Christmas Letters to Ward Missionaries

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Our ward came up with a clever idea to send Christmas greetings to the missionaries serving from our ward.  We have a LOT!!  They cut rectangles of Christmas wrapping paper (just leave the width and cut the length only) and used push pins to attach them to the carpeted walls in the cultural hall.  Attach name tags above each paper (see photo) so everyone knows who they're writing to...or you could just write their name at the top of the paper.  Have markers available for ward members to use...pens and pencils will poke holes in the paper.  If your nervous about the markers poking through the paper and writing on the walls, just attach a piece of poster board behind each one.  Encourage the ward to write messages and not just sign their names.  Fold each one up and send it on it's merry way.  The missionaries loved it!

 

Hint:  If you're using dark wrapping paper, have the members write

on the opposite side so their messages will show up easier.

"You Can't Stop the Waves" - Quote Card



"You can't stop the waves, but you can learn to surf." 

How appropriate is that for missionaries?  It explains their life in a nutshell...

or at least in a single sentence, right?

 

Print out onto heavy, white card stock.  Laminate, frame or just include with your letter.

 

Click here to download the Quote Card.



"Love Your Companion" - Quote Card

 



This quote is a favorite of mine from President Eyring.  He's not specifically speaking about mission companions though.  He's talking about your eternal companion, but the quote still fits.  Getting along with your companion is super important.  If you don't get along with your companion, the work will suffer...a lot.  This I know from experience.  You can learn to love your companion by serving them.  Sometimes it's the only way.  Praying for them is invaluable as well.

 

That said...the time that I didn't get along with my companion was the time that I grew the closest to the Lord.  Funny how He can turn all things around and use them to bring you to your knees before Him.

 

To find a few ways to use Quote Cards click here.

 

Click here to download the quote card.



Create a Family Newsletter

When my parents left on their first mission to Zimbabwe they were terribly concerned about "missing out" on what was going on with their children and grandchildren.  All 11 of us were married by then with children a plenty (it is Utah, you know!) and some lived in other states and ALL of us were busy, buSY, BUSY!  As the grandkids got older it just got harder to keep up with everyone.  My husband encouraged me to start a family newsletter and so The Bouwhuis Family Newsletter was born and every month for the next four+ years we all got to catch up on each other's lives.  It was a LOT of work but definitely worth it. 

 

My computer has a program that has templates for calendars, agendas, letter heads, etc. (Microsoft Publisher)  One option is Newsletters.  I simply picked the one that I liked the best and filled in the spaces.  It really was pretty simple.  I chose an online picture that matched the month i.e. a Christmas image in December and then set the color scheme to match the image.  I asked each family for their highlights each month and then occasionally for additional information depending on the article I was writing.  I included photos as often as possible especially if they showed the grandkids in action.  Because the newsletter was going to the whole family and not just Grandma and Grandpa, I included inspirational excerpts from their letters and emails in the newsletter as well.  When my first son left on his mission, I added an article on his mission.  When he would get transferred I would include a bit about his new area with a photo and statistics about his new home. 

 

Don't leave this for the last minute:  Work on it all month long.  When someone sends something, cut and paste it to your newsletter.  When you see a photo on Facebook or other social media that you would like to include, do it then.  When someone texts you a quote, cut and paste it then.  It only takes a few minutes if you set up your newsletter for the next month while this month's is printing.

 

Creating this newsletter brought me much joy.  It lasted through my parent's two missions and through my oldest sons mission.  When the joy stopped, I stopped and switched to a newsletter for my immediate family entitled If Your Last Name's a Color.  (click here for that post)

 

Below is a list of some of the articles that were featured in The Bouwhuis Family Newsletter:

 

Highlights

Every family would send me their "highlights" for the month.  I would send out an email each month along with a deadline for when their 'highlights' needed to be sent.  Remember, people are busy.  Give them plenty of time along with a reminder email on the day that you're finalizing prior to printing.  If you still don't hear from everyone, print it anyway. 

