More than a Newsletter

Each year we feel a need to reconnect with family and friends.  Many of the cards we receive include a newsletter to update us.  If you write a yearly newsletter, we recommend that you save a copy of it in your family history journal or scrapbook.  Here are five ideas that will make catching up with your family more fun and interesting!

Make a crossword puzzle.  The clues can be an accomplishment, hobby or personality trait of each family member, and the answer is that person’s name.

Make a Christmas quilt.  Use a line drawing, and let each person in the family include their own message in “their” space.  Old quilt block patterns are easily found on the web, or draw your own.

Write your own Christmas poem.  One family member wrote a creative Christmas poem, with a two line stanza for each child in the family.  If you are poetically challenged, take a famous poem and change the words to fit your family!

Write a letter of thanksgiving.  Let your newsletter focus on what the family is thankful for this year.  This is a perfect family project for the Thanksgiving holiday, and while you may not end up with a timeline of the year, the people reading your newsletter (now and in future generations) will have a chance to get to know each member of your family better.

Write your family newspaper. Use a newspaper format, and write like a journalist.  Include catchy headlines and illustrations.

share this article!