Commonly Confused Words for Your Holiday Letters

Dec 10

The holiday season brings the cherished tradition of sending letters to friends and family, sharing our year's highlights and keeping connections strong. However, nothing diminishes the impact of your heartfelt message quite like mixing up commonly confused words. Whether you're sharing your children's achievements, describing your family adventures, or announcing important life changes, using the right words ensures your message comes across clearly and professionally. Let's explore some frequently confused word pairs that often appear in holiday communications, helping you craft the perfect letter this season.

"Using the right words ensures your message comes across clearly and professionally, making your holiday letters memorable for all the right reasons."

Who's and Whose

If you've read our previous post on apostrophes (and we hope you have), you should already have figured out what the difference is here. If you haven't, read it, come back, and see if you can figure it out. Okay... "who's" is a contraction of "who is," and "whose" denotes ownership.

This year we celebrate Mickey, who's attending his first year at Embry‑Riddle Aeronautical University. Also, three cheers for Rose, whose senior project won an award!

Who and Whom

For most cases, look at the verbs in the sentence.

If who/whom is doing the action, use "who."

We'd like to thank everyone who sent us sympathy cards after my aunt passed away.

If who/whom is receiving the action, use "whom."

I think we forgot to make a note of this---for whom was your gift intended?

To and Too

"Too" is used in place of "besides," "also," or "very." And I hope we all know how to use "to."

I'm going to my cousin's house for the first night of Hannukah, and my best friend is coming, too.

Then and Than

"Then" deals with time, "than" is used for comparison.

The family will be spending Christmas at Starved Rock State Park and then New Year's at our winter cabin, which is something we've been doing for longer than I can remember.

Its and It's

You read our previous post on apostrophes, correct?

It's a great post in its own right.

They're, Their, and There

They're: they are
Their: ownership
There: direction

They're on their way to the lake over there.

Due and Do

Do you have any idea when that homework assignment is due?

Dessert and Desert

A dessert is a tasty, sweet end to your meal, and a desert is a hot and dry area of land...probably not tasty.

Complimentary and Complementary

"Complement" completes something in some way, and "compliment" is a nice thing to say about someone.

I compliment you on how that hat is a perfect complement to your outfit.

Taut and Taught

"Taught" is the past tense of "teach." "Taut" is tightly drawn.

In a class on archery, I was taught how taut to make the string on the bow.

A graphic showing tips for choosing the correct word

📥 Quick Reference Guide

Download our comprehensive guide for easy reference while writing your holiday letters!

This handy reference sheet includes:

All commonly confused words covered in this article
Additional holiday-specific word pairs
Memory tricks for each word pair
Example sentences you can adapt for your own letters

Download PDF Guide

Need Help With Your Holiday Letters?

PAI Consulting offers professional editing services to make your seasonal correspondence shine. Contact us today for a consultation and let our expert editors help you craft the perfect holiday message.

Related tags: holiday writing, grammar tips, professional communication, writing skills, editing services

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