I love getting mail. Obviously, I don’t love the kind where they are asking for money and I don’t particularly like getting a mailbox stuffed with catalogues for products I don’t use. I am a 30 year old woman living alone in Boston. Why do you assume I want to look at kitty litter trays?!
Despite these minor mail annoyances, I still love putting my key in the box and finding out what lies within. Snail mail, bring it on!
Baby announcements, save the dates, wedding invitations, shower invites, packages… I love them all. My friends send me postcards from all their trips and I have them framed in collages on my walls. It’s fun to see where everyone has traveled- from New York to Afghanistan!
However, what really makes me happy are handwritten letters. I LOVE letters. My grandmother always said you have to write them to get them- so write them I do. I’ll often just send someone a card to let them know I am thinking of them. I like to think it makes someone’s day a little bit better (please let me keep believing this).
I am a firm believer in the handwritten thank you card especially. Someone took the time and made the effort to pick out and give you a gift. The least you can do is show your appreciation by writing out a thank you.
So the next time you are thinking about just shooting off an E-mail or posting on someone’s Facebook wall, consider sending them a handwritten note.
Do you still send handwritten letters and cards?
Today was Day Twelve (or Day L) of the Blogging from A to Z April Challenge.
Hoping you’ll follow me on Bloglovin or Twitter! New friends make me as happy as good mail!
Hi, I'm Kate. I'm fairly new to this whole blogging thing, but loving it already. Please reach out with any questions!
Postcards! I absolutely love them and I still try to send them. I have many from friends and family attached to a large corkboard, but I like your idea of framing them. I have them from as far and wide as the countryside of England to Ontario, Canada. One of my favourites just has 2 little lambs on it.
The only person I still ‘snail mail’ with is my Nan. She loves to write long letters and sends me photos of anything happening back home, from Weddings to days out at flower festivals and the new babies of the family. My Nan did sign up for Facebook last year (she’s so cool) but it wasn’t the same, we prefer to snail mail. Apparently she received a letter from me last month and told the people visiting her at the time, she would read it later on when she was alone. I like that, because it’s like you are having a private conversation and you can keep it in a memory box to read again later.
In fact you have inspired me to write a few letters to friends I have on Facebook but don’t seem to get a full conversation out of.
Long live snail mail!
Aw good. I am glad you were going to do it. It is so nice that you and your Nan are pen pals. My grandma is all about E-mail and sometimes I will send her a card now and she will respond on the computer!
I love handwritten letters and notes! As a child, I would race my younger sister to the mail box. Pulling the letters from the box was like a mini-Christmas.
I miss having a real mailbox! I have an apartment building mail room now.
I love handwritten stuff too! I picked this topic for my K post. 🙂
From the A-Z neighborhood,
Deecoded
I’ll have to go back and read it 🙂
Found you from the SITS twitter party! New follower. I adore snail mail. I used to do swaps through a website and had a package in the mail nearly every day! I started to collect postcards but got overwhelmed with always running to the post office. I’d love to get back into it though. Happy weekend!
I definitely would have let them build up at the post office and been scolded. Isn’t it just so fun getting mail? Happy SITS Saturday 🙂
I used to send big batches of postcards when I was traveling a lot.
These days not so much.
I should send out a batch again soon though… thanks for the reminder!
Your new bloglovin follower,
Uttley
http://www.uttleystake.com
Yes you should! So fun to give and to get!
I also LOVE getting hand written cards, and I frequently send them because I love getting them. I just buy random cards at the store and keep them in a box that is organized by category.
Did you know you can get 2 cards for $1.00 at the Dollar Tree? They aren’t bad and it’s a great way to stock up.
Thanks for hosting the blog hop. I read your page anyway, but I appreciate the hosting this week! 🙂
I already follow your blog as well!
Thanks for the hint on the Dollar Tree. I definitely try to have a box of ones to grab so I am not in a rush for occasions. Glad to know someone else is still a fan of snail mail 🙂
I used to be a letter writing fiend. It was fun! These days I have arthritis and a million additional duties, so it’s been awhile. Great post!
Thanks Tina 🙂
I love a good handwritten note, especially on adorable stationery! It’s been far too long since I’ve written a letter. Guess I should spend some time today doing just that! 🙂
– Heather
Yes you should! Especially if you have any pretty new stationary lying around 🙂
Well my family has always been bad about sending letters and cards. My grandmother did it all the time, but somehow we never had time to sit down and write a letter. I was glad to see email arrive because that’s how I do most of my communicating today. I do buy cards for friends and family that aren’t on the Internet.
Sunni
http://sunni-survivinglife.blogspot.com/
Keeping in touch is the important thing!
