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How
can you turn that annual family newsletter into a gift that friends and
family will want to read? Here are a few suggestions:
1.
Make it a family affair.
Have
everyone sit down at the kitchen table on a blustery Saturday afternoon,
provide plenty of popcorn and hot chocolate, then brainstorm topics for
the newsletter. Write down everything and anything that everyone suggests;
you can hone those ideas later.
Make this a fun, creative way to find content for your newsletter. Some
of the more obvious events might include:
-
Job
changes or promotions
-
Starting
or finishing school (any grade)
-
Births,
adoptions or other additions to the family (like a new pet)
-
Surgeries
or deaths
-
Moving
to a new area or new home
-
Renovations
on your existing home or yard
-
Family
vacations or summer camps the kids attended
Some other (less obvious) things you might include:
- Hobbies, sports or
other activities the family has started together during the year
- Memories from
holidays during the past year
- Anecdotes or funny
stories that happened during the year
And don’t forget fun fillers like these:
- Favorite family
recipes
- Tidbits and trivia
about the holidays and/or holiday customs
- Short facts about
family history or genealogy (for example, the translation of a last
name or a brief bit about where relatives lived before coming to the
U.S.)
- Puzzles, word
searches and other games built around a holiday theme.
- Christmas carol
lyrics (especially those to which no one ever seems to remember
the words!)
- Children’s drawings
- Jokes and riddles
2. If possible, try to discern an overall
theme for your newsletter, based on the events that filled your year. (For
example, "a year of changes," or "a year of additions—to
family and home.")
3. After you have finalized the overall theme
and article topics, assign each person a job. Depending on your
family size, one or two people can write articles, another can edit them,
another person might do the layout and another might search for photos and
graphics to go along with the articles. (If your family is small, you will
obviously have to double up on the responsibilities, but that’s part of
the fun of teamwork!)
4. Set a final deadline based on the date you
would like to drop the newsletter in the mail. Then work
backwards from that deadline to set smaller goals, such as when to have
all the writing done, all the editing done, and the layout completed.
When writing articles, remember these
tips:
1. Write conversationally, as if
you were having a one-to-one verbal conversation with the reader.
2. Strike a balance between writing too much
and writing too little. Try to retain the facts that will most
interest the readers; delete those facts that will elicit yawns and moans!
3. Be careful not to boast! State
the facts and then move on. Don’t elaborate too much on how little
Johnny won every possible award in this year’s music contest! Better
yet, have your child write a little bit about their accomplishments. (Most
children write in an unsophisticated, humble manner.)
4. Include humor! Don’t be afraid
to laugh a little bit at yourself!
5. Instead of just stating facts, talk about
your feelings or experiences. For example, instead of just
stating that you spent a week at the ocean this summer, talk about how
wonderful the cool ocean breezes felt on your face when you walked on the
beach.
6. Keep the author’s voice consistent. Use
either "we" for the entire family or "I" throughout
the newsletter. (If you use "I," give a byline to the writer so
the reader knows who is ‘talking’ to them.)
When it comes to laying out the newsletter,
keep these tips in mind:
1. Use a lot of white space around copy. White
space makes it easier for the eye to focus on the words in your story.
2. Create more interest with photos and
graphics. The reader’s eye always goes to the graphics/photos
first and then to the article to ‘fill in’ the details left out of the
photo.
3. Try to use no more than two typestyles
throughout the whole publication.
When you’re all done, have the newsletter photocopied (or produce it
on your inkjet printer). Be sure to save a copy for your scrapbook. You
will enjoy reading it again when the next holiday season rolls around!
Here are a few books on this topic that you
might want to check out:
 
Absolutely Family!: A Guide to Editing and Publishing a Family Newsletter
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Ways to make your
Christmas publication a bit different from the others:
1) Use an
interesting label on the envelope, like this family caricature label from
VistaPrint:
2)
Consider creating your publication on a software program like
Microsoft Publisher or Printshop 20
Professional Publisher. These
programs make it easier to layout attractive, professional-looking
newsletters that will entice family and friends to read them.
3) Think
about adding a small gift, like
a flat homemade tree ornament, a bookmark or some holiday
stickers. If you are a gardener, why not include some
hand-packaged seeds from your award-winning zinnia
plants?
Check out
Oriental Trading Company, Inc.
for
some inexpensive fillers like the Holiday Domino Card Set pictured
below:
Another resource is Colorful Images
which sells bookplates, notepads, goodie
labels and more that can be personalized if you desire. (Pictured below
is one of their personalized bookplates.)
4) Add
an "interactive" feature to your newsletter, like a quiz, riddle
or puzzle. Check out these websites for ideas:
BrainCandy
FamilyGames
Christmas
Games and Santa Claus Fun Activities
5) Web
savvy? Consider publishing your newsletter online! Not
only will it save you time and money on printing and postage, but distant
relatives and friends can immediately respond by adding comments to your
guestbook. You can get a free trial website from MyFamily.com
6) Do
a little research about your family's history and include it in the
newsletter. The Internet is a great resource! 
Ancestry.com
offers a free 14-day trial to their databases. (Click on the
link below to find out more.)
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