Difficulty: Moderately Challenging
Step1
Set up your website. If you don't know how to set up a website, try tripod.com. They are fairly user-friendly.
Step2
Keep it simple and keep it small. Try and make your family newsletter look as much like a newspaper or magazine as possible. Don’t add a zillion links that are confusing.
Step3
Send a monthly submission sheet to your family members. Ask them to tell you any news they have, be it births, weddings, graduations, awards or anything else of note. Most family members will be happy to participate. You can send the submission via email or snail mail.
Step4
Include next month’s birthdays, anniversaries and other milestones and events in a calendar. Be sure to have a happy birthday column for the current issue.
Step5
Play games, such as brainteasers. You can find many different games of this sort online or at your local bookstore. A favorite for our family newspaper was asking a monthly question that each family member had to answer, such as "What is your favorite rag?" People wrote back with bizarre answers about some favorite piece of clothing they would never wear outside of their homes.
Step6
Get the kids involved! Ask the young people for their artwork, stores and poems. Kids love having their work showcased in this manner and so do adults. You'll find that everyone will get a kick out of appearing in the newspaper.
Step7
Add a "Person of the Month" page. Each month showcase one family member. Have other family members share their remembrances of this individual. They can share funny stories, favorite things about the person and other particulars.
Comments
Ceile said
on 1/15/2008 What a great article! I've set up family pages on the internet, and our family enjoys them tremendously! They add photos, news, and check for birthdays, etc. It's a great way for us all to keep in contact, especially since we all live in different states!