WRITING A
HOLIDAY NEWSLETTER
10 tips to follow to ensure your
friends will want to read yours
By DIANE GOTTSMAN
Have you ever received a holiday newsletter from someone you hardly know, a much-too-long history of everything (and I mean everything) that has happened to their family in the last 12 months?
The worst part of these rambling short stories is the fact that you often find yourself searching your memory to identify with their children, great-uncles who have passed on, and in some cases, even the author. Let’s face it, are you really interested in hearing about “Spelling Bee Runner-Ups” and “Outstanding Camper Awards”?
Knowing the dangers, we are still excited at the prospect of writing our own holiday newsletter. We blindly convince ourselves that our information is considerably more interesting than the long-winded letter that “everyone else sends.”
Just because the majority of holiday newsletters are dreadfully boring and somewhat comical doesn’t mean that ours has to be categorized accordingly.
1. Start with a personal greeting. Although you plan to make 300 photocopies of the same letter, personally write the name of the person to whom you are sending the letter.
2. Use festive stationery. Even if readers are not enjoying the content, you will still have a chance to impress them with your creative choice of paper.
3. Keep the letter to one page. Make the stories brief and upbeat. If you must discuss a death or illness, don’t go into too much detail. Your Uncle Harry will appreciate the fact that you decided against discussing his “goiter” with your friends and his clients.
4. Be conversational. Write as if you are talking to someone across the table from you.
5. Minimize bragging. Give factual tidbits without going into every little detail about your child’s (or your own) accomplishments. It is more palatable to read, “Our daughter, Dana, is teaching third grade and enjoys her job immensely,” rather than “It should come as no surprise to you that our daughter, Dana, is so successful as a teacher. She has always had such a warm heart and giving soul, anyone would be a fool not to see her as an asset to their school! Of course, the children love her and shower her with adoration.” Ugh!
6. Take yourself lightly. Don’t be hesitant to tell a funny story about something that happened to you over the past year.
7. Make your newsletter appealing to the eye (and shorter) by using pictures or graphics. Many people don’t know what to do with the family pictures enclosed in holiday greeting cards. By adding a small photo somewhere in the body of the newsletter, you alleviate post-holiday anxiety.
8. Be cautious not to air someone else’s laundry. Even if the news is good, always ask before announcing in your holiday newsletter that “Tommy is engaged” or “Julie and Dan are expecting their first baby.”
9. Proselytizing or asking for donations is in bad form. There is nothing wrong with making reference to the religious aspect of the season, but don’t be tactless or heavy-handed.
10. Finally, just as you started the newsletter with a handwritten greeting, close your letter with a short note and personal signature. Another nice touch is to address the envelopes by hand rather than using preprinted address labels.
The point of a well-written holiday newsletter is not to give excruciatingly concise detail as to your family’s every move throughout the year but to let others know you are interested in them and thinking of them during the holiday season. The rule of thumb of a good newsletter is “less is more.”
According to a study done by Hallmark, 86 percent of consumers would eliminate something other than greeting cards from their holiday “to do” list. To make sending holiday greeting cards a festive and special occasion, follow these few tips:
1. Make it a family affair. Get the children involved in stamping and addressing holiday cards. Grandparents, aunts and uncles will appreciate the innocent handwriting of a child.
2. For family and close friends, personally sign the card and add a short note, even if the card is preprinted with the family name.
3. If sending a religious card, consider purchasing an alternative, secular choice for those with a different background. Sending “Jesus is the reason for the season” may not be appreciated when sending holiday greetings to your Jewish friends.
4. When placing the card in the envelope, the card design should be face up, toward the flap.
5. Mail early, any time after Thanksgiving. Consider a New Year’s card as an alternate to a holiday greeting card.
Diane Gottsman is director of the
Protocol School of Texas and appears regularly
on San Antonio Living on WOAI.