It is what it is.  Something from most of the family is better than nothing from everyone.

  

Calendar for the next month

My calendar would take up the bottom half of the front page and include anything the pertained to the family i.e. baptisms, blessings, reunions, get-togethers, etc.  If there was more information included in another article in the newsletter, put the page number (for example: see pg. 4)

 

Birthday's & Anniversaries

A separate box contained a list of everyone having a birthday or anniversary during that month.

 

From the Great Ohio

This was the title for news from Mason when he was serving in Ohio. 

 

Out of Africa

The title for news from my parents when they were serving in Zimbabwe.

 

Cousins Corner

At current count there are 60 grandkids and 4 great-grandkids on just my parents side.  Jeff suggested an article highlighting each grandchild throughout the year.  I took the number of grandkids at the time and divided it by 12 issues to figure out how many grandkids I needed to 'highlight' in each issue.  The parent (or the child if they were older) were responsible to get me a current photo along with the child's favorite things - color, food, grade, friend, what they like to do in their free time, hobbies, etc.  I didn't come up with the questions, the parents just interviewed the child.  I would also include a list of the grandchildren to be highlighted in the next newsletter to give the parents a heads up.  This article was only printed for one year.

 

Our Family in Motion

This was actually a photo collage with captions under each photo.  Photos that showed our family in action - dance photos, sports, baptisms, blessings, birthdays, etc. 

This was an entire page.

 

Out of the Mouth's of Babes

This was everyone's favorite part of the Newsletter.  This is where we would record all of the fun things that people would say...especially the little ones.  People would email or text these to me as they happened which is really the only way it will work.  Forgetting is just a part of life.  This took up as much space as it took.  Sometimes I would get a lot of quotes and sometimes only a couple.  Make sure to record who said the quote and if you have a large family, who their parents are.  This will help out the family now but also help future posterity as they

read through your record.

 

Anamnesis

Amamnesis means recollection or memory.  I wrote down the name of each adult in the family i.e. Grandma, Grandpa, all their children and their children's spouses.  I cut the papers apart and put all the names into an envelope.  Divide the number of adults by 12 issues and that is the number of separate Anamnesis articles that will go in each issue.  Each adult being featured was to send an article/story of a memory that they had.  The field was wide open.  They could remember anything even if it didn't have anything to do with our immediate family.  Make sure to include a list of those who are writing their memory the next month.

 

Legacy

In this section I would share a Family History story of one of our ancestors.  Don't forget to include a photo with the ancestors name underneath along with how everyone is related to that person, for example:  Jessie VanOrden Bouwhuis is Grandpa's mother and the grandchildren's Great Grandmother.

 

Out of the Best Books

I asked family members to review a few of their favorite books.  Include the title, author, genre and a brief review.  Include everyone, even the grandkids.  This article lasted one year.

 

Conference Quotes

Anyone who wanted to could send their favorite quote or talk from General Conference.  I only did this article when Conference was the previous month.  Send an email or text on Conference Saturday and Sunday asking people to send their favorite things.

Miscellaneous Quotes
Use inspirational quotes to fill in space between articles.


 

Postage: .49 cents each

Printer ink:  $25 a cartridge

Having current family history recorded and helping

the missionaries to still feel part of the family: 

priceless!!

 

Warning:  Postage can get pricy along with printer ink...but not all families are as large as mine so it might not be an issue for you.  It can also cause angst when people don't forward their items in a timely manner.  It will only cause you stress if you let it.

