The Christmas Letter

I’m afraid my blog is going to be a bit short this week. I’m using up all of my creative writing juices on the family Christmas letter. What a chore!

Being a writer, you’d think I’d really enjoy the task. And I suppose I would, but for the detailed, emphatic, and often abusive negative reactions this simple document seems to elicit from my family. I have yet to come up with a first draft more than one of them thought was okay. Invariably someone feels I didn’t do their past year’s accomplishments justice. Another thinks my clever anecdotes are stupid, and at least one person says, “You can’t use that picture. I look terrible in it.” It’s like writing for 5 editors, all of whom never wanted to hire you in the first place.

But I still think it’s worth it. It’s such fun getting Christmas cards and letters in the mail this time of year. Sure, they can be a bit braggy at times, and paint a possibly not-so-realistic image of above average people doing above average things, but that’s okay. Who wants to hear about struggles, failures, and disappointments anyway? That’s what psychologists and mothers are for.

So, tell me all about your new puppy, but don’t mention that he threw up in the back seat of your car. Tell me how great your kids are doing in school, and skip the part where they crashed the car the day after they got their drivers license. Sugarcoat it all you like. It’s Christmas. We’d love to hear from you.