Christmas Newsletters

I really like these letters. I do have a number of people that I am fond of, who have moved away, and I like to know how they are doing - I may not be greatly involved in their lives, but enjoy the news.
Because they are people I like, they aren't these 'boastful' missives - we only ever had one like that - from an old colleague of DH's and we dropped them.
I was quite sad when a few friends thought, because of attitudes like these, that they shouldn't send 'round robins' and scribbled something hastily instead. I was glad when they go re-instated and I could read them nicely and clearly.
Seems like I'm in a minority, but I have been greatly blessed to be a small part of these people's lives and love getting the news.

We had one which made us laugh. As well as the letter about loads of people we don’t know, there was a price list and vacancy chart for their holiday cottage !!

And. . . one we had told us in great details about the pet cats and rabbits too! I ask you!!

We used to get one from some rather "alternative " friends, one year it was about him changing his first name because his guru had told him to, and it also told us about the crop circle seminars that they had been to!

I found an old one in the Christmas decorations, clearly kept because it was so awful, written by the husband: just one long boast about him and his holidays from beginning to end, with disparaging comments about everyone else.
That marriage is now dead and he has moved on to pastures new, and younger; how she stayed with him so long I really don't know.

How sad, Grammaretto.

So sorry, @Grammaretto. ?

It's all I can do to write the cards, it always feels like doing homework did years ago

I have been sending them for years just to members of the family overseas to keep them up with family news, new babies, new jobs etc but this year I couldn't be bothered with all this Covid business because not much had happened except another new baby who most know about anyway. I usually keep them upbeat because no one wants to hear about other's problems, ailments etc.

his life

Do we get to a certain age when we are allowed to edit our own ramblings? Frustrating!

Sorry to hear that Grammareto.

We used to have neighbours, coincidentally Canadian, and they sent us a round robin even though we lived a few doors away. They had a little boy who was in DD2s class and it was quite staggering what this child had achieved. He was captain of a swimming team that didn’t exist. Playing a nonexistent violin and had reached grade 3. Top of the class in every subject leaving others trailing in his wake. Two sides of A4 listing his remarkable achievements. He was actually a rather frail nervous little boy who must have felt that he was such a disappointment to his parents.

Why they sent it to neighbours who saw them daily and knew the truth I have no idea. I wonder how is life has worked out or him.

Grammarett how sad, condolences x

Quizzer

I have just received one of those round robin Christmas news letters from acquaintances from way back when.
I am perfectly happy to hear about your family news but I really don't need to know about.....
The expensive restaurants that you have been to
The cruises you have missed out on this year
The holiday that you did manage to take, going to the best restaurant in that country.
I also don't need to know how much you DESPERATELY missed going to Wimbledon, summer events at your golf club, shopping trips to designer shops to art galleries in London.
Neither do I need to know how brilliantly your children are at their jobs, that they have written published technical articles or even which Michelin starred restaurant you will take be taking them to post Christmas.
Honestly I'm not jealous, just not interested.

Oh alright Quizzer....I promise not to send you another like that ever again.?

I regularly get one ( only one, which is something) along those lines too, but it affords me and Mr L great amusement, so I suppose it achieves something.

I'm sorry for the loss of your FIL this morning Grammaretto.

We get one every year from a Canadian relative of dh - 2 A4 sides in a minute font, with umpteen details of the doings/ailments/holidays of both her and sundry people we barely know or have never even met.

Still, better than the brag-fest we used to get from a former friend - the last was so braggy, I crossed them off our list. Funny how you never get one of these saying X has put on 2 stone, Y has lost their job, and their eldest failed their A levels!

Wheniwasyourage horribly true though, unfortunately.
My FiL died this morning, in hospital with hospital acquired Covid.
He had been shielding the entire year with everyone being so careful as hes 95 with various health problems, but it still got him

If I can't send you all a round robin, how can I tell you about little Lucifer getting his Certificate for Grade 2 xylophone in a lovely ceremony the family arranged for him in the middle of the High Street during lockdown? He was so disappointed that his little school was closed and so he wouldn't be having the presentation in front of an admiring school assembly. Although the police were called, they were very reasonable, and the fine wasn't much, really.

We just had to have a holiday; we are, as you know, quite sensitive, and really felt lockdown more than most people, and so we flew to a quiet resort we know, where we can't have seen more than a few hundred people. It was very annoying to find that we had to "quarantine" when we got back, but fortunately the checking up which was done happened almost always when we were actually in the house. They called only once when we were out, getting our eyes tested. The fine wasn't much, really.

We hope you all have a wonderful Christmas and a very happy 2021. We are planning to use the relaxation of the travel restrictions to visit the family in Glasgow, Manchester and London - just fleeting visits, alas, but we hope to see all 35 of them, including the aged in-laws! It'll be tiring, but I'm sure it will be worth it. The risk of transmission of the virus (if it exists, ha ha!) seems to us to be greatly exaggerated and isn't much, really.

Love to all, from the when family.

OceanMama That sounds like a very thoughtful and sincere friend.
This year will be different for everyone but I also hope we all have the best one we can.
Something to write about in future?

I was looking through last year's cards that I had saved to check for changes like new addresses, etc and found one my daughter had sent that I'd saved because I thought it funny: 'I'm just writing the annual family Christmas newsletter. Any tiny achievements you want to massively exaggerate?' The ones I'm looking forward to this year are those that are usually a list of all the trips they've had!

I reconnected with a cousin some years ago - she lives in a different city so we don't meet up. She sends me a round robin letter every year to keep me up to date with her family (nothing boastful).

I include a letter in Christmas cards sent to people I no longer see but want to keep in touch with. It is usually just a few paragraphs again nothing boastful (I have nothing to boast about!!)

Grammaretto, the best Christmas card I received the year my daughter died was a card wishing us the best at Christmas but acknowledging that they knew it would be difficult. So thoughtful and understanding.

I opened. one such round robin letter in error (honest!) contained in a Christmas card last year. It was actually addressed to the previous occupants of our house. Of course I had to read it (!?!) - and it was quite a boastful letter. We have been at this house for 4 years and the previous occupants had died. I sent the letter and card onto the daughter of these previous occupants. She then wrote back to tell me that she’d actually informed the Bloggs (I’ll call them that) of her parents deaths when they had occurred. Seems like the Bloggs has been using an old address book when sending the round robin! I expect this could have been quite upsetting for the daughter to receive a letter addressed to her deceased parents. I would have been upset - and a bit annoyed too.

We have Canadian friends who write their news in verse every year.
It's an email.
I am looking forward to it.
Since DH died so recently, I am not sure what to do about cards this year. I have only received a couple so far.
The condolence cards are still arriving.
I guess it's hard to wish someone a Merry Christmas when you know it won't be.
I think the weirdest letter we had once was from the family dog. Woof woof!

I don’t mind them, I like hearing the news, but not the boasts.
The worst one I know of was sent to my cousin, the sender described my Aunt’s recent funeral in great detail!
The seasonal log fire came in very handy.

I agree with OceanMama . Why have contact with people that are almost strangers if contact is only once a year.

If important things had happened throughout the year you would have shared them with people that would have liked to have known at the time.