Here's a guide to signing your family's name on holiday cards

(CBS 58) -- A popular holiday tradition is sending out Christmas cards, but are you signing them the right way? 

When writing your holiday cards this season, how are you supposed to sign your family's name? With an apostrophe, or without? 

An apostrophe is only used for two things and that is to show possession and for contractions and you're not doing either when you're signing your name.

So, if you have a family name sign and you want to show that it's your family's house, you can use "s" apostrophe because it's your house. 

But when you sign your name, it's just an "s," or sometimes "es" if your name ends in s, x, ch, or sh.

For a failsafe signature, you can always go with "The Smith Family," where apostrophes and extra letters are not necessary.