How to Dodge the Most Annoying Holiday Blunder Made in Illinois

Before you send out Christmas cards or hang a personalized ornament on your tree, PLEASE make sure they don't feature this one huge mistake.

The Biggest Pain of Christmas

For some people, hanging up Christmas lights or wrapping presents might be the thing they dislike most about the holiday season, but for me, it's going to the mailbox.

No, it's not because I dislike walking out in the cold to get the mail or that I hate our mailperson...It's receiving joyful holiday cards addressed or signed like this:

Every holiday season I see the same mistake made time and time again, and I can't take it anymore! If you don't see the problem above, here's a refresher for you.

Proper Way to Pluralize Family Names

Have you ever received a card signed, "Merry Christmas from the Johnson’s"?

Who’s the Johnson, and why are they possessive? Did they claim Christmas?

Or, how about "Happy Holidays from the Smith’s"?

The Smith’s what? Their dog? Their unresolved holiday drama?

I know I'm coming off like the judgmental grammar police here, but I can't help myself, it's one thing that REALLY gets under my skin.

Here’s the thing, Illinois: making last names plural isn’t rocket science. If the name doesn’t already end in s, just slap an s on the end.  Easy!

But wait, what if your friends’ name ends in s, z, x, ch, or sh? Add an es to avoid chaos. "From the Williamses" is correct, as is "Greetings from the Hutcheses!" The Jones family becomes the Joneses. The Ramirez clan? The Ramirezes.

The most important thing to remember is, there are NO apostrophes in plurals. Apostrophes show possession, not multiples.

If this is all too confusing, just forget the plural form and use "The Zimmerman Family" OR "Love, The Zimmerman Family" instead.

Happy Holidays from all of us to you and yours (properly pluralized, of course).