If you’re planning on composing a holiday newsletter this year you might want to give some thoughts as to who should receive it. It’s common practice for people to send holiday cards to a number of different people. Family, friends, and business associates are the most likely candidates. Yet not all of these folks are likely to be interested in a personal letter about your family, since some of them know you in only a limited sphere. A good rule of thumb is to consider sending a holiday newsletter only to those people who also know most of the family you’ll be mentioning.
Sending holiday newsletters to business associates is probably not the best plan. By in large, unless these associates are also friends of the family, they are probably not interested in what grade your son got in spelling or how your daughter performed at a dance recital. Instead of sending a holiday newsletter to these folks, to whom such a letter is not particularly relevant, consider sending just a card with a few appropriate and friendly words written personally.
There is an exception to this rule. If a business wants to send out a letter to clients, they could use a business type holiday newsletter. You can go over the major events of any known employees. A doctor’s office for instance might celebrate the fact that two nurses had children that year. Mainly this type of letter should focus more on office and business details, like relocating, adding new staff, or adding new services, and offer best wishes or thanks for the business of their clients.
Many people wonder if they should send holiday newsletters to friends. This depends upon the degree of friendship. Close friends tend to know you, your family and your children and may appreciate news of your family during the past year. New acquaintances may not appreciate such a letter very much, since they don’t share the degree of closeness that makes them almost family. Ask yourself when making your list how well a person knows you before you send out that newsletter. If a person doesn’t yet know you well, save the newsletter for other people who do.
Most family members appreciate holiday newsletters, especially when they include a few pictures, and particularly when the family members live at a distance from you. It may be somewhat redundant to send a holiday newsletter to your mom if she lives a block away from you and you’re really close. She already has the news of your family. Instead get mom, or a close sister or brother to proofread the letter for you, and offer parents or close siblings copies of any pictures.
On the other hand, Aunt Cecilia, who lives across the country, may really enjoy hearing news of your family, and she’s very likely to enjoy pictures to see how the kids are growing up. When composing this type of letter, try to keep things specific on the family, and not unrelated issues. Keep things breezy and light, don’t brag about material acquisitions, and be sensitive to those relatives who may be in vastly different economic circumstances from your own.
Lastly, think carefully about your family and their news over the past year. If a cousin suffered the loss of a baby, you may want to omit sending her a holiday newsletter that details the birth of your own child. If someone lost their house, job, or other things, they may not be so keen to hear about your new home, your new job or other accomplishments. Instead of the standard form holiday newsletter, consider sending kind and caring notes to those family members who haven’t had such a good year. They’re likely to appreciate your care and concern expressed personally more than they would a standard format newsletter detailing the lovely year you had.
