Using a printable Christmas template for your annual holiday letter to family and friends is an eco-friendly way to make sure you’re not wasting paper – or running out! You’ll always have just the right amount.

What is a Christmas letter template?
A Christmas letter template is simply a document with a holiday design that has been set up for you to customize with your own content. Typically, they are saved as Microsoft Word documents, so they’re easy to edit. You simply download the document, open it in Word, and replace any sample text with your own. Basic templates may just have a Christmas background design inserted into Word with the text box already set up, or more advanced templates may include a place for you to add your own photo, or may be formatted as a newsletter with multiple columns, boxes and areas for you to write your own content.

Why Use a Christmas letter template?
If you’re concerned about our natural resources, a template makes sense for several reasons. First, you’ll never have to worry about having leftover paper that you can’t use. With a downloadable Word Christmas template, you’ll never have excess.

Second, you can always choose recycled paper. If you buy Christmas letter paper at the store, you may have a hard time finding a design you like on recycled paper, or the recycled content may not be up to your standards. With a printable template, you can print your holiday letter on the paper you prefer.

Third, there’s no shipping or packaging involved. Your stationery isn’t hauled across the country in gas-guzzling freight trucks or packaged in non-biodegradable plastic. So your purchase is greener and cleaner than stationery from the store.

You can find inexpensive printable Microsoft Word Christmas letter templates here at Christmas Letter Tips.com or at our partner site, ChristmasLetterTemplate.com.

Article Source: Go Green with a Christmas Letter Template

By Lisa Howard

Unfortunately, the book’s publisher must not have provided a description for bookstores because neither Amazon or Barnes and Noble has any details on the book. That’s a shame because I’m sure the lack of information will discourage many people, and this book is well worth the money if you’re looking for creative Christmas letter ideas.

The author’s website says, “You can quickly learn to transform a traditional letter into one that is so entertaining that even the busiest holiday reveler can’t lay it aside.” In fact, I enjoyed reading all of the sample letters inside the book, despite the fact that I don’t know the author or her family. Colbrunn’s creative examples prove that holiday letters don’t have to be boring or bragging.

The author doesn’t just give a list of ideas. She gives real examples of actual letters she has sent over the years, from the 1988 Diary letter to the 2005 End of Year Statistics letter and many in between.

Personally, I really enjoyed the 1995 Monopoly-like trivia game, which included a game board with squares around the outside with answers such as “Surprise Un-Birthday Party” and trivia cards you had to match up, such as “Stick around longer at Cousin Corrie’s and Christy’s graduation party and it magically turns into Grandma Chamber’s 75th Surprise Birthday Party…” (At least, I think that was the card that went with that square. There’s no cheat sheet in the book!)

I also enjoyed the Christmas letter that was a compilation of fake letters to Santa and the “2003 by the Numbers” letter that included info such as:

3 times we visited the Toledo Zoo with friends and family. The kids liked the monkeys best
30 toddler teeth brushed at the beginning of the year
60 toddler teeth brushed at the end of the year
98 hours per week that Jen works as a full-time triplet mom

The book inlcudes a brief explanation of each letter and then offers work space for you to make notes for your own version of each one. It’s broken into four sections, with a general section on creating your letter and sections for each of the types of holiday letters she describes: list letters, format letters and perspective letters.

There’s something in here for everyone, and you’ll almost certainly find some ideas in Ideas for Writing Creative Christmas Letters That People Are Actually Eager to Read that will help you improve your own writing. If not, you’ll at least fun reading these.

More links:
Creative Christmas Letter Ideas

How to Write Christmas Letters People Will Actually Enjoy Reading

(This article originally appeared on HubPages: Review: Ideas for Writing Creative Christmas Letters by Janet Colbrunn)

Who would want to do such a thing? Astonishing Cards and CardStore.com will both perform this service.

Astonishing Cards doesn’t even charge extra. Yep. You can design your own customized Christmas card online, complete with your choice of text and a photo you can upload, and they’ll print and send the cards out the next day. The “Astonishing Cards Advantage” free next day mailing service only applies to any style of large folded Christmas cards and holiday photo cards or postcards (There is an extra fee if you’re buying another type of card.), so check their site to get the full details.

