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)

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 (still on the old Christmas Letter Tips.com site) 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. Or if you don’t have time to print your own Christmas photos and want to save time, you can always find beautiful Photo Christmas Cards online.

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.

Check this page for links to samples of Christmas letters created by real people.