Luann by Greg Evans and Karen Evans for December 22, 2019

It’s the season to be jolly… uh-huh

I like those kinds of letters because it helps me learn what has been going on with friends I don’t keep up with except at this time of the year. However, I do know people like Nancy, who get irritated by them.

talk about a bah-humbug of a christmas strip…

Merry Christmas Nancy!!!

I write 10-15 page newsletters each year, typed, with pictures, and I send them to everyone on my Christmas list. I’ve done this every year for the past 35 years. I certainly hope the people who receive them don’t feel the way Nancy does. It’s depressing to see even a comic strip character feel this way about a newsletter.

Nancy. The World is going to H3LL in a hand basket.

And You’re “upset” about THAT???

We usually put a very short one in the Christmas card.

.

I get a kick out of the ones I get from my relatives and how well they are always doing. What I have the most difficulty understanding is when any of them get a job, they always start out as a CEO or vice president of a company, and a few years later, they all promote their way into working as the company janitor, working in the mail room, or stocking shelves. Not that there is anything wrong with those jobs, certainly not if a vice president or CEO of a company does not mind doing them.

wow nancy, you aren’t the slightest bit bitter or jealous, are you?

With friends like that, who throw in your face of having learned to play the harp during a trip… maybe it’s better to find new friends.

I would rather read Cousin Eddie’s version from Christmas Vacation.

It’s the time to be stressed out.

Why go through all that effort and time to show off. People do that on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, etc. all the time now,is she behind the times

Then she went to CERN, solved the Grand Unified Theory and composed a symphony to celebrate.

A friend sends something like that, and I think it’s great. Wow – an actual letter? Written by hand?

Really, it’s certainly more interesting than the usual store-bought Christmas card, with nothing written in it but “Dear _____” and “Love, ____”. Which just seems like a complete waste of time. I wonder why people do that at all.

Aint the holidays grand.

There may be one or two. And it is their problem to deal with. Not yours. Keep writing and keeping USPS rolling.

The letter-writer has a very specific name. Anyone know the backsory?

I haven’t even gotten around to Christmas shopping yet.

HAPPY WINTER

Holiday newsletters make wonderful kindling!

Even some good friends must look at your 10-15 page holiday newsletters and say, “Damn! This is more than I need to know!”

I stopped sending out cards to most people when everyone got on FB. There is nothing to write about that they don’t already know. We send one card to an elderly relative and one to a young relative after he sent a photo card with pictures of his young son. We like getting photos of relatives. I miss sending and receiving Christmas cards, but that tradition is over for most people.

I have to admit I used to feel guilty when a friend used to send out those family summaries each holiday season; I liked it though because it meant we were considered friends, and our son and theirs shared so many similar traits that getting information about him and his progress was good. Never got mad though, but I can see Nancy doing that. She is a wonderful character, but she has a bit of a control personality too, so someone else who has a similar persona might threaten her. By the way, in case anyone doubts the control aspect of her personality, recall the comment she made to Toni after the engagement was announced, with a smile as I recall, about never hurting her son. Talk about a tiger mom.

I think like letters to Penthouse Forum, most of those xmas letters are fiction

Even most of the diehards that I knew eventually saw the futility of writing such lengthy missives, and have since acquiesced accordingly.

Two words – Jacquie Lawson. I use their website to send my Christmas cards electronically, as well as a SHORT yearly letter, just to let people know what’s going on in my life. It seems like such a waste to spend good money on a paper card that people will look at, say “oh gee, that’s nice,” and then throw away on December 26th. Now, I DO appreciate the photo Christmas cards. Those, I keep. But the JL e-cards are positively delightful. I subscribe for a year for twenty bucks, and I can send out as many cards as I want for every occasion.

But I do get Nancy’s dismay. It always seems as though other people’s lives are always more interesting than our own, even if what they’re sharing is only a nodding relationship with the truth.

