The forgotten art of letter writing

Hi guys, this week I thought I’d talk about a hobby I’ve taken up recently, writing letters.

Letter writing may seem old fashioned but it’s a great way to connect with friends during lock-down. Sending and receiving letters gives you something to look forward to, two o’clock is my favourite time of day now because it is when the post comes! It’s a quiet introspective activity and with the stress of everyday life at the moment it is nice to just take some time to sit down and write a letter.

Writing an informal letter is a simple process, I’ll outline my process below. But don’t be afraid to think out the box, writing a letter is a very personal thing and be sure to have fun with it!

Step one: Gather your supplies

You will of course need some paper to write on, I like to use paper from old unused notebooks- just rip it out and cut off the spiral part. You can use whatever paper you like, try collaging or using old newspaper. 

As for pens I have a purple pen, which I love but can’t really use for school work but it makes a fantastic letter writing pen. I say let out your inner twelve-year-old and bring on the glitter pens!

Step two: writing the letter 
What you put in your letter is entirely up to you. You can simply recount the things you’ve done lately or tell a story. Or just simply talk about how you’ve been feeling recently. With everything happening at the moment, it can sometimes help to get your feelings down on paper. It seems everyone is having strange dreams at the moment, why not talk about yours?

Step three: Decoration
Now for the fun part! Add some decoration to your letter and don’t forget the envelope. Add little drawings, stickers, cut and stick pictures from magazines. Washi tape (patterned tape) is a great way to add some colour to your letters. Make your letter something that the recipient will really treasure.

Step four: Extras 

There are lots of little extras you can include to give you letters the extra personal touch. Here’s some ideas for what you could add.

• Share a piece of poetry/a quote/a song that is important to you

• Photos of you, your pets or anything that interests you

• Pressed or dried flowers

• Drawings or paintings, get arty!

• A playlist of music

• Book or Film reviews 

• Have a go at some origami

• Tea bags/hot drink sachets

• Recipes 

Step Five: Sending the letter

You’ll of course need the address of the person you want to send the letter to; at the moment the post is a little slow so it doesn’t matter if you send it first or second class. At the moment my letters have been taking about a week, I have had one got lost so photograph the letter and its contents so you can send them the modern way if all else fails.

Have fun and happy letter writing!