How do I begin our Christmas letter?

Who is the letter to? I think I’m a bit confused

Oh, it’s like a letter to all our friends and family just saying what we did this year.

You could always go for corny and say that your mom is exhausted from all of the great things you’ve done this year so you will be writing to recap the year to the rest of the friends/family. Or possibly if you’re a young adult you could write and explain that since you will soon be the man of the household it’s only right that you write the letter. Something more serious would be appropriate if they’re older but with friends and family they enjoy seeing younger generations playing a part in tradition so anything you write would probably work.

Start with,
Happy New Year from the @Elumas family. Mom is busy taking down the tree and cleaning up after our big holiday affair, and Dad is sitting in his easy chair reading the newspaper. The honor of writing all our fine family and friends and updating you on the 2009 @Elumas family highlights therefore falls on me.

I certainly wouldn’t start off with “To Whom It May Concern.” I do think @Judi‘s idea is a good one to work on, though.

Do you need to identify yourself as the author at all? Presumably, the letter will be from the entire family. You could write the whole thing in the first person plural (we), and switch to third person singular when talking about individuals (he, she), including yourself. That’s kind of an impersonal way of doing it though.

You could just open with something that doesn’t identify you right off the bat, using “we” instead, (something like “We’ve had a great year, etc,” for the first paragraph) and then, later in the letter, when you begin talking about individual members of the family, use the third person to talk about siblings or parents, and when you get to yourself, just say “and I, Elumas, have been doing x, y, and z.”

I like Judi’s suggestion best though.

- On this most joyous of occasions
– As Christmas approaches
– Blesses family, friends and acquantances
– Dear loved ones

Then get to the point. Forget all that stuff about being the new writer.
Just write something appropriately syrupy.
Preferably short.
Then end it.

Just don’t start it, or write it, or send it. If you aren’t close enough to these people that they know what’s going on in your lives anyway-they don’t care. We get a letter from a relative in another state every Christmas. It’s filled with all the “wonderful” accomplishments from other relatives we’ve never met and two pages on medical problems/procedures that no one wants to know, except the family doctor. Just send out a card wishing them a Merry Chirstmas and that is good enough.