Sallymargret – I think it’s great that you have the time (and news!) to write a 10-15 page newsletter w/ photos. I’m always glad to know that my friends are living full, fun lives … and it makes me a little envious too at times. Both my husband and I are retired military with eight cats. We’re both loners, stay at home folks, and I honestly don’t think either of us have been farther away from the house than 25 miles in years (our choice). Our trips consist of medical visits (us) and vet visits (the cats). If I were to write about my typical day it would be – woke up at 4:00 A.M. to feed the cats, went back to bed, got woken up at 6:30 A.M. by the sound of some cat barfing in the other room, went back to bed, woke up to find one cat sleeping on my head, another wedged between my legs, and one sleeping and drooling on my stomach. LOL!! Went to the mailbox in my pajamas, waved at a neighbor, read the online comics, answered the doorbell to find my CHEWY and AMAZON deliveries …. (are you alseep from boredom yet). Have a great 2020. And if you want to add me to your newsletter, let me know. It would probably be one of the most exciting, positive things that happened. :)

Relatively short notes at Christmas are much more tolerable than having the same people come over in person to tell you about their trip to Cuba or the Great Wall of China or their kid’s new job Keokuk, Iowa.

While I’d appreciate the effort and enjoy reading a multi-page Christmas letter, I’d treasure a phone call and a personal “Merry Christmas.”

What does she do all day? Wine and “The View”?

A dear friend of mine used to send a Christmas newsletter every year, and I was one of the lucky recipients. She was an artist who traveled extensively, wrote interesting descriptions of her trips, and drew sketches of the places she had been. She also talked about her family and sent pictures of them. Her letters were witty, interesting—and long. I looked forward to them, and I kept them all. She died almost 10 years ago.

How I miss her beautiful yearly letters. Not receiving them has left a little hole in my life. She’s the one who inspired me to write a yearly Christmas newsletter, and I want mine to be as good as hers were. I am taking to heart everything that the people on this forum have said about newsletters, both the positive comments and the negative comments. I will never stop sending my Christmas newsletter as long as I’m alive, but I will use your comments to make it the best I possibly can. I want to make those who receive it as happy as my friend’s letters made me. Thank you all.

Wellll, Envy-Green IS a Christmas color! Riiiiight??!

I have ideas for this coming week. Option 1: Luann sits on Santa’s lap and declares her wish to have Jack (as a boyfriend). Santa (somehow) transmits that information. Option 2: Jack actually wants to buy Luann a Christmas gift, which he does based on information she conveys while they shop for Jack’s niece, a more likely option.

The two page glossy brag-fests from friends with attached montage of selfie-photos (I did this, and I did this, and this. Here’s a huge image of my face, overwhelming exotic scenery in the distance) usually get a glance from me, then hit the trash.

That said, I had an aunt who would include hand-written notes about things members of the family had done during the year which (living far away) we might have missed. Those letters were treasures.

I also love the cards which are handmade, include images of original artwork, or actual original photos. (birds, florals, my friends’ hot air balloon, the new baby, their kids-unposed, or school photos.) To me, those are much more personal than a collection of selfies from famous tourist sites.

I don’t send many paper cards anymore, but when I do, It try to include a short, personal note to friends, pertaining to something they might be interested in.

Life is good unless you have your heart set on being top dog.

(There is only enough room for one of us.)

One guy HAS to do a “one-up” no matter what subject I bring up. I told him I had just gotten over a pulled thigh muscle and he countered with his pulled ham string AND that was so much worse than a pulled thigh muscle. So people are that shallow, thus not really friends!

That’s not Really Hand Written.

She’s just using the “Handwriting” font she bought at the online craft fair.

Monday: A challenge to Santa?

Over-achieving, boastful friends are the ones we usually dump, saving a few bucks for a Christmas card and 55 cents for a stamp. Bah, humbug!

Of course they do sallymargret

it’s not about the newsletter itself but on how sent it to her i think.

As someone who has spent 6 years learning the harp, it takes more than a 1-2 week vacation to play ANYTHING properly.