Writing to families
Messages for your family: 22 examples across 6 occasions
A message to a whole family has to work for several people at once, which is why most of them end up saying nothing in particular.
The way through is to name something true about this family as a unit - how they do holidays, what they are like as a group, what they have got through together - rather than addressing everyone individually and vaguely.
One observation about the household beats a list of names.
Pick the occasion
step 01 · nine templates
Every occasion, written for your family
The details worth reaching for
Whatever the occasion, these are the specifics that make a message to your family sound like it came from someone who was actually paying attention.
- The thing this family does that no other family does
- How they handle a crisis as a unit
- What their house is like when everyone is in it
- A tradition they have kept going
- Something they have got through together
- How they treat visitors
- The noise level, the food, the specific texture of the household
- What the family has been like this particular year
A blessing over you
moment 2 of 8
What goes wrong when people write to families
Listing everyone by name and saying nothing
A roll call is not a message. One observation about the whole is better than five empty clauses.
Ignoring what kind of year it has been
Families notice when a message pretends a hard year did not happen.
Pure formality
"Wishing you all the best" is a greeting, not a message.
Openings and sign-offs that fit this relationship
Ways to open
- “Your house at Christmas is…”
- “This family has a way of…”
- “Whatever it is you all do, it works…”
- “Watching your family this year…”
- “There is a specific noise your house makes…”
Ways to close
- “Love to every one of you”
- “From ours to yours”
- “Thinking of you all”
- “See you around the table”
- “With love to the whole house”
Common questions
- What should you write to your family?
- A message to a whole family has to work for several people at once, which is why most of them end up saying nothing in particular.. The message that lands names one specific thing rather than summarising the relationship.
- What should you avoid writing to your family?
- Listing everyone by name and saying nothing. A roll call is not a message. One observation about the whole is better than five empty clauses.
- How do you make a message to your family sound personal?
- Replace one general phrase with something only you would know - the thing this family does that no other family does, for instance. That single substitution is what separates a borrowed message from one that sounds like you.
Make it something your family opens
The same details, turned into a private interactive world. Free to build and preview.