G’Day! Welcome back to my blog.
This post is all about the different things that you can add to your letters to make them more unique and fun for your pen pal to receive.
Obviously, this is not an exhaustive list and I’m sure that you can find lists elsewhere that contain more ideas than my own post will. However, these are the items that I’ve thought of and/or sent/received.
Again, having and being a pen pal is not about the things that you add to the letter, rather it’s about the relationship between the two people and how you build that relationship through the letters. All of these things are just to give you inspiration on what you can add when you feel like putting a little something extra in the letter for your pen pal.
Also, this is a great way to mail little gifts to your pen pal without breaking the bank or having to go to the post office to mail a package. 😃
As you will also notice, all the photos in this post are from a recent letter I sent to Erynn and the theme of the letter was for KING & COUNTRY’s newest album, What Are We Waiting For?. I decided to continue the theme into the extra things that I included just for fun, but by all means, do what you like with the things that you add!!
And onto the extras!
1. Tea/coffee
My pen pals love to drink tea and we always have a large stash of tea ourselves, so this is a really easy way to add something that she’ll be able to enjoy.
2. Washi tape samples
3. Stickers
These are really fun to receive especially if they’re the ones that you put on water bottles, laptops, etc. You can purchase large packages of stickers off of Amazon for very cheap and it comes with loads of great designs.
4. Recipes
Recipes can be fun to share especially if you like to bake/cook because then you get to share your favorites and receive your pen pal’s favorite and try it out.
5. Bookmarks
The bookmark that I use most frequently is actually one that I received from a pen pal and they are really fun and easy to make and mail to your pen pal. Who knows, it might just turn into the most used or favorite bookmark. 😉
6. Post-It notes
I love to use Post-It notes and I’ve received several different shapes, colors, patterns of these from my pen pals which is a nice change from the boring rectangle ones that I normally use.
7. Flower, vegetable, fruit, etc. seeds
I’ve sent and received several packets of seeds for planting (I’m actually growing some zinnias from my pen pal right now), but my favorite thing to do is find seeds of my state’s state flower and send those as a little piece of where I’m from. 😊 But, any seeds are fun to send and watch grow — especially if your pen pal can send a photo once they’ve grown.
8. Sticks of gum
9. Photos
Photos are my #1 thing to send in my letters. (I have a pending order of photos to send in upcoming letters, actually.) I always send heaps of photos to my pen pals because I LOVE to receive them. I choose photos that highlight anything big we’ve been up to (or just photos of myself, haha) and send at least 3 at a time probably.
The photos pictured here are from when we went to for KING & COUNTRY’s What Are We Waiting For? concert. (The B&W photo taken by yours truly.) Not only was it a highlight, but it also was on theme with the letter which just felt like a win.
10. Pressed flowers
I always intend to press flowers and send them to my pen pals, but somehow the pressed flowers always end up sitting around for too long and getting damaged. 🤭 I have sent some before and they’re really fun to make and send. They can also be used to decorate the letter or a bookmark or just add in the letter for fun.
11. Art
This can be anything like lettering (Bible verses, quotes, song lyrics, etc.), watercolor, paintings, pencil sketches, etc.
12. Origami
Origami comes in all different levels of difficulty, but even a simple origami can be spiced up by making it with a dollar bill or patterned paper.
13. Playlists
This can be a fun way to share your favorite songs with your pen pal or even the ones that you’ve currently been listening to. Obviously, since this letter was themed around a band and their recent music album, I listed some of my favorite songs from the album which are linked (from YouTube) if you’d like to take a listen.
Unsung Hero (this one is so cute!)
14. Friendship bracelets
I’ve received a few friendship bracelets over the years and I love wearing them (though I’ve never made any…) and my pen pals always do beautiful work.
15. Prayer Requests
One of the ways that you can strengthen your friendship is by praying for one another and the best way to know how to pray for your pen pal is by asking them and, more likely than not, they’ll ask you as well so you can both pray for one another. ❤
16. Writings (stories, essays, poetry, etc.)
Both of my regular pen pals are friends that I met in an online English class and we liked to send each other our essays and read over them, however, you could easily send short stories (or long ones) or poetry or anything like that as well.
Anyways, I know 16 is an odd number for a list, but that’s all the add-ins that I’ve got for you today.
Before signing off, I will include one last photo — the envelope that I designed for this letter which was based off of the album cover for What Are We Waiting For?. (I just added her name/address as if she were featured in the album.)
Well, you’ve reached the end of this post. A hearty round of applause for you. 😉
What things do you like to add to your letters? What have you sent or received?
Thanks for reading;
Sincerely, Lilly
Omg!!! What a cute idea for an envelope!! Being a For King and Country fan myself, this is such a fan girl envelope for me!! All these things that you include in your envelopes are all super fun things to give to your pen pals! Thanks for sharing😁
Hi Lilly! I've added some hair that I cut off from my haircuts (it's cool to be able to see their hair color in person :)) Another thing was a list of prices of groceries or gas here compared to in their state. One of my penpals started adding a note on one of those paint sample cards you get from lowes. That's been fun to receive from her aswell as send. :)