 

Here's an example of what one of our Newsletters looked like:

(it's the only one that I had saved as a pdf on my laptop...probably not a superb example)

 

 

 

 

 





"Bloom Where You're Planted" - Quote Card



Occasionally, when I'm sending a letter I will include a quote card.  Most of the time they go along with the theme or topic of my letter.  I know.  I'm strange.  That's the way I fly.  I try to always make them 4x6 inches so that they will fit nicely in a regular envelope.  Just print them onto heavy card stock and cut them out.  Occasionally, I send magnets (for their fridge) or a 4x6 inch frame with them when they leave on their mission.  That way they can use it to decorate their apartment and just change it out when they receive a different quote card. Just pick up a frame at the thrift or Dollar Store.   Laminated cards could be used as bookmarks. 

 

This would also make a nice birthday gift...you could send a new quote card every month.  Guess I better get busy and make some more!!

 

Click here to download the quote card.

 

Photo credit:  yeah...I don't know.  I always go to the free photo sites

and most of the time they don't tell you who took the photo.  Sorry.

Letters: Sometimes you just need a direction...

Every month on Fast Sunday we have a Ward Walk-About.  We live in Utah so our boundaries are quite small...not that it matters.  It would be a great missionary tool!  In the evening on Fast Sunday someone's house or sometimes two are the designated gathering place for our walk.  Everyone gathers in the yard and in the street...some bring chairs, sometimes there are blankets on the grass, often there is a treat of some kind but for the next couple of hours we just visit...and laugh...and usually we do something for the plethora of missionaries and the one member of the military that we have serving from our ward.

 

I had noticed that when just a blank piece of paper is put out that people tend to just sign their names.  Nice, but a letter or note is so much better.  This month I was asked to come up with what to send (the missionary moms in our ward take turns).  I decided to give everyone a direction...a starting off point for their letter and it worked great!  I found rolls of brown package paper (not sure what it's called) at Walmart and it was really inexpensive and thinner than butcher paper.  With the plastic wrap still on the paper, I used my handy, dandy chop saw and cut each roll so it was a little smaller than a business size envelope.  I decided that I would rather use two stamps than have to send our letter in a box...that's just too pricey for the 16 missionaries that we currently have out.

I created a document in Word (shown in the photo above) that said: "Advice:  How to have a great mission", then I just used my light box to trace it onto the top of each paper.  You could also tape your template onto a window and use that as nature's light box.  I wrote each missionary's name at the top then I just taped them all to a long table, actually a couple of them but you could also just tape them to a garage door just don't hand out Sharpie's for everyone to use or you might have a much autographed garage door when you're finished.

If people are intimidated by writing to a lot of missionaries, remind them that they don't have to come up with different 'advice' for each one...just write the same advice over and over!

 

This worked GREAT!!  People just don't know what to write about.  Giving them a direction is sometimes all it takes.  The possibilities are endless!

 

 

Note:  If you're worried about the expense of mailing to all the missionaries in your ward or maybe to all of them in your extended family, just give them to the missionary's family to mail.

Create a Family Newsletter - Take 2!

When Matt left on his mission to Seattle I started a little newsletter for just our family.  By this time my oldest two were married and my daughter was expecting her first child.  I didn't want Matt to feel that he was left out of all the 'goings' on in our family especially with his first niece on the way.  By this time I had stopped publishing the 'extended family' newsletter.

 

As with the previous newsletter (you can find more on that by clicking here), I just used a program that was already set up on my computer that had ready-made fill in the blank templates (I use Microsoft Publisher...it's old but I know it well and it works great for me).  I chose a template that I liked and just filled in the blanks every month and change the photo with something free on the internet (you could also upload a photo that you have taken but I didn't want to put yet another pressure on myself...call me lazy).  Change the color scheme each month to coordinate with the photo.

Here are some of the articles that we included:

The Main Event

This was really the focus of our family newsletter and that's how I wanted it to be.  This way Matt was able to hear from even those who weren't super great at writing letters. This was space for everyone to write what was going on in their lives.  I didn't edit it at all...ok, not much, just corrected spelling.  I would type everyone's name in a little gray box (siblings, mom and dad, and spouses - see photo below) and everyone would just type a bit of what had been going on that month.  Everyone comes home every Sunday evening for dinner and our family Gospel Study so it wasn't a big deal for everyone to just take a minute or two on a given Sunday.  If you decide to do it that way, just make sure that everyone hits the 'save' button when they're finished with their bit...otherwise you may have to start over and that's a pain in the patootie!  These were never done in 'birth order' rather whomever was around and wanted to be next...