Astonishing Cards has four pages of photo card designs, as well as six pages of Christmas card designs, and you can choose from one of three card formats – large folded card, invitation size folded card, and postcard. Their designs are modern and colorful, and you’ll find the usual assortment of reindeer, Santa, messages of Peace on Earth, etc.

CardStore.com can also make your card mailing easy, and they charge only a small fee in addition to the cost of U.S. postage (as low as .79, depending on the type and quantity of cards you purchase). You’ll find an amazing selection of cards here. They’ve got 10 pages of holiday photo card designs, as well hundreds of other cards in their traditional, modern, vintage, and whimsical Christmas card categories. They’ve even got a category of holiday cards featuring pets.

Both sites also offer a wide selection of cards and invitations for other holidays and special occasions such as birthdays, baby showers, and weddings. So if you’re looking to save some time on your Christmas mailing this year, go take a look.

In a family Christmas letter, you want to tell your readers about things that happened to you during the year. But the goal of a business letter is not to tell about your company’s successes, but to express your thanks to customers and partners.

Here are some sample business Christmas letters to help you get started.

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Sample Letter #1

Dear [Customer or Client Name],

The holiday season is a wonderful time for us to remember the friends and customers who help our business and make our jobs a pleasure all year long. Our business would not be possible without your continued support.

So we’d like to take this moment to say thank you and send our best wishes to you and your families. May your new year be filled with all the success and happiness you deserve.

Happy holidays!

[Your Company Name]

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Sample Letter #2

Dear [Customer or Client Name],

As the holiday season approaches, we’d like to take this opportunity to thank you for your continued business. It is business associates like you who make our jobs a pleasure and keep our business successful.

May your holiday season and the new year be filled with much joy, happiness and success. We look forward to working with you in the coming year and hope our business relationship continues for many years to come.

Happy holidays!

[Your Company Name]

You can give your business Christmas letter some holiday cheer by printing it on holiday paper instead of your company letterhead. Then be sure to send your letters in plenty of time to arrive before the holidays.

Happy writing!

1. Christmas Newsletter – If chronicling your entire year in one long letter seems too daunting, think of a few major events and write a short summary of each one to create a personal newsletter. You can use programs such as Microsoft Publisher to format your Christmas newsletter into a fun update, or try one of our printable Word Christmas letter templates.

2. Multiple choice quiz or crossword puzzle – What did your son do in the school talent contest this year? How many colors did you look at before you decided to paint the kitchen walls a light blue? Keep your readers guessing by putting together a quiz or crossword puzzle that gives highlights from your year. You can find free online programs to help you with the formatting. Also, be sure to check the creative Christmas letter examples for ideas.

3. Christmas story – If you enjoy writing, create a story that weaves the events of your year into a Christmas-themed narrative. For help, use our instant Christmas letter generator or see the creative Christmas letter examples.

4. Christmas Slideshow – If you have a digital camera and a CD burner, consider making a slideshow CD to include with your Christmas card instead of a letter. Simply select a favorite song or a Christmas carol and add photos for a fun way to share images of your year. Services such as Shutterfly make it easy to create your photo show, or use an online digital scrapbooking service such as Smilebox.

5. Photo Layout – If wordsmithing isn’t your strength, skip the Christmas letter all together and send family and friends a page of photos printed from your computer. Make the photos different shapes and sizes and use captions to tell about things that happened to your family throughout the year.

6. Top 10 list – What are the 10 most important things that happened to your family this year? How about the most humorous? Or most unbelievable? A top 10 list can be a fun and easy way to describe your family’s year. Think David Letterman and you’ll be on your way.

7. C-H-R-I-S-T-M-A-S spells Christmas – Eddy Arnold’s 1961 song that gives a meaning for each letter of the word “Christmas” is a great example of how to turn a single word into a story. What did those letters mean to your family this year? C is for a trip to California? H is for the new house you bought? Use the letters of a Christmas-related word or phrase to create a Christmas letter people will be sure to remember.

8. Guest Author – How would your five-year-old child describe the year? Try writing your letter from the perspective of your child, another family member, your new neighbors, a pet, or any other person that could give your letter a fresh new outlook.