Hello Christmas
Guideposts|December /January 2021
PEOPLE HAVE A LOVE-hate relationship with Christmas letters. I’m a lifelong letter writer, and even I struggle to hit the right note—newsy, fun, filled with holiday spirit but not bragging or full of details that no one cares about.
LISA BOGART, San Rafael, California
Hello Christmas
This year, the struggle is off the charts. Who has good news to share at the end of one of the hardest years of our lives? I lost an uncle, friends were diagnosed with Covid, my son moved away, and my husband and I holed up in our house for months. For a social person like me, whose favorite part of the day is time spent with friends and loved ones, life felt on hold.

No Christmas letter? Quite the opposite! This year, I need to write a Christmas letter. I encourage you to write one too. Christmas letters are a gift of hope. And what could the world use more of now than the hope of Christmas?

I sent my first Christmas letter in my early twenties and, with a few exceptions, have sent one every year since. Even if you’ve never sent a holiday letter in your life, and even if you think you have no artistic talent, trust me, you can do this. Let’s make this year’s Christmas letter a highlight of the season. Here’s how:

1 Let it all hang out.

No vacation? No graduation? Day after day spent at home? What news does anyone have to share this year? Plenty! Okay, so you didn’t take that long-awaited trip to Greece. That doesn’t mean 2020 wasn’t full of accomplishments.

Write about the fabulous loaves of bread you baked. The harvest from your garden. The knitting project you started. Your new daily yoga practice. How about the 100 Sudokus you completed? Or how you managed to juggle working from home and wrangling kids? Now is the time to share and laugh at your epic fails. You’ve had adventures just getting your groceries!

2 Embrace the strangeness.

هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة December /January 2021 من Guideposts.

ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.

هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة December /January 2021 من Guideposts.

ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.

المزيد من القصص من GUIDEPOSTS مشاهدة الكل
What prayer can do
Guideposts

What prayer can do

POWER IN OUR DAY-TO-DAY LIVES

time-read
1 min  |
Oct/Nov 2024
Rejoice in All Things
Guideposts

Rejoice in All Things

My husband and I had an annual tradition of celebrating the high points of the year. This time, he wanted to try something different

time-read
2 mins  |
Oct/Nov 2024
Special Delivery
Guideposts

Special Delivery

A month after my wife died and my life felt so empty, the only thing I had to look forward to was Amazon

time-read
5 mins  |
Oct/Nov 2024
A Prayer for Cullen
Guideposts

A Prayer for Cullen

Even in a family crisis, I had trouble quieting my mind enough to listen for God

time-read
4 mins  |
Oct/Nov 2024
Blackie & Rosebud
Guideposts

Blackie & Rosebud

What would happen to my friend's cats now that she was gone?

time-read
2 mins  |
Oct/Nov 2024
The Kids Are Alright
Guideposts

The Kids Are Alright

My twin boys and I had always been close. I thought they needed me. Now I wasn't so sure

time-read
5 mins  |
Oct/Nov 2024
Kindred Spirits
Guideposts

Kindred Spirits

I thought the nose ring gave it away—she was just another teenager. I couldn't imagine how she could help me

time-read
5 mins  |
Oct/Nov 2024
A Boy Named Sue
Guideposts

A Boy Named Sue

In 1969, Johnny Cash and his wife, June, threw a party at their house in Hendersonville, Tennessee, a “guitar pull,” where guests passed around a guitar and tried out new songs.

time-read
1 min  |
Oct/Nov 2024
Active Duty
Guideposts

Active Duty

I'd tried everything for my knee - physical therapy, gel injections, a cumbersome brace. Everything except prayer

time-read
7 mins  |
Oct/Nov 2024
Living an Abundant Life
Guideposts

Living an Abundant Life

A conversation with spirituality and health researcher Harold G. Koenig, M.D., on what makes people truly happy

time-read
8 mins  |
Oct/Nov 2024