I love getting things in the mail…a lot of my posts mention this, lulz! I try to make sure I send things, but am thinking I could try harder. Handwritten thank you notes are the best and a great gift (handmade) if you’re not sure what to give at a shower. 🙂
Well then I am extra glad I am assigned to send you your #carabox 🙂 Agree with you on the shower idea too!
We have moved far away from the practice of the written word. Rarely do we think to send anything via the postal service. I hope that we won’t see the demise of the agency in our lifetime. I loved that you wrote this post. Thank you for sharing. Great blog, by the way!
I know! They’ve already stopped on the weekends! Thanks Coral!
I love handwritten notes and wonder why I’ve never send one out.
You should totally get on that 🙂
My sister is like you. She is all about the snail mail. I rarely send handwritten anything in the mail anymore but I sure do love to get it. Some “old-fashioned” things shouldn’t be lost.
They stuck around long enough for a reason 🙂
I love getting handwritten notes, cards, letters, postcards. I found your blog through http://www.lifeinabreakdown.com/. Check out mine at http://mightyknittingchick.wordpress.com/
Thanks for stopping by! I’ll head over 🙂
Same here! I have been corresponding with pen-pals from my early teens. I used to collect postcards and have many in albums. With emails taking over sadly my mailbox tends to be empty on most days. It is a real thrill when I get mail. I am a new Follower of your Blog. Have a great weekend.
I love that you still have pen pals! I try to send a letter every time I am disappointed by an empty mail box. Thanks for stopping by!
I love getting handwritten letters so much. They brighten up my whole week.
It is definitely something I should do more of.
Me too! In fact, I have a whole stack of thank cards that need to be written, but I am being lazy 🙂
Don’t even get me started on thank you cards. My daughter and I did our Christmas thank yous at the beginning of January. They still haven’t made it to the post office. *headdesk*
I don’t send handwritten letters very often at all anymore, in part because my handwriting is practically illegible.
I suppose you could always draw pictures?
I too love mail! and YES it does brighten my day. I fully subscribe to the you must send letters to receive letters, however, I found that I barely receive letters even when I send them. And then I get sad.
Don’t get sad! Some people just aren’t as wonderful as us 😉
I don’t really write letters anymore, but my cards are ALWAYS hand-written. I actually get really irritated if someone sends me an e-card. I’d rather get nothing at all!
We are on the same page on that one!
The anticipation of waiting for mail such a good feeling. I once read somewhere that receiving bills is a gift, the universe’s way of showing you that you are capable of paying for it, so before my frown sets in I try to ‘send’ out a thank you.
That is a more positive way to think of bills. I will TRY to adopt that mindset. Thanks!
every year during Lent, I write handwritten letters to the people in my life to tell them how much I admire and appreciate them. The response is always amazing.
That is a great idea- I might still it next year 🙂
I loved your frame work. Even when my L word is also “Letter”, I am also lazy to do that. Actually the writing side is fine, but going to post it is too much work. but I am gonna do that soon. Gonna send a letter to my best friend on her birthday! 🙂
http://sheethalsusan89.blogspot.com/
I enjoyed your “L” post and I know your best friend is going to enjoy her letter!
I love getting letters. My grandma always sent them. I was just going through an old box of photos and found a little valentine (from a boxed set like you pass around in grade school) my grandma had sent to me via mail. It’s going in a frame! I need to be much better about mailing random notes – great reminder!
I love that you found the old Valentine. What a great memory! Thanks for sharing 🙂
I am just like you…I love handwritten letters, both writing as well as receiving them. I still have all the letters I used to write to friends/boyfriends from college as well as the letters my husband wrote to me when we were first dating back in the 80s…I will never part with them! I think it’s sad that my own kids won’t have letters from friends and lovers to look back on. So much of their communications is done via emails, instant texts and messaging…it makes me sad for them.
I love that you still have letters from when you and your husband were first dating!! I don’t have any from my boyfriend because we just email 😦
I don’t:(. I should. Most of what appears in my snail mail these days are bills, which is utterly depressing. Thanks for linking up:)!! A
Blech to bills!
I love getting letters. I think it’s sad that handwritten letters have almost completely disappeared, at least in my world. Great post! I nominated you for the Liebster Award.
Aw thank you! I will have to get on that 🙂
I used to collect all different kinds of stationery because I loved writing letters so much. I now have my daughters doing the same and they have pen pals too in other countries. My 11 year old has had the same pen pal for about 4 or 5 years, the pair of them are so darn cute. I also love how my girls just about do back flips when they get a letter in the mail, I feel the same way!
You sound like an awesome mom between this and the reading list! Love the idea of pen pals, too!
Featuring your post tonight at the Owl’s Skull for the Hop:). Stop by to grab a featured at button and link up something new. Much love, Jess (aka Alice @ The Owl’s Skull)
So awesome! Thanks Jess! I will definitely be by 🙂