Search for Free Christmas Letter Templates

There are several reasons that I love Christmas, as well as several reasons that I do not love the season. First, I love the generosity and goodwill that I see in many through their acts of charity without expecting a thing in return. I love to see people ensuring food and even gifts for people who would have to do without anything that would make the day out of the ordinary for them. I run around singing Christmas carols until anyone who is around me for any length of time is ready to kill me. Then there's the flip side, crazed shoppers, hideous traffic and a strained budget. There are many family gatherings, and I love to spend time with my loved ones, but the craziness of getting things together and chasing my kids tempers that for me. Oh, yes. The big shocker: I hate sending Christmas cards. They seem so generic, and there is really no information. A person may as well purchase a stamp for person in the household's name, and have everyone stamp it in an assembly-line fashion. However, I love to get Christmas letters, and I love to send them, as well. There is so much more information that gets shared, and while it is typed and the same for everyone, it seems to be such a better use of time, and oddly, more personal.

As per the instructions for this assignment, I ran a search on Google for free Christmas card templates, since this is a really great idea that I intend to use this year, if I can afford the postage. Otherwise, it will be emails or text messages to share Christmas greetings. I was seriously disappointed at how many of the results did not have actual templates. There was a lot of good advice, and there were many different fonts and pictures that could be used for a "create your own" type Christmas letter, but there were not many actual templates that could be used to fill in your information and print. However, there were some really pretty templates that I would recommend, and my only problem, now, is which one shall I use?

The site that I found, http://www.christmastimeclipart.com, had some excellent templates that are all free. There are three full pages with sixteen templates and four on the fourth page, and when the mouse hovers over the picture, there is an enlarged shot that pops up for a better view of the picture and the format. I really enjoyed this option, as it allowed me to confirm whether I really liked the look of each template. Also, all templates will download into Microsoft Word. To download, a seven-day trial is required, and this trial will automatically convert to a full membership after this time period. Since a credit card is necessary to attain this free trial, I would recommend taking the free trial, getting the downloads and immediately canceling. However, I am leery of allowing any company to have my credit card information if I do not plan to purchase from them. If you have no such qualms, this site is good for you. The annual fee is $19.95, and it has things for various holidays, so some people may want the membership.

My favorite was the "Golden Angel Letter." The picture at the top is tastefully light shades of gold with an angel in white that is "trumpeting 'Peace on Earth,'" In a holiday that can be so garish with colors, this background seems quiet and peaceful. Gold is a color that sends a message of warmth. The letter that is shown on this template is a good example for those of us who get to the point of trying to condense family news into an entertaining and short letter.

My next favorite is the "Funky Noel" template. The background is a pretty pink, and there is a border on the right of the page that is in various shades of pink and maroon. Across the top of the page, in a brighter pink than the background, is the message, "Merry Christmas to You and Yours" in a lovely script. At the bottom of the page under the letter there is a large block letter "Noel" with a dove on the last letter.The letter is written in a nice maroon print that both matches but shows against the background.

Next, I loved the "Peace Christmas Family Letter." Across the top of the letter is a maroon background with "Seasons Greetings" written in white. There is a white dove with the green holly sprig and a gold ribbon. The letter is regular print on a white background. I like the simplicity of this template.

The "Joy Christmas Letter" is very pretty, as well. The blue background is restful for the eyes, and the decorative lights over the word, "Joy" across the top are cute. "Merry Christmas is in a white script, while the letter is in white print beneath it. At the bottom of the template, there is a maroon streak.

The "Purple Holly Letter" is nice. There is a pale purple background across the top with three holly sprigs in boxes in white. There is a quote under this in white script, "Christmas is not as much about opening presents as opening our hearts," by Janet Maeditere. This quote is both lovely and a sentiment that all should remember. It is not in large print, so it is not the most prominent part of the letter, which avoids pomposity. The letter is in a nice purple script, and there is a pale purple band across the bottom.

There is also the cheerful "Red Christmas Lights." The background is a shade of red that looks like, for lack of a better description, a blend of maroon and fuschia. There are red, yellow and green lights on a white, curlicue vine. Under this are the words, joy, peace, love, goodwill, happiness and prosperity. The letter is under this, and all the script and print is in white.

I liked the "Christmas Holly Photo Letter." There is a border of holly and berries around the letter. There are places for photos at the top left, middle right and bottom left. Next to the top photo is the greeting, Merry Christmas, in a pretty, script with a present at the beginning and an ornament dangling from the end. This is great if you have family photos that you want to print with your news.

The "Snowman Christmas Letter" was just too cute! There is a full background of pale blue, with strings of ornaments and gold stars. At the bottom right, there are three snow people that look like Dad, Mom and Junior. They appear to be standing in front of a fence in a nice green yard. The letter is in a nice black print.

A classy and interesting option is the "Gray Lace Letter." The entire letter is bordered by a lovely lace pattern in a light gray. The words, "Merry Christmas" are in a red script, and the letter is written in a slightly boring gray print. If the font style is able to be altered, I would change it to a nice slanted, swirling script to go with the lace, but it is still nice as it is.

Finally, the "Sage Green Flourish Letter" is another option that is pretty, but restful to the eyes. The entire page is a lovely pale green, and the left side is a nice flourish pattern in a darker green. The letter is written in print, but as I hope is possible with any of the templates, that could be changed to suit the letter writer. It would be a pretty way to send a Christmas greeting.

I ran numerous searches throughout the writing of this article, as well as the original Google search. I was extremely disappointed to see the lack of free templates, and the ones that I have described above were all quite lovely, and there were more of them available, but there is the issue of giving credit card information for the necessary free trial and then the possibility of forgetting to cancel and being $19.95 poorer. It could be simpler and more fun to copy and paste pictures, look up fonts and design a letter for myself than it would be to do this. However, the news is the most important part of the letter. How pretty the letter is can be considered a bonus. Good luck and happy holidays!