other Dads have started to call Troy "Gazza", ha ha. Frenulus has been picked for a special Sports Project at school; once more Troy and Lucretia were worried that the time spent away from the class might affect him academically but the teacher reassured them that missing maths lessons twice a week will not affect his performance in the subject at all. And they used to think Frenulus wasn't a mathematician!

Troy has put his well-earned bonus from the bank into buying a property for renting - what luck housing prices have fallen so much! Lucretia's card-making business is thriving, and in the run up to Christmas was able to employ three of her friends' Au Pairs to make enough cards to see at the School Fair."

That's awful Norks

I have moved round the country quite a lot and therefore have friends in numerous locations. I can't maintain close friendships with all of them, but still love to catch up on their news (and let them know ours). Round Robins are great for that. Most of those we recieve aren't boasting - just factual info about what they and their family have been doing throughout the year.
This year, we didn't write one and I now find I am behind in my card writing as I seem to be writing the same few lines in everyones cards just giving the very brief highlights of the year (and wishing I had got round to writing a RR letter earlier).

on your behalf, Norks.

My sister wrote something about our Dad's death on her RR last year which made me very angry. She said that "they said not to come for the funeral but I couldn't not go" - whoever "they" were . . . when actually the rest of the family had all just said that given she had come over to see Dad just before he died, everyone would understand if she didn't come back again for the funeral. (She lives in Australia)

I am proud of myself that I did not ring up and give her what for, for making all her mates think I was trying to stop her from coming to her own father's funeral.