LINCOLN SQUARE — There are many beloved holiday traditions — Christmas caroling, watching "It's a Wonderful Life," ugly sweater parties — but the annual Christmas letter from long-forgotten "friends" and distant relatives is not one of them.
"I would get some from people who don't even talk to me, but I get to hear about your yoga class?" said Scott Whitehair. "I cringe reading them."
The bragging, the selective omissions, the ovesharing of the minute details of daily life — all were ripe for spoofing, thought Whitehair, a professional storyteller who's the producer of "This Much Is True" and a founder of Story Lab.
In 2013 he introduced the Christmas Letter Swap.
"There is no way to stop the flow of these vile missives," the Swap's website explains. "However, we can have fun with the format."
More than 40 people participated in the inaugural Swap, crafting fictional letters that were sent to five fellow swappers. Each writer received five different letters in return.
"People got really creative," said Whitehair, whose own contribution took the form of a truth-telling angry divorced guy.
One letter had redacted information, another was penned in the voice of Walter White from "Breaking Bad." Most poked fun at Christmas letter staples like vacations, promotions at work and the spectacular achievements of one's children.
"Through some sort of digital alchemy, Billy invented a new color!" crowed one mock letter. "You'll see it soon enough when the government starts using his color for the new $100 bill."
Another letter broke the news that a family's Golden Retriever, Trevor had died. "He had a slight limp so we took him to the vet and had him put out of his misery. That made our trip to Europe the next month so much easier without boarding and dog walkers," one writer said.
Another provided this update: "Jeffrey's hands are continuing to melt and the doctors still don't know why."
Another breaks the news of the passing of "Uncle John," though, "I guess he's not 'dead' but he is incarcerated which means he's dead to me."
Length ranged from a four-page handwritten missive to a note card simply containing a Facebook address. Facebook, actually, could be seen as the forerunner of annual Christmas letters, according to Whitehair.
"A small percentage of people" like Christmas letters but a more a more typical reaction was "Yeah, those are awful," said Whitehair.
"It's like a conversation, 'My life is amazing. My life is awesome,'" he said. "They drive everyone nuts."
The Swap's popularity has grown exponentially in 2014, with 200 folks spread across 43 states and five continents signed up so far. The deadline to commit to the project is noon Tuesday for those who would like to join in the fun.
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