Christmas Newsletters

I love to receive newsy round robins from old friends, but I haven’t seen some of these people for many, many years, so I don’t know their adult children (I knew them when they were small) & I certainly don’t know the grandchildren. When a whole page is devoted to what these grandchildren are doing I do tend to get confused and lose interest.

I'm glad the round-robins we receive are cheery updates. I don't write one - never have - but do write a brief message inside a card to long-standing friends.

My Dad used to use round-robins as spills to light the fire, usually muttering about the art of fitting everything salient on to one side of A4!

Marydoll I hadn't heard the 'notice box' phrase before - very apt.

Bizarrely, it occurred to me, that if I were to pen such a letter, I would probably talk more about what I was going to do in the coming year. I'm not sure what that indicates!?

I don't think people feel they are boasting they are just talking about their year.

Joseann

Aveline

That's not necessarily true annsixty. Everyone has ups and downs but why write about the downs? I alway think people who perceive others as lying or boasting might have a bit of a chip on their shoulders...

Or are jealous?

No-one's life is perfect!

I feel that people, who feel the need to boast in these letters may be insecure.
I don't think it's jealousy nor having a chip on our shoulders for those of us, who are irritated.
The letter writers are what we would call in my school a noticebox, someone who always has to seem to be more successful than others and needs to let everyone know.

Its not bitchiness nor jealousy, I don't see the point.

I think it is a bit cynical to suggest that people might be lying in their newsletter.
If I were to tell someone in a letter that I am going abroad to a Christmas Market next week, (which I am), but then couldn't discuss it when we spoke on the phone in the spring because I had lied, wouldn't that be a bit silly?

I don't mind them, what I don't like is people who read them and accuse people of boasting or not being truthful. Why should people not say they had a nice holiday or their kids have done well.
Yes I do think there is a element of jealousy and spitefulness about these things.
If you don't like them stop reading them, if you feel they are boring or you feel resentful.

Oh dear, what a reaction to my post.
I should like to say I have neither a chip on my shoulder or am jealous of anyone, what a dreadful conclusion to draw.

I get quite a few. I enjoy most of them as they are interesting and it is nice to keep in touch. The one I like least is from my husband’s cousin. It is always full of their wonderful garden and their holidays. Also their wonderful nephews and nieces ( they have no children of their own.) This year, much the same, but not even a mention of my late husband, so I conclude that they only deal with positives, no negatives. I think they are not going to get a card from me.

BlueBelle

I used to get one and it really was so boring as I had no interest in what their hobbies were or what they d done to their house that I d never seen…. we weren’t even close friends
Anyway they’ve ceased now thankfully and I haven’t had any others
I don’t like them

Annual firelighters😁

Bella23

I get one nice update letter with a photo. I get lots of snippets inside the card that do me fine and I reciprocate.
I stopped answering the two-page epistles and just wrote my snippet. They then stopped sending them.
DH always says if you've got to boast it's not true. I don't even think most are boasting, people are just trying to make their uneventful lives sound exciting or are not telling the whole truth just like I would never tell all the family woes in a Christmas card.
If they annoy you don't answer them back.

Very true I think.👍🏻

I used to get one and it really was so boring as I had no interest in what their hobbies were or what they d done to their house that I d never seen…. we weren’t even close friends
Anyway they’ve ceased now thankfully and I haven’t had any others
I don’t like them

Those round-robins are a good idea in principle but reading over-long tomes about the events that make up the lives of friends and acquaintances you don't see very often - and only think of occasionally- can be tedious.

I've never written one because I know I could not make it interesting enough.

I'm seldom interested in other people's holiday experiences so don't believe they'd be interested in mine. I did a six-week tour of Eastern Europe a while back - it was fascinating (and sometimes even dangerous)... but only to me and as I don't have the skill of a great author, I think the recounting of the travels would simply be a rather boring read.

My offspring are doing fairly well - but no better than most of the children and grandchildren of others, so who'd want to read a litany about their progress?

Nope... I'll stick to sending cards if necessary with the simple, "we're all well, hope to see you in the near future".

I am happy to read news from friends far away. However, one we used to receive really irritated me. It was all about how clever and talented their children were and the idyllic village life they had.
Surely it their life couldn't be that wonderful?

Well, I like receiving these letters, and rarely receive boasting ones, and I admit I do not like those. Similaarly i send one out. I do not think it is boastful. DGD did GCSE'sthis year, I merely commented that she had done well and was now studying for A levels. I think it is the other aspects of people's life that are more interesting, like DGD getting a Saturday job, and adjusting to having to go to work every Saturday, no matter what. An interesting learning curve that we all learn as we start work.

With friends scattered all over the country, as we get older travelling to visit is moe difficuclt and these letters keep us in touch.

We get few from people we seldom see which are a pleasure to read. We also have one from a cousin of my dh who he’s only met once and I’ve never met. It’s the most confusing missive I’ve ever read, jumping in and out of the first person, detailing the minutiae of their family life. If you notice all that’s not said it’s a very different picture to the one they portray. This is the letter that I keep in mind when I’m writing ours, short, sharp, to the point, honest enough so as not to boast and funny in places. Well I think it’s all these things, maybe I should ask for feedback!!

I do try to hand write a personal letter each year to friends but couldn't manage it this year, so I'll phone instead for a catch up.

We've just received one from dear friends whom we rarely see due to logistics.
They've had a very busy year visiting places and family overseas - well good for them!

I’d write ‘not known at this address’ and repost it next year as it irks you so much OP.

I’m glad I wasn’t on your Christmas card list NS!

Nothing wrong with saying you’ve had a nice holiday or two somewhere, no need to brag about the food etc. Why do some people need to send pictures of their meals? Doesn’t impress me at all.

We had one relative who boasted about his teenage granddaughter, ‘absolute stunner’ apparently. And another grandson who was a bar manager in an upmarket ‘hostelry’.

“Works in a pub then” said DH.

I used to send these when my children were small as we lived miles from family and hardly saw the "wider family" unless at funerals!

Our children each wrote a piece for it and I collated it. It was all stuff they thought people might like to know. Sometimes one would write a poem or write a story.
Once there was a page explaining the life cycle of a ladybird (!) and one year our middle daughter spent a whole page on how she was trying to stop biting her nails. There was a "before and after" drawing and a poem as well as informationabout how hard it was and how much she wanted "sparkling fingers".

In my defence I always put a note on the front saying please don't feel obliged to read this missive.

And yes, we got some truly dreadful ones!

I get one nice update letter with a photo. I get lots of snippets inside the card that do me fine and I reciprocate.
I stopped answering the two-page epistles and just wrote my snippet. They then stopped sending them.
DH always says if you've got to boast it's not true. I don't even think most are boasting, people are just trying to make their uneventful lives sound exciting or are not telling the whole truth just like I would never tell all the family woes in a Christmas card.
If they annoy you don't answer them back.

We used to have one each year from a lovely couple but their round robin was all about how wonderful, successful and popular their children were. 😤

I must admit Hyacinth Bouquet immediately springs to mind 😄

Seriously - some people really do have more exciting lives than others, and happily tell anyone who will listen all about it. They are doing what they like doing and maybe they assume everyone else is too. It wouldn't annoy me unless they are people who have no interest in anyone else or put other people down.

Before we had the children we used to be the 'exciting' couple in our families. Nice cars, good holiday, nice clothes. We never talked about our holidays, or the theatre or anything else we did because no one in our families was interested in anything they weren't doing themselves.