Final Writing Assignment: The Holiday Letter

Deadlines

If you want it to be there by Christmas: December 15, 1999
The more reasonable date: December 29, 1999

Goal

The goal is to write a one-to-two page letter to be sent out to friends and family detailing the last year of your life. Your letter should be clear and concise, but also somewhat humorous if possible. Bragging is not encouraged, but do list any accomplishments that are significant.

Format

Holiday paper can be found at office supply stores. Some of it is hideous, and should be avoided. Think out of the box. Buy matching envelopes or use the ones that you had printed at your last domicile that still have your old address on them. Don�t forget to put your new address in the letter.

Background

Holiday letters for some are the last refuge of the vain, serving only to puff up the letter writers� fragile egos. For others, these letters provide a means to reflect on the year as it is coming to a close and share this reflection with the people that might see something of themselves in that mirrored image. I write them because I like to receive them.

Process

Try to recall all the things that have happened to you in 1999. For example, Glen started this year in his new position as an instructor of writing (how could you tell?) by teaching in the Spring at a private high school in D.C.�s Dupont Circle area. His group of five young men led him to the conclusion that, while he liked teaching, he likes his students older, which is why his Fall class of 17 Freshman at American University proved to be a wonderful experience. Jill�s fellowship at the Environmental Protection Agency lasted through November of this year due to a last-minute extension; she traveled to Shanghai to help facilitate a class in cleaner production in November, while she and Glen had the good fortune to visit Germany in the summer, where we were treated as royal guests by our hosts Horst-Henning and Elke Grotheer.

Remember that some people may have forgotten where you are living and what you are doing. You only write to them once a year, and they may need help recalling what the heck you are up to. For example, Glen is twenty-seven credit hours through the forty-eight required hours of his Master of Fine Arts degree in Creative Writing at The American University in Washington, D.C. Note how specific you can be. Also, if there�s something to be proud of, mention it. For example, for those of you who remember Glen�s somewhat rough undergraduate career, you might be amazed to find that he�s maintained a 4.0 average (he is!). Jill spends her spare time checking her Amazon.com ranking (hey, it�s less than a million) for her co-written book, Pollution Prevention Opportunity Assessments for Research and Development Laboratories. It was published by her own personal vanity press, her employer, Battelle. You can check it out by typing �Engel-Cox� in the search box at http://www.amazon.com (Glen finds this somewhat amusing that Jill got a book on Amazon before he did, considering he�s supposed to be the writer).

Talk about where you traveled to, if you haven�t already. As in, Glen and Jill hosted Jill�s parents� 40th wedding anniversary bash in the Florida Keys in February, then got to see the entire Eskritt clan during a reunion in August in Wisconsin.

Don�t be afraid to mention your animals or your children. For some, animals are their children. For example, Jill�s horse Rogue joined us in the Metro DC area last November, and had a rough transition moving from an open desert to a 100-acre pasture and forest. She figured it out and has put on quite a bit of weight (and not a small amount of fur as well in this cold weather). Jill found a new friend for Rogue, a woman named Liza who signed a half-lease in March and has been helping Jill make sure that Rogue keeps to her exercise regimen and gets her full quantity of carrots. Remember that all animals, great or small should be mentioned. For example, our cats�Morgan Le Fay and William Ashbless�have decided that the bright sunlight provided by the large windows in the condominium are almost as good as the sliding glass doors in the old home.

There are other things to write about if you have trouble filling out your letter, including talking about the people who came to visit you during the year, like our nephew, Michael Cox, who came for ten days in the summer and led Glen around until his feet became sore, or Gene and Linda Cox, Glen�s parents, who Glen led around until their legs got sore. Jill�s parents came to visit at Thanksgiving, and we saw brief visitations from Karl Rehn and Penny Riggs (from Austin), Gene Felber (from Atlanta, whom we knew with Nancy Pyron in Richland), and Pam Florence (from Seattle). Make sure you invite everyone to visit, so that you can have more to talk about in your letter next year. D.C. is a fun place for visitors.

Objectives

• To acquaint friends and family with your activities of the last year.
• To synthesize this information with the things that you have learned.
• To discover the difference between being personal and the necessity of writing generically.
• To become familiar with the genre of the holiday letter and learn the �holiday voice.�

Evaluation

• A - The letter is received warmly by all, causing mirth and merriment. You get more visitors in the next year who remember to call in advance of their arrival.
• B - The letter is read haphazardly then dropped back into the envelope for the next family member to read�or given to the dog to chew on.
• C - The letter is pulled out of the envelope and glanced at, then dropped in the trash.
• D - The unopened envelope provides .001 Btu of heat by becoming fuel for the fire.