Love them, hate them, indifferent? Any thoughts?

[soImarriedAnerd]

I like them when they aren't the braggy ones. Love the funny ones. I hate making them though!

A friend and I call each other with the outlandish ones and try to do an Engligh accent as we read them... I have no idea why, but she's 12 years older and her friends have kids so it's a VERY good time.

The reason I bring this up: My dad called today to ask if I wanted to use some of his Christmas stationary to do one. He doesn't send them, but what am I to write? Well, we've not yet killed each other, our new apartment is fab, and we're 6 months older than we were at our wedding....

Other than that, Michelle is hoping to go to grad school this fall, and Mike is still in love with Best Buy, despite his dad's little and loud complaints? By the way, Mike's side, we're no closer to giving you the first baby in decades than we were when you all gossiped about our "shotgun wedding"?

Actually, I COULD have some fun with this.... It would make Christmas VERY interesting!!!

[soImarriedAnerd]

Here is my first year married year one...
Season’s Greetings! For the first annual Small family Christmas letter we decided to do something unusual, because hey, when have we ever been the “norm.” This year’s installment will be a quiz. See how much you know, or can guess, about what happened with us in the last year.

1. Troy took a new job with UOP. What does UOP stand for, and what is his role? A.) A teacher at the University of Phoenix. B.) An environmental engineer at Upper Ocean Processes. C.) A technical adviser at Universal Oil Products. D.) An international man of mystery, but if they told you what UOP stands for, they would have to kill you.
Answer: C. Troy started his new job in May and it involves he and Angela going overseas to assist chemical companies and refineries with the new technology they bought from UOP. Don’t worry, UOP pays for the expenses of traveling- and frequent flyer miles are adding up fast!

2. The biggest surprise this year was A.) Sandy, their Jack Russell Terrier has stopped running away every chance he gets. B.) Belle, their Golden Retriever decided she and Sandy could live in harmony. C.) Angela was allowed to write the Christmas letter without any spelling, grammar, or punctuation input from Troy. D.) Troy has learned to love exotic seafood.
Answer: Trick question, none of these events happened. Don’t expect any of these to happen next year either.

3. Which of the following unfortunate events happened this year? A.) Troy’s truck hit a deer and a yellow parking pole in separate accidents. B.) The freezer started leaking water on the floor, shorting out the dishwasher and starting it on fire. C.) A winter storm blew the front porch apart and froze water pipes, flooding the basement. D.) Angela went to the hospital as a patient 5 times.
Answer: Unfortunately, all of the above are true. While it seemed burning the house down with the truck in the garage may have involved less insurance paperwork, Angela and Troy fixed the house was put up for rent. Angela has assured Troy there is nothing going on between her and the ER doctors. Her advice for travelers: “Don’t eat raw jellyfish, even if the locals are.”

4. Which major event happened in September? A.) Angela quit working as a RN at Poudre Valley Hospital in Colorado. B.) Troy and Angela moved into a storage unit. C.) Troy and Angela got married. D.) Troy’s Grandma Small lost her battle with Cancer.
Answer: E.) All the above. Angela put her nursing career on hold so she could join Troy in traveling around the world. All of their belongings are in a 10’X10’ storage unit near Chicago. Their wedding was an outdoor ceremony in Boulder, CO on Sept. 2. Troy’s Grandmother passed away the day of the wedding. They are convinced it was her way of making it to the party.

5. Since their wedding in September, where have Angela and Troy called home? A.) Fort Collins, Colorado B.) Guildford, United Kingdom C.) Pappagayo, Costa Rica D.) Pattaya, Thailand E.) Spijkenisse, Netherlands F.) Singapore G.) Des Plaines, IL
Answer: All of the above. Even if they can’t pronounce it, home is where they can put down their suitcases. Their favorite place is always right were they are!

How did you do? Get them all right? Did you need a lifeline, 50-50, or phone a friend?
Our email address is XXXXXX and mailing address is XXXXXXXXXXX. If you would like to view our travel pictures, our site is XXXXXXXXX, (watch the spelling on travler - refer to Question 2C) and we are constantly adding pictures to this site. We hope to hear from you soon!

Troy & Angela Small

[ANGWife]

I've never included a letter. But I love receiving them. And sending Xmas cards is so much fun.

[petalfuzz]

I don't receive any, nor do I write any. My dad's sisters just e-mail occasionally (to them, not me--and they forward); my mom's siblings usually write something (again, to them)--but it never passed down to the cousins contacting each other. I know it isn't from lack of trying, either! I used to send out birthday cards and christmas cards, etc to all my cousins and never got one thing back from them--even when I sent my youngest cousin $ for graduation.

IMO, my relatives stink!

[Mars]

I've never done them or received any. I don't think it's a big thing here. I guess I wouldn't mind them if they had a sense of humor in them.

My FAVORITE lines included in all Christmas letters I get from newlyweds:

1. We are building a semi-custom home!

2. We have lots of friends over and enjoy many dinner parties together!

Married and in your twenties? Buy a semi-custom home (rounded drywall corners or cultured marble tops, which options do we get with our free $5,000 in CUSTOM upgrades honey!?!) and have lots of dinner parties! B/c that means you are oh-so-chic and WITH it.

And then I'll see you when you are divorced at age 30, or hoping you were divorced, b/c you married a doucheb** and spent more time on dinner parties and "looking the part" then picking an adequate partner or working on your marriage. YOU SUCK!

Wow, I seem to have some issues today.

[IamMom]

My mom sends one...its braggy but I don't care cause she's bragging about me and my family! She and her friends send them to keep up with what each others kids are doing now that they are all grown up! I don't send one and I probably never will....until I'm old like my parents HE HE HE.

[Mod-LadyCoconut]

There's only one family we get them from every year, and it's always hilarious. I mean, it's nice to know what's been going on in their lives that year... but the mom makes them rhyme and it's always a little 'off' and just way over the top cheesey.

I sent one out with my Granny's Christmas cards this year because she had a lot of changes. Since she moved from her house of 49 years in CA to here I wanted everyone to be sure to note her change of address.... and I gave an update on her cancer and included a pic of her on her 95th birthday. I didn't want people to think that since their card was returned that she died or something. I sent them out early (day after Thanksgiving, I think it was) so they would get to people before they sent theirs to her old house... and I'm glad I included the letter b/c she's gotten some wonderful cards where people wrote a lot of well wishes in them that made her feel good.

[LaLaRose3]

Never have sent one... I think they can be extremely hokey/cheesy lol. I must say I don't really enjoy receiving them either... most of the time they are all over the top braggy. "So-and-so got accepted into (insert fancy school here). Whats-his-name is traveling through Europe blah blah blah."