Do you have a New Year’s letter writing tradition? I’ve talked about Thanksgiving notes, Christmas newsletters and now it’s time to move on to what we can all do for the end of the year.

On New Year’s Eve, gather around with paper and pen and some drawing material for the kids. Have everyone sit down and write a letter to their future selves. You can talk about what your goals and ambitions are for the year, what you’d like to accomplish and, for fun, add some predictions in your letter about yourself (or others).

Put each letter in a separate envelope and mark them, “To be opened on New Year’s Eve 2009″. Pack the letters away with the Christmas ornaments so you won’t forget about them. When you get your Christmas stuff out for the following year, there they will be! Keep them on the mantle or somewhere handy until New Year’s Eve when you can open them and enjoy looking back through this handwritten portal to the past.

This is a fun exercise for family and friends to talk about what you accomplished in the future and to laugh over your “predictions” and to see what came true and what didn’t.

Try it out and let me know how it goes. Do you have any holiday letter writing traditions? Share your ideas with me!

(I also ran across a web site called FutureMe where you can do something similar, only by email.)

Sometimes people say they don’t write letters because they feel they have nothing interesting to say. I completely understand and have often felt the same way. I am the mother of two boys, have a busy life and much of it is filled with routine minutiae that some days even I don’t want to know about it let alone… well, why would anyone else want to read about my day??

Then I have to take a deep breath and remind myself of a trick that works very well and I’ll share it with you if you promise to try it out. Promise?

The holidays are a natural time for written communication.  We send holiday greeting cards, give cards with our seasonal gifts, send invitations and thank you notes.  It’s a snail mail bonanza!

During a quiet moment, sit down with pen and paper and make a list of everyone you are thankful for in your life.  If the list is too large, feel free to pare it down to something that doesn’t feel overwhelming.  Remember, this is supposed to be fun (not feel like a chore or obligation)!

Every day between now and the end of the month, choose a new person or two from the list.  Write them an open and heartfelt letter telling them all the ways you are thankful that they are in your life.  Or you might express gratitude for some impact they have made in your life in the past.

What a wonderful surprise for family and friends to come home and find a real treat of a personal letter in their mailbox!

Post here and let me know how it goes!