It’s the season of giving for people from all walks of life, and when we give, we sign.

Are you signing your family’s name correctly?

And is the Holiday Apostrophe any different than the Everyday Apostrophe?

Here are some guidelines:

When referring to a number of people in the same family, the family name is pluralized, with no apostrophe needed.

With Love from the Littles is CORRECT.

With Love from the Little’s and With Love from the Littles’ are INCORRECT.

If you’re captioning a photo, the same rule applies.

It’s The Robinsons, not The Robinson’s or The Robinsons’.

If, however, you’re talking about the family vacation, it’s…

The Robinsons’ Family Holiday or The Robinson Family Holiday, NOT The Robinsons Family Holiday.

If you struggle with the everyday apostrophe, the holiday apostrophe is sure to make your head spin, so when in doubt, remember this:

All the traditional rules apply when using (and not using) the apostrophe with proper nouns. If there is plural possession (The Smiths’ Year in Review), the apostrophe is used. If there’s only one Smith, the singular possessive is used (Howard Smith’s Christmas Adventure). However, if there’s no possession indicated, and the name is simply made plural, there should be no apostrophe (Love, The Smiths).

Are you struggling with how to properly refer to your family’s name? Simply comment here and I’ll give you a hand.

Or, maybe you have other examples you’d like to share. I invite you to do that, too.

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