Christmas Cards

I've had this big dark cloud looming...Christmas Cards. Tonight I finally sat down and just started getting them out the door. I'll feel so much better when they're gone.

To newsletter or not? I canned the newsletter this year. I had one drafted (it would be our first), however the events of the last few weeks have robbed us of our major news piece, so its just a plain photo in a card. I know... I'm a party pooper. Hopefully next year we'll be more newsworthy. After all everyone just wants to check out how chubby we are now!

I do however think that there should be some rules regarding newsletters. I'm sure we all get those LONG letters that go on for pages and pages that we just skim over and check out the photos. I'm just plain embarrassed for the subjects. I have noticed some great newsletters over the years... I learn from them.

So here's my top ten rules ..noting that I'm a hypocrite because I'm not sending a letter :)

1. No longer then 1 page, or double sided if you have 4+ kids;

2. Include the names and ages of children;

3. Nobody is interested in wordy descriptions - bullet points are fine;

4. Be positive. Complaining about delinquent children is bad form;

5. Be modest - there is a fine line between sharing news and showing off;

6. Use colour - B&W photocopies show you don't care;

7. Include at least 1 photo of everyone -including yourself ;

8. Stick to your own news - don't tell news for your extended family;

9. Get them out at least 2 weeks before Christmas;

10. At least sign it by hand - otherwise it just comes over as a mass mail out.