Amethyst Posted December 9, 2006 Share Posted December 9, 2006 Okay, I got not one, but two copies of a Christmas letter from one of my aunts and uncles (on overly religious stationery, no less), and included in the family illnesses section was that my uncle has to put something on his buttocks for pain. I'm sorry to hear that he's having pain, but that is just a wee bit TMI for a Christmas letter. Seriously, why do people feel the need to include stuff like this in their Christmas letters? And why must they use overly religious stationery? It's one thing to have normal Christmas stationery with stuff like Santa Claus or even a nativity scene on it, but to have a bunch of stuff about Jesus on it that you know they chose for the purposes of proselytizing? I'm debating sending out cards this year. I should probably get some. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gaura Posted December 10, 2006 Share Posted December 10, 2006 When we had to write ours this year, we figured we had to include at least some sort of mention of Slim's passing and Blue's fight with cancer. So we wrote it from John's perspective and toned it down a lot, to stuff like "and Slimmy didn't come home from the vet" and "now Blue feels icky with this "cansure" stuff" )we did deliberate mis-spellings) If you've got to mention medical stuff, I think etiquette demands you keep it toned down to something that isn't going to gross out people. We also made sure to focus on John's love of the dogs, as well as gardening and birding. We had a fanstastic garden season and that was something we could really talk about. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amethyst Posted December 10, 2006 Author Share Posted December 10, 2006 When we had to write ours this year, we figured we had to include at least some sort of mention of Slim's passing and Blue's fight with cancer. So we wrote it from John's perspective and toned it down a lot, to stuff like "and Slimmy didn't come home from the vet" and "now Blue feels icky with this "cansure" stuff" )we did deliberate mis-spellings) If you've got to mention medical stuff, I think etiquette demands you keep it toned down to something that isn't going to gross out people. We also made sure to focus on John's love of the dogs, as well as gardening and birding. We had a fanstastic garden season and that was something we could really talk about. I'm sorry to hear about your dogs, it sounds like you care about them a lot. I got my own letters done yesterday. I included the fact that I got a new job (and it's permanent and not temporary, so yay!) and that I did Nanowrimo this year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Sage Nabooru Posted December 10, 2006 Share Posted December 10, 2006 See, we don't write Christmas letters, but if we did I'd go nuts with them. "I went to see the Rolling Stones in July and it was so hot and muggy out I think the beer had an even greater effect. I met up with some guy from Liverpool, England and you know how the English turn me on. We ended up piling into a bed at that Drury Inn on Market Street and I really must say it was the best sex I ever had. I can't remember his name now though - right on the tip of my tongue." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AgnosticBob AtheistPants Posted December 11, 2006 Share Posted December 11, 2006 See, we don't write Christmas letters, but if we did I'd go nuts with them. "I went to see the Rolling Stones in July and it was so hot and muggy out I think the beer had an even greater effect. I met up with some guy from Liverpool, England and you know how the English turn me on. We ended up piling into a bed at that Drury Inn on Market Street and I really must say it was the best sex I ever had. I can't remember his name now though - right on the tip of my tongue." Woooooot! Go Sage! That's hot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChristiaNazi Posted December 11, 2006 Share Posted December 11, 2006 When I was a kid there was a fundie fanatic who published a Christmas newsletter every year lamenting her failed marriage and condemning her ex-hubby. She always referred to herself in the second person, which seemed even more weird. Her former husband had an affair with another woman in the church choir and later married her. EVERY YEAR for around 20 years her Christmas newsletter contained a paragraph like the following: "Robert has still not repented of his adulterous ways, but Janice remains faithful, and knows that Jesus will guide him to repentance. Janice took her vow, 'Til death do us part' seriously and remains faithfully waiting." Somehow she never realized the arrogance of this or how embarrassing this must have been to both her ex and her children - or what an embarrassment it should have been to her. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Posted December 11, 2006 Share Posted December 11, 2006 I'm debating sending out cards this year. I should probably get some.Try these cards: https://lightning.he.net/~atheists/catalogue/shop/cat006.php Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amethyst Posted December 12, 2006 Author Share Posted December 12, 2006 I'm debating sending out cards this year. I should probably get some.Try these cards: https://lightning.he.net/~atheists/catalogue/shop/cat006.php Thanks, but most of the people in my family don't know I'm not Christian yet. I just got some cards with a generic winter scene and some stationery (although I kicked myself after finding out when I got home that it was Thomas Kinkade stationery). But at least it was not religious in nature. