by Jen Thorpe

Created on: December 21, 2007   Last Updated: November 20, 2009

While most people choose to send Christmas cards to their family and friends, there is no doubt that the (often infamous) "Christmas Letter" is just as much a part of the holiday traditions. The whole point of sending a Christmas card or Christmas letter is to let your loved one's know you are thinking about them and want to wish them a happy holiday season.

The problem with many Christmas letters is that people use them as a means of directing all attention to themselves. There is a fine line between sharing your blessings and bragging. There is an even finer line between letting your loved one's know you have had some health problems this year, and your Christmas letter turning into a long, uncomfortable, "overshare." This sort of thing happens so often that every year there are countless radio station programs where the hosts share the worst Christmas letters that their listeners have sent in for the world to laugh at while cringing.

What can you do to avoid writing one of these distasteful Christmas letters? Here are a few ideas:

(1) Keep it simple

There is no need to describe, with intimate detail, each and every day of your three week long vacation backpacking around Europe. Instead, share one short story about that trip that still makes you smile when you think about it. Include a photo of some beautiful scenery, or a photo of your family at the place the story was about. That's enough! Anyone who wants to know more will ask you about it.

If you have been especially unwell this year, do not list off each and every medical problem you have experienced in your Christmas letter. I realize that this may be all that is on your mind, especially if your illness is serious. Writing is a good way to release stress about things that trouble you, but the Christmas letter is not the place to do that. Save the uncomfortable details for your journal or an online blog instead. In your Christmas letter, you should say something like, "I have been in and out of the hospital this past year, but I am still here," or "I was not blessed with good health this year," and then move on to other topics.

Don't list off the scores of each and every soccer game that little Billy won this year or the exact grade point average of little Sally in all of her AP level classes so far this school year. Write that Billy is helping his team win many soccer games and Sally is doing extremely well in her classes at school. This allows you to say what you want to say without appearing to brag.

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