Create a great family newsletter

We've all received them -- those dreaded holiday newsletters that either drone on and on about Aunt Sue and Uncle George's summer vacation in Tucson or brag about how Shane (the preschooler) is reading at the second-grade level, Billy got straight As (again), Jennifer got into Harvard and Sam made the law review...

But your family and friends really do want to hear about your family's news -- if you make your newsletter entertaining, says Elaine Floyd, author of Creating Family Newsletters: 123 Ideas for Sharing Memorable Moments With Family and Friends (EFG Inc.).

Here are some tips for making this year's newsletter a real keeper:

• Be a pack rat. Don't try to remember every event of the past year. Instead, grab a file folder. Toss in the program from the ballet recital, the playbill from your trip to New York -- anything that will offer inspiration later when you sit down to write. Go through your family calendar and your photo album and take notes about special events. (You might want to use some of those photos in your newsletter, too, using the color copier at your local copy shop. Don't forget to ask for a bulk discount on those color-copying costs, which can add up.)

• Keep a vacation journal. Another way to snag those memories for later retrieval is to ask your kids to keep a diary of your trip, vacation or family reunion. When you're ready to create your newsletter, all the details -- as seen through the eyes of your children -- will come back to you, and you'll be ready to write. Another option: Include a photocopy of a particularly fun or meaningful journal page that highlights a memorable family outing.

• Include the right amount of detail. To avoid putting readers to sleep, ask a friend to read your first draft and highlight the most interesting information. Save the long version for your family scrapbook and shorten the final letter.

• Use lists. Try creating a David Letterman-style list of the top 10 best (or worst!) events of the past year -- or list things you're looking forward to in the year to come.