An Ethical Will is a document plainly understood as a legacy letter. Traditional ethical wills, originating in the Biblical period, were the responsibility of fathers to transmit ethical values to their sons. Contemporary ethical wills are written at every age, often in times of transition and personal challenge by men and women alike. – Excerpt from Life-Legacies by Rachel Freed

When I became a mother I started writing letters to my son because, at first, I was afraid I wouldn’t be up to the task of motherhood and it seemed inevitable that I’d mess it up in some way and that eventually he would do what all kids frequently do… torment their parents about all the ways they messed up their children resulting in years of therapy and thousands of dollars in “couch time”. I thought, “Wouldn’t it be nice if my son had a chance to know me as I am NOW when he is a baby because by the time he is able to have adult conversations with me I will be a vastly different person than I am now. I will be a different mom than I first was and he will never have a way to know that FIRST mommy that I used to be.”

As I wrote these letters I found myself passing on bits of advice and other things I thought were important, little things I wondered if my boys would ever sit still long enough for me to tell them, things they would probably just roll their eyes at. To be fair, I never appreciated the advice people gave me until I got well into my 20’s. I think that’s just human nature, a simple issue of maturity.

Today I ran across a web site that talks about legacy letters or ethical wills. These are documents you can write to pass on your values to your children or grandchildren as a legacy to them, just like you might pass on your grandmother’s tea set or whatever.

Wouldn’t it be wonderful if we all had documents like this from our fathers, mothers, grandparents, and many many more way back to hundreds of years to the past? What a fabulous legacy! Would you consider writing one to your children or other relatives?

Go check out the site at Life-Legacies. The site has some sample legacy letters as well as a free e-newsletter that contains tips that will help you make your own letters. At the site you can also read about how legacy letters can not only benefit those who come after you but how it can help you in your life today.

Tags: ethical will, family, heritage, legacy letters

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.)

Tags: exercise, family, futureme, letter writing, letters, new year's eve, party game, time capsule

Len from Celebrating Life’s Memories has created a great tutorial for a sweet letter box that she uses in her family to continue a tradition of swapping letters between family members. She’s got pictures and instructions that make it easy. Go check it out, crafty people!

Letter Box by Len

Tags: craft, Crafts, family, letter box, letter crafts, letter writing, letters, traditions

People seem to have a love-hate relationship with the holiday newsletter. People like sending them, another group either loves or hates to receive them. The two main complaints about holiday letters are: 1) they seem mass-produced and impersonal, and 2) they are often tiresome and boring to read.

The good news for those of you who like doing a holiday newsletters (or for those of you who have been afraid to try it) is that, if done well, they can be a received with enthusiasm and possibly even anticipated as the holiday nears. Here are 15 steps you can take to make sure your holiday newsletter is the best it can possibly be.

1. Consider your audience. Who is the newsletter for? Just for intimate family? For family and friends? When you write your newsletter be sure to do it in a way that all people will find it interesting. While you and your close family might be fascinated by every burp and gurgle that comes out of little Emily, my guess is that the audience for that news will number somewhere around five (if that). Instead, create a nice mix of personal news with other things that casual friends will find useful and inspiring.
2. Monitor your tone. Had a hard year? Had a great year? Watch for the extremes of both. A holiday letter should be upbeat and pleasurable to read. It’s okay to admit your hardships or tragedies, however, consider putting a spin on it that will turn it into something positive. If you’ve had a fabulous year of successes, please do share them, but watch that you don’t cross over the line from pride into bragging. Also remember that some of the people who receive your letters may have had one of the worst years of their lives.
3. Include pictures. People love pictures. They are interesting and break up long paragraphs of text which will make your newsletter easier for busy people to digest. Instead of using clip art or stock photos, use your own personal photos that reflect activities or accomplishments throughout the year. You can also add interest by drawing in silly thought balloons or informative captions. Whatever pictures you use, make sure the people are big enough to be identifiable and do use a good print quality so the photos are clear and attractive.
4. Find the humor. Even a newsletter that is low on the scale of interesting can be salvaged if it contains a few nuggets of humor. Try to find humorous things that have happened in your life over the year and include those or try to put a funny spin on something ordinary. If you don’t feel like that’s your style of writing, maybe you can have a family member do a “guest column” in your newsletter — maybe they will have a funny interpretation of your year or a particular event. Another alternative is humor through pictures. If there are any amusing photos be sure to include them!

Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: family, holiday, holiday newsletter, kids, letter writing, letters, newsletter