As Christmas approaches, many of you are probably very busy. There are gifts to wrap, cookies to bake, parties to attend, and many other details that need to be taken care of in the next ten days. While right now may not be the best time to add something else to your extra-large holiday to-do list, I have come across a great family history project that I might implement next holiday season.
Family newsletters are a great way to send good tidings to friends and family while providing a glimpse into what your family has been doing for the past year. I am not sure why I did not discover this interesting tradition until just now. Perhaps it is because no one in my family ever did a holiday newsletter, and no one that I know has done one either. No, we are not all Grinches; it is just something that we have not done. We have traditions of our own, including Cruising for Christmas Tree, Christmas Eve at Uncle John’s, and Bailey’s at Breakfast. I love our holiday gatherings and I look forward to them each year because I get to see all of my aunts, uncles, and cousins that I do not get to see or talk to often enough.
Now that I have a little family of my own, I think that it would be nice for everyone to be able to know what the three of us have been up to all year instead of trying to share all of that information during the brief time that we get to spend together. Also, I can save copies of the newsletter in a binder and give them to my son when he is older. He will be able to read some of the highlights and funny anecdotes from his younger years. A holiday newsletter can be a wonderful tool for recording your family’s history and preserving it for years to come. As I sit here writing this, I am getting a sense of urgency. This was my son’s first year of life and there have been so many special milestones and funny things that have happened. I am beginning to think, “why not this year”. The holiday spirit has taken hold, and I just might have to whip up our very first holiday newsletter this week.