Just say no to happy-family letters!

In Friday's paper, Daily News staff writer Dana Bartholomew wrote about the holiday family form letter: that annoying piece of paper tucked into greeting cards that hints at major dysfunctionality by painting one's family with an impossibly perfect brush. Nowadays, it's also known as the thing I don't read. In fact, the weight of a card can often indicate if there is a stiff, 8 1/2x11 sheet folded into fourths lurking within, thus giving the recipient adequate warning.

Really, when did a holiday greeting turn into an attempt to gloat mightily about all the attributes that make you and your kin so much better than the recipient? I don't buy the excuse that this is an opportunity to catch up on the year in review, considering that e-mail has made keeping in touch year-round so much easier. Why not just say Merry Christmas/Happy Hanukkah, let the recipient know that you're grateful to have him/her in your life, and sign the card? How about using the time that would have been spent crafting the family letter trotting the clan down to volunteer at a homeless shelter, and then resisting the urge to gloat about your charity later to everyone on your Christmas card list?