by Mona Gallagher

Created on: December 26, 2007

While most of us have passed the "Dear Santa" Christmas letter-writing chapter in our lives, letters are still a great way to keep in touch or reconnect with the people we love. Letters are becoming a lost art in the new electronic age of email, but we can combine the two elements and start a new tradition.

As we reach out to family and friends, we find messages of hope and joy to share with each other and that bring us closer together. The Internet is the super information highway and we can use it in a positive and productive way.

Letter Design

With a Christmas letter and your computer's word processor, you can create a wonderful Christmas experience with your letter. You probably have access to a web page program with numerous graphics, banners and borders. Be creative.

Using our computer's word processor capabilities, we can add brilliant graphics to our letters to make them celebratory. A red poinsettia at the top of the page, or your own Christmas photo sets the festive mood and says "Merry Christmas," before we type the first word.

Introduce a family picture midpoint in the letter, and it has become a personalized Christmas letter.

Letter Content

A friend of mine just sent a true story of a small Christmas miracle that reminded me that love and compassion are still alive in our hectic world.

A balanced letter is always peppered with lots of news and sentiments too. Given the opportunity, many of us writers would sit down and write a novel to our friends, but we've learned to avoid writing letters with too many microscopic details.

My former high school classmates and I post messages on our class website, but for those close friends whom we haven't seen in a while, a Christmas letter is the perfect way to get reconnected and catch up on the things that are going on in our lives.

If you are very close friends and have lots to catch up on, perhaps individual Christmas letters would be a good idea. However, you can craft a general letter to other friends and acquaintances.

If you write a blog, include a newsy Christmas letter to your readers with fun filled thoughts and reflection mixed in for good measure. Personalize it with your own graphics.

Don't rush your Christmas letter. If you've received a touching story or poem that your friends would enjoy, include it in your letter. We all love a moving story that gives us inspiration or hope.

Many people like to send postal mail but some of us like the quick and easy way of attaching the document to a file and sending it electronically. If you're a last minute person, electronic letters sent by email are a good choice. Even Santa receives emails.

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