Annual Family-Update Holiday Letters

NEW this year...

I offer the option of having your holiday letter printed right on the cards! Choose to either add it to the back of the 5x7 card or turn any design into a fold-over card and use the entire inside for your letter, drawings and more. Just send me the typed up letter and I'll format it to fit the card. If you scan in your signatures, I can even pre-print those in the cards as well! To get started, pick out your favorite holiday card design on Paisley Prints Etc.

Creative Christmas Letter Ideas
from www.christmaslettertips.com

Who says a family Christmas letter has to be a letter? Here are some creative Christmas letter ideas to help you create a holiday update that everyone will enjoy reading.

1. Christmas Newsletter – If chronicling your entire year in one long letter seems too daunting, think of a few major events and write a short summary of each one to create a personal newsletter.

2. Multiple choice quiz or crossword puzzle – What did your son do in the school talent contest this year? How many colors did you look at before you decided to paint the kitchen walls a light blue? Keep your readers guessing by putting together a quiz or crossword puzzle that gives highlights from your year.

3. Christmas story – If you enjoy writing, create a story that weaves the events of your year into a Christmas-themed narrative.

4. Christmas Slideshow – If you have a digital camera and a CD burner, consider making a slideshow CD to include with your Christmas card instead of a letter. Simply select a favorite song or a Christmas carol and add photos for a fun way to share images of your year. Services such as Shutterfly make it easy to create your photo show, or use an online digital scrapbooking service such as Smilebox.

5. Photo Layout – If wordsmithing isn’t your strength, skip the Christmas letter all together and send family and friends a page of photos printed from your computer. Make the photos different shapes and sizes and use captions to tell about things that happened to your family throughout the year. --- Paisley Prints Etc. has several photo collage designs available!!

6. Top 10 list – What are the 10 most important things that happened to your family this year? How about the most humorous? Or most unbelievable? A top 10 list can be a fun and easy way to describe your family’s year. Think David Letterman and you’ll be on your way.

7. C-H-R-I-S-T-M-A-S spells Christmas – Eddy Arnold’s 1961 song that gives a meaning for each letter of the word “Christmas” is a great example of how to turn a single word into a story. What did those letters mean to your family this year? C is for a trip to California? H is for the new house you bought? Use the letters of a Christmas-related word or phrase to create a Christmas letter people will be sure to remember.

8. Guest Author – How would your five-year-old child describe the year? Try writing your letter from the perspective of your child, another family member, your new neighbors, a pet, or any other person that could give your letter a fresh new outlook.

Check back here in the coming week for "10 Christmas Letter Writing Tips"!