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The Tale of My Holiday Letter
This year marks 20 years since my first Annual Grabowski Holiday letter—one of my favorite traditions.
While writing this article, I confirmed when I began sending one, thinking it was the year I got married. But the earliest I found was 1998. Then I realized, Oh yeah, we didn’t have a computer in 1995. In the 90s, holiday letters were the new fad. People were buying their first computers and printers. Soon Staples and Office Depot jumped on the bandwagon, selling specially designed holiday paper.
Since we moved around a lot in the early years of our marriage, a holiday letter was a great way to keep in touch with friends. Over the years, my holiday letter and card combo increased to close to 250 recipients, and every time we did something special I would make a mental note to add it to the year’s letter. Then I perfected a process with the creation of a database for all those addresses (for holiday use only) and buying a fancy address stamper and special sealing sponge. I even learned to whip out a draft in under thirty minutes and began to bribe my kids to take part in the assembly line.
But beginning probably a decade ago, the letters from friends began to dwindle even as our holiday cards skyrocketed. (We can cover four doors in our house with all the cards we receive.) Were people getting lazy? Was the cost prohibitive? (It does cost in the hundreds of dollars to mail do many cards and letters, and that special paper isn’t cheap.) It didn’t take long to determine social media was to blame. Why write a letter when most of your friends are updated on Facebook or Instagram throughout the year?
Two years ago, I finally decided it was my time to skip the letter—almost no one else was doing it. Besides, I was having a down year being in the midst of selling my first novel, (those rejections do get to you,) so I didn’t feel inspired to write about our year.
But do you know what happened? People came out of the woodwork asking me, what happened to the letter? Did you forget mine? Was it a mistake? Would I consider a New Year’s letter instead? I had no idea people looked forward to it so much.
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I hope everyone reading this blog also has holiday traditions that bring you so much joy and connection.
Dickensen Academy isn’t a typical boarding school. The faculty is hiding an unbelievable secret within their fine arts program. When Autumn Mattison receives an invitation to attend the high school, she yearns to escape her overbearing father yet remains reluctant to leave her mother and brother. Her doubts fade away when a vivid dream convinces her she belongs there.
Away from home, Autumn discovers a unique school environment that awakens her creative potential, and her new friends become like a second family. However, as she uncovers more about the dark side of the school and struggles with its curriculum, she questions whether Dickensen Academy is truly where she belongs.
When tragedy strikes, Autumn must learn to believe in her own power and stand up to her greatest fear or risk having her memories destroyed to protect the school’s secrets. Caught between secrets and dreams, can she find her true self?
About the Author: Dickensen Academy is Christine’s debut YA novel. After graduating from the University of Washington, she earned her MBA at the University at Albany. She honed her technical writing skills in marketing and consulting but attributes the creative part of the process to her passion for reading.
When she isn’t reading or writing, Christine can often be found running, skiing, or hiking. She lives in Newcastle, Washington, with her supportive husband, two avid teen readers, and their energetic wheaten terriers.
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Dickensen Academy isn’t a typical boarding school. The faculty is hiding an unbelievable secret within their fine arts program. When Autumn Mattison receives an invitation to attend the high school, she yearns to escape her overbearing father yet remains reluctant to leave her mother and brother. Her doubts fade away when a vivid dream convinces her she belongs there.
Dickensen Academy is Christine’s debut YA novel. After graduating from the University of Washington, she earned her MBA at the University at Albany. She honed her technical writing skills in marketing and consulting but attributes the creative part of the process to her passion for reading.
