How to Write a Holiday Letter
Write an outline to start, which makes is easier in the end., Follow these steps: Decide on a format., Put in that fancy paper, print a few demos and you’re done!
Step-by-Step Guide
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Step 1: Write an outline to start
We all know we’ll have too much to do in December, so take the load off, plunk down at your keyboard, grab yourself a cup of your favorite bevy, and I’ll show you how to make it really easy. -
Step 2: which makes is easier in the end.
I like the “year in review recap” format because it’s short and sweet and really transports you back to those special memories, making the task more enjoyable instead of a drudgery.
On your computer page, or tablet, write down all the months of the year.
Grab your calendar.
Flip through the months to find out those things that jump out at you.
This is not the time to document every appointment or every ball game.
Pick out the memorable ones, where you can share a one liner about what you did that made that event so special. “Met Steve Nash pre-Suns game at the season opener”, is a good start.
Do a highlight of every month.
It’s okay if you have lots of things for one month and not too many for another month
-- you’ll whittle it down.
People love knowing highlights, not every… single… move. (What is that saying? I asked you for the time, not how to make the clock!) Flip through some photos that you took during the year, using this as another way to remember those special highlights.
The pictures don’t have to correspond with the calendar – sometimes we write things down, sometimes we take pictures.
Now is the fun part! Look at our outline, and create a few sentences or a blurb to highlight each item.
Like the Steve Nash sample above, it doesn’t have to be a full sentence: “Celebrated Angela and Tom’s wedding on the east coast, reuniting with my sister for a sightseeing tour of Arlington and DC” – that says a lot – it says we went to a wedding, where they were wed, who we met up with and where we traveled.
Avoid:
We landed at the airport, picked up by Tom, spent four days with the family, and coordinated the flowers, oh and did we mention the car trouble that started when we….” It’s especially nice if you can highlight in terms that most of your “audience” (i.e., those friends and family who will receive your letter.) For instance if no one knows who Angela and Tom are, you might not want to include highlights of your time with them.
Do that for all your events, under the categories of each month or the quarter or just bullet point certain parts of the year.
Be sure to put a clever heading and a way for people to know your contact info.
At the top maybe ‘Happy Holidays from the Millers” – and then at the bottom I write, Happy Holidays from (signatures go here).
You can reach us at: address, emails and phone.
Next is to figure out if you are going to do your letter on a full 8-1/2 x 11 page, or a half page, or a different page orientation.
Remember this is the space you have to work with.
Is it on decorative paper, make sure you look a the margins for where text will be placed on that page.
Figure that you will use 11 or 12 point type.
If it’s too small (just to get more on the page) you’ll lose your reader in the first line.
The point is to make them want to read on, not to bore them or hurt their eyes! , -
Step 3: Follow these steps: Decide on a format.
-
Step 4: Put in that fancy paper
-
Step 5: print a few demos and you’re done!
Detailed Guide
We all know we’ll have too much to do in December, so take the load off, plunk down at your keyboard, grab yourself a cup of your favorite bevy, and I’ll show you how to make it really easy.
I like the “year in review recap” format because it’s short and sweet and really transports you back to those special memories, making the task more enjoyable instead of a drudgery.
On your computer page, or tablet, write down all the months of the year.
Grab your calendar.
Flip through the months to find out those things that jump out at you.
This is not the time to document every appointment or every ball game.
Pick out the memorable ones, where you can share a one liner about what you did that made that event so special. “Met Steve Nash pre-Suns game at the season opener”, is a good start.
Do a highlight of every month.
It’s okay if you have lots of things for one month and not too many for another month
-- you’ll whittle it down.
People love knowing highlights, not every… single… move. (What is that saying? I asked you for the time, not how to make the clock!) Flip through some photos that you took during the year, using this as another way to remember those special highlights.
The pictures don’t have to correspond with the calendar – sometimes we write things down, sometimes we take pictures.
Now is the fun part! Look at our outline, and create a few sentences or a blurb to highlight each item.
Like the Steve Nash sample above, it doesn’t have to be a full sentence: “Celebrated Angela and Tom’s wedding on the east coast, reuniting with my sister for a sightseeing tour of Arlington and DC” – that says a lot – it says we went to a wedding, where they were wed, who we met up with and where we traveled.
Avoid:
We landed at the airport, picked up by Tom, spent four days with the family, and coordinated the flowers, oh and did we mention the car trouble that started when we….” It’s especially nice if you can highlight in terms that most of your “audience” (i.e., those friends and family who will receive your letter.) For instance if no one knows who Angela and Tom are, you might not want to include highlights of your time with them.
Do that for all your events, under the categories of each month or the quarter or just bullet point certain parts of the year.
Be sure to put a clever heading and a way for people to know your contact info.
At the top maybe ‘Happy Holidays from the Millers” – and then at the bottom I write, Happy Holidays from (signatures go here).
You can reach us at: address, emails and phone.
Next is to figure out if you are going to do your letter on a full 8-1/2 x 11 page, or a half page, or a different page orientation.
Remember this is the space you have to work with.
Is it on decorative paper, make sure you look a the margins for where text will be placed on that page.
Figure that you will use 11 or 12 point type.
If it’s too small (just to get more on the page) you’ll lose your reader in the first line.
The point is to make them want to read on, not to bore them or hurt their eyes! ,
About the Author
Doris Richardson
Writer and educator with a focus on practical lifestyle knowledge.
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