HOLIDAYS : Writes of Passage : Like them or not, mass-produced letters are a growing trend in season’s greetings.

Some love them, some hate them, some would never send one and others will never stop. But stationers and photocopy stores say more and more people are writing and reproducing holiday letters for their friends, relatives and acquaintances.

While there are those who love to hear the little details of family life--the 9-year-old’s batting average, the vacation’s ups and downs, the husband’s new hobby--others say the trend toward mass-produced letters has turned the custom of card exchange into an impersonal ritual that lacks meaning and detracts from the whole purpose of the holidays.

Barbara Kassel defends the idea of sending photocopied holiday letters.

“Frequently, the friends who are geographically out of touch do the holiday letters--and those are the ones I really wait for,” says Kassel, who owns a Westlake Village stationery boutique, Parchment. “But I don’t like the letters when they are full of everybody’s accomplishments--when they read like a resume--then it’s too much, and I think it’s in bad taste.”

A growing number of Kassel’s customers are asking for holiday stationery that can be run through a laser printer, and an increasing variety of high-end embossed and decorated papers are available specifically for holiday letters. A white, letter-size paper featuring a gold-embossed Santa with reindeer across the top sells for about $10 for 15 sheets, she says.

At the bigger chain copy stores, interest in holiday paper is increasing, too. According to Adrianna Foss, corporate spokeswoman for Kinko’s, demand for holiday-themed paper at the firm’s 640 stores nationwide is up.

“I think it’s part of a trend toward more personal gifts and cards. We have the computer technology available, the access--and it’s not expensive to send holiday letters,” she says.

Marilyn Kove, who owns Love ‘n Kisses, a Sherman Oaks card, gift and stationery store, has bought more holiday letter paper this year than ever.

“I’m personally receiving more photocopied holiday letters than I used to,” she says, “and I think it’s a trend.”

Kove thinks the rise in photocopied holiday letter writing is due partly to the busy pace of most people’s lives.

“When it comes time to focus in on the year at the holidays, people realize they haven’t done a lot of communicating--people are so busy--and one time a year is better than nothing,” she says. “Writing a holiday letter is better than a phone call--at least you have something permanent, something to show for your thoughts.”

Kassel also thinks the trend may be recession-related.

“People are doing less expensive cards, but throwing in a letter,” she says.

Some people, Kove says, don’t pause to think about whether the people to whom they are writing are truly interested in the year’s details.

“There’s really no etiquette for these letters, but you have to know who you’re sending to, and ask yourself if they really want to hear all about your year,” she says.

Kove likes hearing what her friends’ and relatives’ children are doing--about their music lessons, their awards and activities--but she isn’t interested in where they went for vacation.

“I like humor, and I love it when each spouse writes their own message,” she says.

Corrine and Tom Miller of Woodland Hills have been sending a Christmas letter to 250 of their friends and relatives for 20 years. Now they send two-page letters, one a typed review of their year, including details on their four children and grandchildren, and a second page of photocopied photos of the entire family.

“We’ve been doing it so long, we’re now sort of locked into these letters,” says Corrine Miller, 66.

Tips for Writing

* Keep the letter short and geared to the interests of the recipients.

* Use a light, warm, humorous tone.

* Include information on what the family is doing and on what has changed. Bought a new house? Changed jobs? Retired? Started a new business venture? Hit the highlights.

* Avoid bragging.

* Add a short handwritten note to the photocopied letter, with your signature.