Things I Don’t Want to See in Your Christmas Letter

We’re being slowly flooded with Christmas epistles…from family and friends…and the boasters abound. Why is it that Christmas is used as an excuse to send out boastful letters? I don’t get it. Christmas is completely about humility―I mean, God came to earth and was born as an ordinary man in a common place―that’s about as humble as you can get.
So here’s what I don’t want to read or see in Christmas letters…I’m sure many of you will agree with me...and maybe I'll even add more things when more letters come. :-)

1. That your teenage daughter went to Japan with her “friend” Joe. (That actually makes me kinda sick. :-D)

2. That you managed to find a house in one of the fashionable parts of town. (We’re all real impressed.)

3. “I’m being tutored in Biblical Greek!” (At sixteen?! I like Greek but good grief!)

4. About your son or daughter’s new girl/boy friend. (Here today, gone tomorrow…tell me when they get engaged.)

5. Detailed lists of each child’s personal activities, hobbies, aspirations, and college perspectives. (Thank you…but we’re not looking to hire them for upper management.)

6. How you spent the past year in the car driving kids to various activities. (That’s actually rather sad…)

7. Brand-names. (We’re all so happy that you can afford a Lexus, Mac, or Coach bag and told us so.)

8. A list of places you went, what you did, and how great, great, great it was. (Never fails to be nauseating.)

9. Lots of posed pictures, edited on Photoshop, and strategically placed around the 2-3 page letter. (This isn’t a bloody catalogue cover…just tuck in one nice picture for us to put on the fridge!)

10. And in the last paragraph, tell us about your high-blood pressure problem or palpitating heart issue or breathing concern…and how the doctors can’t figure out what’s wrong. (We all know what’s wrong and how we know has something to do with how out of breath we felt just by reading about your life.)

I like hearing from people but why can’t they be honest and real? You’re supposed to be sending letters to people who care about you…so tell us what really happened and skip the bragging. Being blessed does not give you an excuse to boast.

P.S. Mom read this before you send out our Christmas greetings. :-)

:-)