Special Points of Interest

Guess I could have come up with a more catchy title but it was already in the template and I just didn't change it.  This is where I would list family items that were coming up or needed to be added to their own calendars.  It was the next best thing to having an actual calendar printed in the newsletter like I put in our extended family calendar (click here for that post)

 

Baby, Oh Baby!

This was fun.  Here is where we would put photos of my daughter along with ultrasound photos and count down the weeks to her pregnancy.  We also sent out a fun gender reveal package when they found out they were having a girl.  (click here for that package)

 

 

Seattle Times

This is where I would include updates on our missionary (my missionary is the one on the far left in the left photo giving everyone the 'thumb's up').  Sometimes this section was short, sometimes long...depending on what information I was getting from him at the time.  If he was transferred I would try and figure out where he was living and stalk his apartment on Google Earth and insert a photo...it was SO difficult to get an address for him though as he was worried I would send mail there and it was against the rules), or I would put a bit about his new area...whatever did we do prior to the internet and Google search?

 

Out of the Mouths of Babes

I swear this was everyone's favorite part of the newsletter.  It was here that we would record all of the funny things that people say that you just know you'll never forget but you do.  Remember, babes don't have to be just the young ones...I've got a few VERY funny kids and they aren't so young anymore.

 

iFunny

I have a teenage son who just loves to share funny things that he stumbles upon on the internet.  Jeff came up with the idea that he could be in charge of this article so every month Colin would look for just the perfect comic, or photo, or something that tickled his funny bone.  He's a great kid!

 

Include Quotes

Not really an article but a great space filler when someone's article wasn't quite long enough.  I tried to find quotes that matched the month, for example:  November = gratitude quotes/scriptures.

 

 

Brown Spots

Another article that Jeff cam up with...he's a keeper.  This article was always written by Maren, my youngest.  She would come up with a question and then ask or call or text everyone for their responses.  In this case her question was:  "What is your favorite Christmas tradition?"  It was always fun to find out everyone's memories.  Making everyone's responses in alternating tones (in the above case: black and charcoal)  made everyone's answers a little easier to differentiate.

 

 

Include Photos

Including photos is not really an article either but it was one of our favorite parts of the newsletter.  Missionaries really feel like they are missing out on what's happening.  If you keep them caught up on things at home it can really help.



Here's my opinion, for what it's worth (which is not much)...if a newsletter works for your family then do it!  If it is just an added stress or is not accomplishing your goals, then don't.  And even if you start a newsletter, it is not set in stone.  If something stops working then stop doing it.  You have my permission.  I found great joy in creating our family newsletters and hope that it helped my missionaries to feel that they were still included in the going's on at home.

Leprechaun Mail

We had our family Bash recently and I had all the cousins write short notes to our family missionaries.  I tend to get better participation if I keep things quick and simple.  Too complicated or time consuming and their eyes tend to glaze over.  I found these cute St. Patrick's Day lunch box notes from Heather at The Chickabug Blog (click here for the free printable*) that worked perfectly. Some of them even have a question or wording on the top for those who can't think up something to write.

I wanted to put all the notes (there was quite a pile of them) into a small vellum envelope but I didn't have any on hand so I made my own out of waxed paper.  Not the perfect solution but I didn't have to go to the store.  Free is always better...just ask my husband.  After cutting out the envelopes, I closed them with a bit of Washi tape.  Cute.  Free.  Easy.  Winner, winner, chicken dinner!!

click here to download the envelope template

*Used with permission from Heather at The Chickabug Blog.

Missin' you on the 4th...

