A fun way to keep everyone informed about family goings-on is a newsletter. In addition to allowing family members to stay up to date on sports practices, vacations, weekend plans, outings, the week's dinner menus, playdates and the like, it will encourage kids to read. The first step to starting your family newsletter is thinking of a name for it.
Same Sounds
Use alliteration, combining your family name with a newsletter-oriented noun of the same letter. A few examples are The Allen Announcement, The Brock Bulletin, The Wright Report, The Sanders Circular, The Turner Telegraph, The Updike Update and The Nelson Notice. If only one person is responsible for writing the newsletter, that person may want to name it after him or herself: Nana's Newsletter, Ike's Items, Dad's Dispatch, Theodore's Thoughts, Mom's Musings or Lisa's Latest.
Clever Techniques
Name your newsletter whatever acronym is formed with the first letters of everyone's names. John, Walter, Brigitte and Andrew: JAWB. Gary, Zora, Philip and Alice: GAZP. Olivia, Rhys, Belinda and David: BROD. Sally, Michelle, Thomas, and Nicholas: MiNST. Incorporate the pet's name: Ellie, Inez, Fido and Nelson: FINE. Or, use the name of the street you live on: Elmhurst Drive info, White Lane Manuscript, Third Street Periodical, Kerry Circle News, Lincoln Avenue Publication, Sherwood Way Press.
Location Inspiration
Change the name of a newspaper already in print to add your family's name. The Chicago Tribune: The Miller Tribune. The New York Times: The Harrison Times. The Oregonian: The Wilsonian. The Denver Post: The Thompson Post. The Arizona Republic: The Nguyen Republic. The Houston Chronicle: The Rodriguez Chronicle. It can be the city where you live, or where the family just relocated from, where you grew up, or just any newspaper whose name you like.
Journalism Titles
Use a news-related phrase---Hot Off the Press, Good News or Fit to Print---or prepositional phrase---In Print, In the Know, On Target or Words of Wisdom. If the writer's or the family's name rhymes with a newsletter-oriented noun, use that as a title: Written by Kristen, Dandy Andy's Newsletter, The Hurds' Words, Facts by Pat. Or just use a generic word, giving each newsletter a different number: Newsletter #1, Issue #1, Edition #1, Publication #1.
