Christmas Letters

Here they come. It is an interesting part of Christmas, isn’t it – the sending and receiving of Christmas letters? There is also quite a variety that you receive. Here are a few of the categories in which I place these letters:

1) The tell everything to the point of irritation Christmas letter. You know this one, don’t you? This is the four-pager with no pictures, just words. This one documents the life of every member of the family with an extra paragraph about the person writing the letter. This one often includes unhealthy, human-like references to the pets. “Rover has had a fruitful year this year as he has made new friends in the neighborhood.” Rover the dog has had a fruitful year? Rover has eaten, slept, played and REPEAT. Rover is a dog. These are the letters I open and then groan. I set them aside until I have a free twenty minutes and quickly scan them. By the time you are done reading the letter, you are glad Christmas only comes once a year.

2) The picture of the kid(s) letter. Yep, all the parents had time for was a quick run to Target to make 50 pictures that say, “Peace on Earth” with a picture of the children in red clothes. The Sauer’s have been guilty of this one. The pictures are usually my favorite part of any Christmas letter, because you can see how the kids are growing up. You don’t get any information about their lives – no idea how they or the kids are doing. Just a picture with a nice, brief ‘Christmasy’ message.

3) The ‘just the facts’ Christmas letter. This contains raw data. There is no emotion. It is just what each person did or will do. It is like reading a brief resume about each member of the family. “Billy went to camp in Minnesota in July with his friend Ronnie and they learned how to tie slip-knots. Billy did well in school and enjoys making pizza with his Dad. Billy is learning a lot in third grade . . .” You get the picture. As I read these types of letters, I keep asking out loud, “but how did that make you feel? Did you have fun? What made you laugh this year? How are you and your family really doing?”

4) The look what we did last year letter. I know this isn’t on purpose, but it is hard not to be cynical. This is the letter filled with all the things you wish you could do. “This past year we went to Europe for a month, and then took a cruise to Alaska. We happened to win the lottery and Steve made the Duke basketball team. Crissy just landed a job with ESPN and gets us free tickets to all the sporting events. Oh yeah, after Christmas we’re leaving for a family trip to the Bahamas. We hope you have a Merry Christmas.” I know, I need to be more excited for the good that people experience. But it is hard not to be jealous.

5) The “We know what matters” letter. I love this one. This one shares the proper amount of information about what is going on in the family and includes the joys and trials they’ve experienced over the past year. There is clearly a desire within the letter to express love and concern for you. And more often than not, these are letters which contain a heartfelt desire for Christmas to be about Christ. There isn’t a simple statement at the end of the letter acknowledging Christ, there is a love for you woven into the letter which can only come from a person who is seeking to see the world and you as Christ does. I love these letters because they point me toward Christ while celebrating His work in the hand of this family.

I do love Christmas letters. I did exaggerate a little in my stereotyping. I am now afraid to let you read ours to see what category you’d place it in.