I am a Snail Mail queen. I have pen pals I have been maintaining (even if just loosely) for years. I love to send beautiful cards, with carefully selected stamps, and personalized return labels.
Consider mailing nice cards or letters to the people that have made an impact in your life. We are seeing the end of a pandemic, so that feels like a moment worth writing home about.
Snail Mail Tips
If you’ve never been a snail mail Queen like me, I’m here to give you some tips to get you motivated.
Get Good Stationary
Have you ever heard that a dish is only as good as your ingredients? The same applies to snail mail. If you have quality tools, you will be more inclined to use them – and the finished product is better overall.
When I see the perfect card, for the perfect person, no matter what the occasion I buy it. I saw this awesome divorce card once and didn’t buy it – then, spent weeks hunting it down when a friend went through a divorce.
Buy cards. Nice ones. (Ephemera is a favorite local card shop in the East Village.) When you find a style you love, don’t be shy about buying all of them. I found the perfect Wonder Woman birthday card last month and bought them all. Buy nice stamps. It’s fun to use a holographic T-Rex stamp!
Give and Take
I have had pen pals since I learned how to write. Cousins, neighbors, strangers I met at summer camps. They have evolved over the years along with my chapters. It sounds silly to say, but I met a mom at a conference and we still write. She is my “Canadian bee-keeping friend,” who I’m sure no one believes is real.
What I have learned over the years is that a good pen pal is one who writes back (duh, right?). So, if you are going down the path of snail mail, definitely commit yourself to putting in as much as you get out of it. Sometimes, that may mean taking the extra step. With some of my friends that means once or twice a year, and that’s OK!
Who to send to?
I have found that I write mostly to my friends who live out of state. I also have mass mailings around Valentine’s Day. I also do it around remarkable times in my life like … a pandemic!
