Christmas cards?

[fortunecookie]

I should stop sending cards at Xmas (such a waste of paper, etc) but I feel badly about losing touch completely with so many friends.

If I send cards this year, would it be really horrible to send ones with a photo of us on? Or one with a 'round robin' letter? Those are the ones I secretly prefer to receive because at least they're interesting.

Any thoughts?

As threads go, that one went.

Obviously not a top MN priority & certainly not PC.

Oh well.

whats a round robin letter

I will pick up your thread, fortunecookie!

I think it's absolutely fine to send xmas cards with photos of your family on -- after all that's what the Royal Family does! And I know plenty of other nice, normal people who do too.

But I think you are asking for trouble with a round robin letter unless you are very confident that you can carry it off briefly, wittily and without boasting of any of your family's achievements.

Thank you sophy!

I'm so not the type to brag'n'boast, as it's called. More like whine'n'weep! I really can't bear people who go on and on about how wonderful they & their families are with everything perfect and marvelous, blah, blah, blah. Nauseating and totally unbelievable.

hello!whats a round robin letter ??

Moljam a round robin letter is a generally-addressed letter you put in with your card telling people the family news from the past year.

for example

thankyou sophy

sorry to anyone who does send these but I'm not a fan of round robins. (EXCEPTION: I appreciate that when people have had a really difficult time with bereavement/chronic illness/other similar things or perhaps has just had a baby, they may not feel they can write to everyone but want to give an update. That I welcome, so I'm not talking about that kind of newsletter) The ones I don't like are when they make you feel that the sender has SO many friends,and SO many more interesting things to do with their lives that they couldn't possibly find time to write to you individually. I'd rather have a couple of handwritten lines scrawled in my Christmas card. If you're interested enough to know ALL their 2007 news and achievements, surely you'd have kept in touch during the year (especially now most people have access to email?) Or if you must send them, why not at least personalise them with SOME reference to the recipient's family, even if just a couple of sentences?
Worst one we had talked about the DD's teacher saying what a pleasure she was to teach; DS had some awesome sporty achievement; DW "continued to be the perfect wife and mother"; whilst DH as ever was hugely successful in his career. It was so immodest about every member of the family, I wondered who could possibly have written it!
Phew, that was long. But just read "round robin" and went off on one, one of my real pet hates. Feel better for that, whether anyone agrees with me or not!

I know what you mean. I always feel very inadequate and dysfunctional after reading everyone's round robins!

Anyone else HATE/LOVE round robins????/

I really like interesting well writen round robbins - lots of gossip etc

Uncle Johns knee is playing up though is about as interesting as watching paint dry and I am not in the slightest bit interested.

So it really depends who has written the round robbin and what juicy gossip it contains

Cousin Arthur ran of with the dance instructer and aunt Lucy has got herself a toy boy.

yeah, agree with you on that IvyKaty. If they were really interesting, then would probably quite enjoy them. It's the "my family is so bloody awesome you wouldn't believe it" type letters that do my head in.

send email ecards. Hallmark had a site full of them last year, some moved and played jingles and you can write your own personal message. I emailed one to my 7 year old last year and it made her day.

My 4 DC will be in a photo on christmas cards to family. They are all dressing up christmassy!
DD1-tree
DD2-mrs santa
DS1-snowman
DS2-Elf
They are loving the idea and can't wait to sort it.

No idea about round Robins. Not heard of them before.

I get really lovely email christmas cards from my godmother they have a black dog in and you watch as things happen - I shall see if I can find the link

www.jacquielawson.com/

preview White winter the Christmas card - its lovely, on the above website

What I do with the people we keep in touch with on a more occasional basis, is send a card and a sort of "round robin" letter, but I edit it and personalise it for each person I send it to, so it isn't so formal. Also I try very hard not to do the boasting and bragging stuff, but keep it to the things which are factual and which I think my friends/relatives might actually want to hear about. I usually try to include one up-to-date photo of all of us. It has really annoyed me in the past to receive photos of other people's children, but never of them. Sometimes I have never even met the children, but would really like to see what my old friends look like now! lol!

SoMuchToBits, I'd really enjoy and appreciate the kind of letter you're talking about. Hope you see that they aren't the ones I'm sounding off about!!!!!

No, that's ok, I try to make mine personal IYKWIM, so that people know I'm writing to them. But I do use the computer to edit bits so it is easier than writing out lots of chunks longhand.

most of the news any of us want to share is common to all our friends . We all have busy lives these days, so have no issue with anyone having a generic base letter, which we adapt to the person we are writing to. I hate those which are totally impersonal and written purely to gloat about their wonderful lives (e.g. what a shame you have to work so hard to live in such a little house without even the help of a cleaner etc etc) I am genuinely interested in other people's lives. I'd just rather hear about it in a genuine way, IYSWIM..........

I completely agree! So that's decided - I can certainly take the time to write a few personal lines & include our email address for keeping in touch during the year. Thanks, all.

That's also an excellent idea. but my dh is a traditionalist & I don't even know if I'm going to be able to persuade him away from the usual - pref with religious theme.