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Curtdude Posted December 13, 2006 Share Posted December 13, 2006 ....Seriously, why do people feel the need to include stuff like this in their Christmas letters? ... It seems that our culture has become very "open to sharing" = "hearing all of the gory details." Maybe too much Jerry Springer and all of that. Most annoying. I could go for some old fashioned discretion about some things. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mongo Posted December 14, 2006 Share Posted December 14, 2006 ....Seriously, why do people feel the need to include stuff like this in their Christmas letters? ... It seems that our culture has become very "open to sharing" = "hearing all of the gory details." Maybe too much Jerry Springer and all of that. Most annoying. I could go for some old fashioned discretion about some things. So prostate exams and colonoscopies are out? Do I have that straight? Oh and what about accidents... like puking all over a plush carpet after drinking a bottle of Boujolais Nouveau? Should I remove stories like those too? Just checking. Thanks. (Fast reply appreciated as the wunder-letter must go to post) Mongo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amethyst Posted December 16, 2006 Author Share Posted December 16, 2006 ....Seriously, why do people feel the need to include stuff like this in their Christmas letters? ... It seems that our culture has become very "open to sharing" = "hearing all of the gory details." Maybe too much Jerry Springer and all of that. Most annoying. I could go for some old fashioned discretion about some things. So prostate exams and colonoscopies are out? Do I have that straight? Oh and what about accidents... like puking all over a plush carpet after drinking a bottle of Boujolais Nouveau? Should I remove stories like those too? Just checking. Thanks. (Fast reply appreciated as the wunder-letter must go to post) Mongo It's one thing to include that you underwent an operation, IMO. People want to know about those things, but it's quite another to include gross stuff. As for the puking, why would you put that in a Christmas letter anyway? It probably depends on the circumstances. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mongo Posted December 16, 2006 Share Posted December 16, 2006 So prostate exams and colonoscopies are out? Do I have that straight? Oh and what about accidents... like puking all over a plush carpet after drinking a bottle of Boujolais Nouveau? Should I remove stories like those too? Just checking. Thanks. (Fast reply appreciated as the wunder-letter must go to post) Mongo It's one thing to include that you underwent an operation, IMO. People want to know about those things, but it's quite another to include gross stuff. As for the puking, why would you put that in a Christmas letter anyway? It probably depends on the circumstances. Ho humm... I can never pull of sarcasm. I'm such a lame joker. I really must stop terrorizing people accidentally. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amethyst Posted December 16, 2006 Author Share Posted December 16, 2006 So prostate exams and colonoscopies are out? Do I have that straight? Oh and what about accidents... like puking all over a plush carpet after drinking a bottle of Boujolais Nouveau? Should I remove stories like those too? Just checking. Thanks. (Fast reply appreciated as the wunder-letter must go to post) Mongo It's one thing to include that you underwent an operation, IMO. People want to know about those things, but it's quite another to include gross stuff. As for the puking, why would you put that in a Christmas letter anyway? It probably depends on the circumstances. Ho humm... I can never pull of sarcasm. I'm such a lame joker. I really must stop terrorizing people accidentally. Ah. Never mind. I think that is the main problem with the internet. Unless someone includes emoticons, you don't always know whether or not to take them seriously. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Open_Minded Posted December 16, 2006 Share Posted December 16, 2006 Well this isn't medically related information - but it's sure to raise a few eyebrows. My daughter and her boyfriend graduated from the same college last spring and then moved to a new city where her boyfriend is now attending medical school. They are co-habitating. Both extended families know and DON'T CARE. However - in our Christmas letter - I wrote about all three of our children and what they are doing. In the paragraph about our daughter I mentioned that she and her boyfriend moved to the new city and would be living there for a few years while he attended med school. Since that information is no news to anyone in the extended family - I didn't think much about writing that paragraph. However - the other day - we received a Christmas card and Christmas letter from some friends of ours in another state. Their eldest son is our daughter's age (the two of them used to be quite good friends when we lived in the same community). Anyway - these friends are pretty strict Christians and the whole letter was on very religious stationary and every other word was about being "good Christian". When they wrote about their son's marriage they mentioned that he had married a, "very nice Christian girl". My husband and I sort of chuckled and wondered how our Christmas letter and the news that our daughter was "living in sin" would go over with them. Personally - I don't care - it just sort of makes me chuckle. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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