It’s that time of year again! The time for the year in review Christmas form letter. It’s always touching when our relatives treat us like customers. Typically these form letters take one of two directions. The first and most typical is the ‘What a wonderful year we had!’
“Dear ____________, 2016 was a wonderful year for my family. I started a new job six figure job, and my wife was promoted to president of her company. The kids are doing well. Johnny aced the S.A.T., didn’t miss a question! He’s now been accepted into a Ph.D program at Harvard even though he’s only 14. Susie was named Miss Junior America and will be touring the country speaking out against make up companies testing lip gloss on kittens. The picture on the front of the card is the new Bentley we got after winning the lottery.
The best course of action the next time you see these relatives is a swift, stunning punch to the forehead that will cause them to spill nog all over their tacky sweater and leave a mark on their forehead. They deserve this because either they are lying about how fantastic their life is, or if their life is that great then the bruise on their forehead will remind them that life is tough and they shouldn’t get too cocky.
The second kind of Christmas letter is my favorite. It’s the disaster letter. These are the people who make you feel so much better about yourself and your life.
“Hello everyone, it is with a heavy heart that we wish you Season’s Greetings. Sadly our twenty-seven year old cocker spaniel passed away last week. He was delicious. In more upbeat news from our family it has been a year of triumphs! Little Johnny learned to poop indoors and that rash on Susie’s face cleared up. As soon as Obamacare kicks in we’ll get her lazy eye looked at. Home schooling is going well and they both are on track to graduate by the time they’re 21. We’re so proud! Once Trevor finds a job we’ll buy some train tickets and come visit! The best course of action with these relatives is to tell them you’re moving and you’ll forward them the address as soon as you get settled.
I would just like to note that none of the pictures in this post are from my family. If I were to write a form Christmas letter to anyone reading this it might read:
Thank you to anyone who has read The Phil Factor even once. It’s been an amazing year for me thanks to all of you. Thank you to those who have read one of my books and those who clicked Like or shared my weekly Phil Factor as well as those that have helped by giving of their knowledge. Regardless of what religion or holiday you may or may not be celebrating this season, thank you for every little click you’ve directed at me in some way.
As always, Happy Thursday, and if you enjoy #ThePhilFactor please feel free to share by hitting the Facebook or Twitter share buttons below.
Laughing out loud. Are you sure that’s not you in the last photo? 😊
I’ll never tell
Hilarious. The photos are classic, I kinda love the last one. Each face is a story. 😀
I agree. I could just post those photos all the time and my blog would get 1 million views.
It will bother me for my entire lifetime that the family in the top photo didn’t bother to pose with jazz hands. They missed a golden opportunity.
It also really bothers me that I didn’t come up with another word besides bother. That’s going to bother me for a lifetime too.
Irritate or disappoint possibly?
Or annoy or trouble or one of the 8 thousand other words I could have chosen, but anyway jazz hands. That would have been a smart choice for them.
Smart?
Genius!
LOL, Phil. I absolutely hate Christmas letters except for yours. The photos are a hoot.
I agree. The photos are the best part. I should just put those out every week
They are too much. LOL
Those letters are THE WORST. The pictures you included are THE BEST.
LOL, thx. The pictures are the best part of the post aren’t they?
I mean your witty thoughts are excellent, but not much compares to awkward family photos. 👌🏽
I used to like Christmas letter but knowing every detail of people’s lives from their Facebook posts, sort of ruined it for me. These letters are very entertaining, however! And the family photos are the best.