Dear Santa: We Were Kind of Good

In 2009 I wrote my first Christmas letter and included it in the Christmas cards I sent out. I also posted it on my blog, Mommalicious In Suburbia. Though I had been sending Christmas cards out for years, I had never done one of those letters.

Now, unlike the typical over-the-top, "my kids walk on water and make your kids look inferior" letters—mine blew no smoke. I'm all about sharing your accomplishments, but some of those letters take it to a whole new level. If you are going to tell me how your little Sarah was class valedictorian at her high school, I also want to hear how she was busted for underaged drinking the following summer. Keep it real and balanced is all I'm saying.

In my 2009 letter I mentioned how I was thankful that no one in the household had been arrested that year, and that I took my annual trip to Seattle where my friends continue to sabotage my walk with Jesus. I shared a highlight about each kid's year but made it clear that they continued to perform at a mediocre level in school. Real and balanced. It was an improvement over the year before's photo card, where unbeknownst to me my 130-pound dog was sporting a giant doggie erection in our family photo. How I missed that still puzzles me.

I proudly sent my first Christmas letter out to 100 of our closest friends and family members. Two of them took the time to write me with their thoughts on how offensive my letter was. A few more smiled nervously when they saw me next, but the majority loved it. It was a review of our year including the good, the bad and the ugly.

This year I couldn't get my act together to include a Christmas letter with our cards. But, worry not as I will be posting one on this blog Mommalicious in Suburbia for 2011.

Anyways, keep this in mind when sending out your holiday cards this year. People like real and balanced. Our accomplishments along with our failures are what make us human.  Plus this way the overachievers won't make us underachievers feel bad.