Whenever we have a gathering for the extended family I like to pull together something for everyone to work on to send to our missionaries.  We have Matt who is serving in the Washington Seattle Mission, Alex Nicole who is serving in the Bolivia Santa Cruz Mission, and B.J. who will take off for the Washington Vancouver Mission in August.  I try to keep things simple and inexpensive. Here's what I came up with for or 4th of July family Bash:

I already had some butcher paper so I cut a strip for each missionary making each a little narrower than a regular envelope and had my daughter Bekah decorate them.  I taped them to one of the sliding doors and set out a school box full of red and blue markers and colored pencils.  That's it! Pretty easy.  I just walked around a bit taking candid photos for a photo collage and occasionally reminded family members to write to the missionaries before leaving.

What do missionaries like as much as letters?...maybe MORE?  Photos!  With Alex serving in Bolivia I've been wracking my brain to figure out how to cut some of the weight from the care packages I send.  Usually I send actual photos but this time I decided to try my hand at making a photo collage of our 4th of July festivities.  I really like how it turned out and Alex and Matt won't have to worry about carrying photos around their whole mission and can even just stick them in their journals if they like.  Each page prints to an 8.5" x 11" paper.

That's my family!...well, part of them anyway.

Aren't they fun!

Photoshop makes putting together a collage super easy.  I thought it might be a good idea to label each photo...Matt's been gone a whole year and the young ones tend to change quickly.  You could do the same thing in other programs but it's going to create a pretty huge file and will take f-o-r-e-v-e-r to print.  Make a pdf of your collage and print the pdf copy.  Your collage will look the same but it will be a much smaller file. You could also print these using the 'double sided' option on your printer.

To mail I just folded up each strip and put it and the photo collage's in a regular envelope.  I did have to take it to the post office to be weighed but it was a fraction of what it cost's to send a package to Bolivia.  Every little penny counts, right?

Want MORE creative letter writing ideas?

check out here, here, here, and here.

Origami Carrots

One day while surfing the net I stumbled upon an Origami Garden.  All sorts of directions on how to make all sorts of origami vegetables. When I found the origami carrot, I let out a squeal of delight!  So excited!  I looked in a couple of craft stores for orange and green origami paper.  Who knew it was so expensive? Who knew that it's impossible to find just orange or green? Sheesh!  In my imagination I found cute patterned orange on orange paper...like an adorable polka-dot...and an equally adorable green on green paper for the leaf...alas, it was not to be.  I found a plethora of scrapbook paper but deemed it all to be too heavy and stiff to use for origami paper folding.  I went to the copy shop and picked up several sheets of orange and green and cut them down to size.  Being frugal (my husband is laughing his head off at the moment, but I do try...most of the time anyhow) I wanted to make the most of each sheet so I just made each sheet an 8.5 inch square.  This allowed plenty of room for everyone to write a nice long letter...but...it was just a titch too long to fit in any of the Easter packages that I was sending so I ended up putting them all into one of the larger Flat Rate envelopes which worked just fine but wasn't near as cute as it was in my imagination, yet again.  If I were to do it again, which I probably will, I would make them smaller so they fit into a box that could be lined with tissue and green shredded paper.  Live and learn!

DIY - Chalk Board Letters

This is another way fun and super inexpensive creative letter idea.  I went to the local thrift store - I'm from Utah so for us that's Deseret Industries aka 'the DI' or 'the D & I' as my kids called it when they were little.  I'm sure that there are other thrift stores around but the D & I is pretty prevalent around these parts.  I picked up three picture frames.  The prices ranged from $1-$5.  Not bad.

Supplies:

frames (with glass)

Chalkboard spray paint

spray paint in different fun colors

chalkboard markers or chalk

Look for frames with some character.  Wood will work better than metals because the paint will stick better.  Size doesn't matter though a larger frame will allow you to write more. 

1) Clean the frames.

