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A growing Christmas practice is to send out an annual "Christmas letter" instead of or in addition to Christmas cards. While this can be enjoyable to letter recipients, the sender needs to remember a few basic guidelines.

1. Only send these letters to people who would want to receive them. Friends and family will enjoy catching up on what's going on with your family but, co-workers, neighbors and other acquaintances may just view them as another piece of junk mail.

2. Break the letter down into easy to read paragraphs and keep it brief. A four-page Christmas letter is almost insulting. Remember that the time of others is valuable and while they want to know what's going on in your life, let's be realistic.

3. Try putting in separate paragraphs for each family member, bolding the name. This way if certain recipients are only friends with you or one member of the family, they can skim through and only read what interests them.

4. Don't include too much detail. A Christmas letter should be a catalyst for those friends and family you don't talk to often enough to call you or you to call them. Don't try to include every detail of your life over the past year, it will get tedious. I actually received a letter once that had this lady's life broken down into months of the year and had everything that was on her calendar for that month typed into the letter. Can you say, TOO MUCH INFORMATION? Be nice to your audience.

5. Proofread and use appropriate punctuation. Check for spelling and other errors before sending it. Also, don't write like you speak. The same lady from #4 above ends every sentence in her Christmas letter with an exclamation point. You may be that excited about your life but it makes a very annoying read.

6. Consider including a family photo at the top of the letter. If you can scan one in and put it on the letter, it will help people remember what your family looks like and see how everyone is changing. This is especially good if you have young children, who change so much from year to year.

7. Include a personal signature on each letter if it is typewritten. This gives a personal touch. Even a little note to each recipient showing that you thought of them personally is a nice touch.

Christmas letters can be a great way to keep your distant friends and loved ones updated on your life. Just make sure to be courteous as you would in any correspondence and don't be a stranger the rest of the year. If they love you, they want to hear from you more than just at Christmas!

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