Has this been asked before?

[ItllBeLonelymumThisChristmas]

What do you think of family newsletters included with Christmas cards. Are they naff or not?

I've only vaguely of them but never received one or even seen a real live one. Who writes this sort of thing? Am I being remiss in not writing one? i don't have that much to tell people - "ds1 is going through his whingey phase again & ds 3 currently has chicken tikka masala coloured poo. ds2 is being neither good nor bad & his stools are fine. Haven't been arsed to put the decorations up yet. Lots of lovexxx"

See everyone's point. Think they're quite difficult to write well. Have only started doing one since I've had kids and run out of time for writing actual letters.

On the people who don't put your name in the Christmas card - my Mum is the worst culprit. She just puts "from x and y" in all hers, but DH and I get "from Mum and Dad". You would think her own daughter would merit a "love" wouldn't you. The only ones she actually puts any effort into are for the kids. Where she prints in clear, big letters "To A, Love From Grandma X and Grandad Y".

ernest, if only they were all like yours

See, I'd love to get one like ernest's.

Yes, they're naff and yes, I send one. We get loads back, I guess because we've moved loads over the years and have friends scattered all over the place. Dd1, 17yo, decided my effort wasn't good enough this year and rewrote it - with about two lines for five of us then the rest all about her goddess-like self. I had to do some editing.

Yes there was a thread on this last year and I was just devastated to learn that my annual witty, intelligent and self-deprecating round robin was considered the height of naff by the Court of Mumsnet.

I cannot bring myself to write one this year so thanks for giving me even more work to do, you rotten lot.

The thread last year (with links to The Guardian article on RRs) was hysterical though. Shall I try and find it?

Please do, marthamoo, I've been trying and failing :(

Yup- don't like them when its obviously the same letter thats gone to everyone - sooner not have one at all. If I was going to do one, I'd at least ensure that there was one paragraph that was relevent to the person it was going to - how are they etc.

Batters, that is AWFUL. And totally compelling, obviously. One longs for an update.

GUFFAW mi!

Found one (and accidentally posted on it and brought it back to active conversations) but can't find the one.

snowvary are you ks?

Can't find it

I love to read them (the more boastful the funnier imo; by that token I'd never send one, even a self-deprecating one, lest it still be interpreted as a boastfest anyway. The worst are the frankly dull dull dull ones without the boasting. What's the point in hearing that boring Bob has exchanged one wage-slave setup for another, or that Pete once again opted for a Honda Accord out of the company fleet?

moo, sssssssh.

moo, the thread you accidentally added to has a bit of round robin in - \link{http://www.mumsnet.com/Talk?topicid=9&threadid=1599\here} - and there is a link in it to another one.

Can't remember if there is yet another...?

I love getting family newsletters; I read all the ones we receive, and read the ones my parents get too That way I feel I am keeping in touch with people a bit, even if we only get to meet up and catch up properly every 2 or 3 years. Since my parents retired they've had emotional reunions with loads of people they haven't seen for 20 or 30 years, but with whom they've kept in contact in exactly this way.

What I really hate is a card from someone I've heard nothing from for years, with no personal note at all. I have no idea what they're up to and what's going on in their life. I'd much rather have an impersonal letter than an impersonal card.

But last week was very busy and we haven't done anything very exciting, so I didn't do a letter of our own: and I feel very lazy and guilt for not having done so. I wrote a sentence in most cards, a little more in others: but I do that anyway.

Roisin, that is exactly how I feel about them - yes, some are very boastful but some are just people genuinely trying to keep in touch and letting you know what's happened to them this year.

The attitudes of some of the posters on here is making me feel really quite - what's wrong with a bit of friendliness?

Roisin, you have sent yours already?

(I haven't even bought any yet!)

Goodness snowvary/bovary, just realised who you are. I was actually about to e-mail to see if you were Ok as I thought you had gone off to have a life again!

We had one last year that ran to two typed A4 sheets! It was so OTT and gave a month by month breakdown of what the couple had done, even listing the people they had gone to dinner with!

That said we do put in a very short (4 sentence) non boastful 'what we are doing now' note with pickie to some of our friends. Because we have moved a lot we have a lot of friends that we keep up with in this way, and I can't cope with writing the same thing 50 times! life is just too damn short.