Miscellany: The Christmas Newsletter

Our family has plenty of Christmas traditions, but one of the most enduring has to be the annual Christmas newsletter we send out with all our Christmas cards. In terms of content, it's a pretty standard affair - a general update on how things are going in our family, some pictures of our vacations, and the usual doses of holiday cheer.

This year, like every year, I'm writing the newsletter. My sister Christina is laying it out and adding photos (since she finishes school much earlier and goes home on the 12th - lucky dog). It's always a challenge writing these things, because many of the recipients are either near-strangers who we only see once every few years, or close family and friends who'll basically be reading this thing with us when we come over to their houses over Christmas.

There's also the matter of how much levity and sarcasm should enter into the proceedings. While, luckily, none of my extended family has died, I wonder how such things should be handled during the holidays.