2)  Take the frames apart - remove the backing and the glass.  Usually there are just some clips on the back that you can either move aside or bend which allow you to add a photo. 

3) Clean the glass.

4)  Spray the glass with chalkboard spray paint and allow to dry thoroughly.  I picked some up from the local hardware store for less than $5.  I thought that the spray would go on smoother and not leave brush marks but if you have chalkboard paint, by all means, use what you have.

5)  Spray paint the frames.

6)  After everything is dry, reassemble your frames.

There you have it!

I had the kids use chalkboard markers because I thought the writing would show up better in the photos. They were a little pricey I thought - $12 for a pack of five markers but they've lasted a long time.  I found them at the craft store. I used a spray bottle with water and a towel for easy cleanup which made the chalkboards nice and black again ready for the next persons letter.  Don't use a paper towel for the cleanup.  Your chalkboard will shred it to pieces.  Nasty mess.

(Click here for a photo book idea)

Happy Birthday Photo Book

I picked up some 4x6 photo albums at WalMart a while back for $1.  That's the regular price so this little project is sure to NOT break the bank which will keep my cute hubby happy and still allow me to keep my missionary happy with packages.

You'll want to change the album covers that it comes with.  Just open up the front and back covers and slip the old one out and use it for a template for your new covers.  I was doing this for Matt's birthday and I wanted to make it coordinate with the rest of his package (see here and here and here and here) so I used the free printable that I had already downloaded from Kiki at I Heart Naptime for my new cover.  Simply open a new document and cut and paste it in from your file.  Re-size to make it fit the dimensions of your photo album.

I wanted to add some kind of title for the front cover so using Photoshop I designed a missionary name badge.  Took gobs and gobs of time to figure out what fonts to use that were somewhat close.  It looked incredible and I was so excited...until...I accidentally stumbled upon a site from the church that said we're not supposed to do/create anything that mimics the church logo.  Darn.  It looked awesome...so...back to Photoshop...delete, delete, delete...using the same style of font I just inserted his name, his mission and his birth date because, after-all it's for his birthday.  Hope I've changed this up enough that it doesn't look too official but still looks 'missionary-ish.' (see top photo) Gosh. Following the rules is tough sometimes.  Did I mention that it looked amazing? (murmur, murmur, murmur...)

When the family was at our New Year's Game Day I snapped photos of each family holding some birthday props.  This would be way cute with some dress up hats or boas or some mustaches on sticks.  CUTE!!  Man!  I just may have to do this again...   

(My brother looks thrilled, doesn't he?  I'm sure he's thinking..."Sheesh!  Another project?!"  

I think he's learned that it's easier to just humor me.)

Then using some chalkboards that I had made when Mason was out (see here for that fun idea), each person wrote a personal message to Matt with their birthday wishes.  

(my cute niece who will leave for Bolivia in March 2014)

Place them all inside your photo album and ta-da!!!  Done.  Your missionary will love it!  AND another perk? This will fit nicely inside a small Flat Rate box from the USPS with just enough room for a few treats.  Easy peasy and way inexpensive.  Have fun!

Send post cards

Whenever you go anywhere that is different than where you usually are...grab yourself some post cards to send to your missionary.  If anyone else is going to be there that knows your missionary...grab some for them as well.  This past summer Jeff and I went on a business trip to San Francisco for a KFC convention.  My friends and family were great sports to write post cards to Matt.

Missionaries LOVE mail!  They don't care who it's from or the size or shape. They just want to know that they're not forgotten and what's going on at home. Make it easy on yourself and others by bringing labels (return and for your missionary), and post card stamps with you on your trip.  If you purchase the post cards and have them already pre-stamped and addressed, it is much easier for someone to just jot a few lines and hand it back to you and you can pop it in the mail.  Most hotels have a gift shop that sells post cards and they also have daily mail pickup. Just ask at the front desk.  Some hotels even have free post cards of the hotel.