Works-For-Me Wednesday: Saving Christmas newsletters for posterity

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I know, I know, some people hate the “Christmas newsletters” that some of us put in with our Christmas cards (some people are now sending them instead of Christmas cards). I love them, myself. I enjoy catching up with friends and loved ones. Even if I know most of the events mentioned in the newsletter, I enjoy reviewing them. The whole reason for sending Christmas cards is to keep in touch, and there are so many loved ones from whom I would love to hear more than just a “Merry Christmas!” at the bottoms of their cards (though I realize that, with the busyness of the holidays, some times we’re doing great just to get that much done).

I started sending them when I realized that I was jotting the same news at the bottom of Christmas cards over and over. I figured I could share more in a less rushed way with a newsletter. They don’t have to be “bragimonies” — I try to keep them realistic, sharing bad news as well as good. For many years my husband and I traded off doing them, but over time the task fell to me (I don’t mind; I enjoy it). His tended to be a “year in review;” mine concentrated on each individual in our family. Since we have always lived so far from relatives, I try to give a little picture of the boys’ personalities as well as what they’ve been up to in the previous year. Some years we have scanned in a picture (one year even a page of pictures).

The main “tip” I wanted to share today, though, is this: we have always kept copies of old newsletters in a filing cabinet, but a few years ago it occurred to me that it would be good to keep a copy for each of the boys as well. They are not particularly interested in them now, but some time in the future they might like to have them, to look back through the records of the years, to remember what they were doing and what they were like from year to year.

A really savvy, on-top-of things mom might put these in a scrapbook with accompanying pictures from each year or from each Christmas. That never occurred to me until yesterday. 🙂 I might do that some time, or I might eventually put them into some kind of book and give them to them the first Christmas after they leave home or after they are married. For now they wait in the filing cabinet.

You can find or share more “works for me” tips at Rocks In My Dryer.

9 thoughts on “Works-For-Me Wednesday: Saving Christmas newsletters for posterity”

  1. I love these letters too! We keep the pictures on a bulletin board through the year in my home so that we remember to pray for these families in our lives!

    I really like your idea of keeping a copy for your children so that you can
    give them to them some day…and you are right, they would make a great scrapbook page!

    Thank you for sharing,
    Tracy

  3. I love reading these newsletters, as well, and I’m a keeper of everything for posterity’s sake ;), so this wouldn’t be too difficult for me to accomplish. Now, the scrapbook and pictures and all… I don’t know if I could get it together enough for that. Maybe by the time my little one is grown and gone, I’ll be a more put together mom. 😀

  6. Awesome idea! I’m going to start making copies of all of my family letters for my future little ones. Thanks for sharing! =)

  7. I never knew some people didn’t like these. We do it too and I am a little embarrassed to say we don’t use cards anymore either. Just the note on n ice paper stuffed in a matching envie.

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