The Christmas Letter
i.e. the annual publication that makes me think I'm an author
I have been working on my family’s annual Christmas letter so haven’t dedicated a lot of time to blogging the past couple of weeks. Those of you who receive our family Christmas card know that I like to choose a theme for my letter to keep it interesting.
In recent years, my themes have included:
2021: a quote from each family member
Excerpt – M (age 10 at the time): “Regular school is like zoom school, except you have to pay attention.” This was M’s astute observation about returning to the classroom after a year-and-a-half of remote learning.
2022: selecting an audio book that I listened to in the calendar year to represent/kick off the summary paragraph for each family member
Excerpt – me: “My Own Words: the late Ruth Bader Ginsberg who had a powerful and enduring influence on law, women’s rights, and popular culture gave us a witty, engaging, serious and playful collection of writings. Here in Sherman Oaks, you have a woman who is always late crafting a witty collection of paragraphs about her playful dog, powerful daughter, popular son and influential husband. It’s basically the same book!”
2023: a trend report for the year explaining how the year’s hottest crazes aligned with the Chong family and their activities
Excerpt - “The Eras Tour: everyone and their mother (except M and her mother) saw Taylor Swift in concert. We avoided needing a 2nd mortgage for tix and merch. M did spend plenty of time making bracelets and streaming Taylor playlists on Spotify.”
I finally did choose a theme and finalize the associated content for the 2024 letter. You will have to wait until it arrives in your mailbox to see what I chose and how I did.
In the meantime, here are some constructs that did not make the cut for this year. Comment if you think I should choose one of these for 2025.
A Christmas Carol – I select a Christmas tune for each of the signature events described in the letter. For example, “Silent Night” is about how most nights each Chong family member retreats to their respective bedroom or spot on the sofa to entertain themselves for the evening.
The Eras Tour – each family member’s summary is matched to a Taylor Swift song. For example, “Fortnight” is the header for the paragraph about a teenage boy and his favorite video game. “Blank Space” introduces the blurb about a mom blogger who stares at her computer screen wondering what to write about next.
Highlights by Month – just as it sounds, a key event or activity is highlighted for each month of the year. Birthday celebrations, holidays, or news events can be aligned to the month in which they occur. Yawn. I prefer a cleverer theme to relieve the pressure of trying to make sure the content is well-written.
Podcast – I can record the letter being read aloud and send out a link with our photo card. This paper-saving idea will be a little clunky to execute but just wait until I add in my character voices. Twelve year old me thought that they were really funny. I’m sure you will too.
New Lyrics/Old Song - apparently I like songs. I have quite a few ideas about how to incorporate music whether it is holiday ditties, Taylor tunes, or a classic song spoof. For this idea, it’s important to select a song that people know the lyrics to. For example - “American Lie” (about the myth of Santa Claus) in place of the Don McLean classic. Maybe I can somehow relate it to my family while I’m at it?
Did you write your Christmas list?
And do you have faith that Claus exists,
If your mama tells you so?
Now do you believe in flying deer?
Is Santa’s laughter something you can hear?
And can you reach the elf-on-shelf real low?
Netflix Top 10 - a sampling of hit shows from the streamer’s top 10 lists throughout the year could be used to tee up the family members’ years. The Ultimatum describes a father at his wit’s end trying a new tactic to get the family to put away their clothes. Man on the Inside is about a high school junior who doesn’t have a driver’s license, yet knows he is mature and doesn’t need his parents asking him so many questions about his school work.
I will hold onto this post in case I’m in a bind at this time next year. Then I will just need to re-read my Substack, do a Google search on “Christmas carols,” and let the creative juices flow.
Wait, maybe I can still add more to this year’s letter… gotta run!
I love the Chong family Christmas letter!