In the early 90’s my husband and I were both commuting to work 45-60 minutes one way, we had 2 busy little kids and we were working on remodeling our home. Not quite sure how we did it all!
When the Christmas season was approaching, I knew I would not have time to write a message to everyone on our Christmas list…this was before email and smart phones – and when you still have to pay extra for long distance calls. Christmas was about the only time we touched base with many of our friends and family. So I decided to just get a photo taken of our little family, have wallet-sized prints made and attach that to a Christmas letter that I typed up and copied.
We continued that tradition each year, taking a family photo and typing up a summary of the years events. We would write a paragraph about each child and describe what they had learned, celebrated, or achieved. Then we would add a few paragraphs about family, work and community events.
We now have 28 years of letters, summarizing each family member for each year. When we started this tradition, our oldest son was 3 and was just learning to ride a bicycle with training wheels and our oldest daughter loved taking her dolls for walks in their stroller.
It brings back so many memories to go back and read through all the letters. It is a wonderful way to document family history. I have made copies of each letter and put them in protective covers in a notebook, one for each of our children. So each children will have a summary of our family, starting in 1992.
It is easy if you start early. When you flip to your 2021 calendar just make notes about events throughout the year. New jobs, classes, internships, new babies, trips, honors, hobbies, projects, etc. If your family is on Facebook or other social media, that is another way to gather information. Then in early December just compile a list for each family member. I usually write up a rough draft and have each person edit their paragraph.
As a parent, I love reading the past letters…so many good times…and the kids do grow up so fast. Photos and letters really help you remember all the fun and special times your family enjoyed.
Think about doing a Christmas letter to share with others the news about your family and to document your family history. Start in January and you will be ready in December. It will bring you joy for years to come!
Happy New Year!
