I know what you're thinking: "Not another tutorial on pluralizing last names on holiday cards." Trust me; I understand – The constant reminders from grammar nerds like me this time of year to resist using an apostrophe must be getting pretty old.
But if you think about it, the constant reminders can only mean one thing.
PEOPLE KEEP MAKING THE SAME MISTAKE ... year after year after year!
No Offense to Apostrophes, But Pluralizing Last Names on Holiday Cards Doesn't Have To Be This Hard!
I write this post with all due respect, by the way. We all make mistakes, and as one of my friends pointed out just the other day, not including an apostrophe when pluralizing your last name can feel AND look weird – depending on what your last name is.
If your last name is Matthews, it feels wrong to write "The Matthewses."
If your last name is Gordon, the temptation is to write "The Gordon's."
The reality is that only one of the above examples is correct and will ensure you avoid the barrage of ribbing from friends who notice and comment on your mistake more than the pretty family picture on your holiday card.
Pluralizing your last name doesn't require an apostrophe, folks! It's as simple as that.
That said, there are variations to pluralizing last names depending on how your last name is spelled. Here is a nifty chart I found years ago that perfectly spells out how to correctly pluralize last names on holiday cards.
Below are a few examples to help you pluralize last names on holiday cards correctly:
* Melton (The Meltons)
* Bonner (The Bonners)
* Ault (The Aults)
* Jones (The Joneses)
* Burch (The Burches)
* Gonzalez (The Gonzalezes)
* Maddox (The Maddoxes)
* Mathney (The Mathneys)
* Gamel (The Gamels)
* Ash (The Ashes)
The cool part is that if you're still confused or can't get over the fact that it looks weird to write your last name that way, simply write around it ...
"Happy Holidays from The Gamel Family."
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