Written by Leah Shkolnick
@leahshkolnick

I always wanted to be a mail delivery person. The organization of letters and packages, hoping that most of the mail would be sent with love from friends and family, seems so special. Social media connects us around the world but nothing connects us like a handwritten letter.

Being physically distanced during the pandemic, mixed with a growing depth of Zoom fatigue, had me longing for a different way to connect; while we couldn’t “hold” each other, we could hold pieces of one another. Of patience and waiting and the eagerness that would come when the postal truck would drive by, or checking the mailbox at 4 p.m. hoping stationery was nestled between the bills. I have a soft spot for letter writing and sending mail. Unsurprisingly, Valentine’s Day is a favorite holiday for me: picking out sweet cards and coordinating envelopes, spending hours customizing each friend’s address and smothering them with hearts.

I made it a conscious choice the past nine months to spread that same joy throughout the year; that letters didn’t have to wait until February to let friends know you’re thinking of them and that we can have pen pals year-round:

A friend who we save our updates for the letters instead of texting; I rip open her envelopes to hear how she’s been – feeling the reactions in my hands instead of through the screens.

A friend who sends me postcards from art galleries she visits. Not much to say in text, but the images share those thousand words as if I’d seen the exhibit myself.

I love running my fingers over the way they write my name as if each is the personal relationship we have with each other passed from their hands through the pen and on to me. I keep them all.

Having a pen pal or sending letters takes time and time is the gift that many of us have had a bit more of lately to give. Sitting down to pen a letter is giving of yourself. If you’re ready to have a pen pal but don’t know where to start, think of it as a one-time activity to involve a group of your friends. I proposed these to a few of mine:

Instagram is clearly a go-to photo-sharing tool, but just like receiving mail, there is a delayed gratification that comes with waiting for photos to be developed. Pick up a disposable camera either a classic like a Kodak or one with a pretty print or color and split up the snaps before mailing the camera to each of you. At the end of the roll, have them printed and mail the copies to everyone. You’ll get to see snapshots into where they are and have something you created together.

If you’re pulled more toward writing and drawing, a collective notebook is another option. I’ve had my eye on these from Hesperios. I love that they’re listed as “a notepad for every musing” and are titled around the themes of Musings, Ideas, Reflections, Foundations and Notes. Pick one that suits your group and fill pages around those themes before passing along – à la “Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants.”

While it certainly is the thought that counts, sitting down to take the time to write a letter is a gift for both you and the one who receives it. How do you give a gift? You wrap it!

Here are some favorite supplies to help wrap your words:

These cards come in the dreamiest color palette and transport the receiver to a destination of warmth and adventure besides their living rooms. Plus, they’re pop-up cards for a nice surprise once opened.
When I visited family this summer, I re-discovered a personalized stationery set I had received as a gift years ago. Sending gifts or little notes stamped with my initials always makes me feel polished and well, personal! I love the simple initial and curved colors at the top of this set.
A more classic stationery set in an unexpected color, these slime green cards and envelopes are a fun twist on a holiday green and from a favorite Brooklyn boutique and Parisian stationer.
Licking envelopes might be a thing of the past in today’s times, so this funky 1970’s sofa washi tape will do the trick to hold your letters intact.
You can’t write letters without writing materials, and Goods For The Study definitely has you covered. Beloved New York bookstore McNally Jackson’s office goods shop (hence the name), has pens and pencils of all types ready for penning your letters and notes.
Adding stickers always feels special when I see them on an envelope or in a letter. These ABC gradient stickers could be perfect for your recipient’s name or a small detail.
Continuing with gradients, these double-sided colored pens would look just as pretty with your text as they would sitting on your desk.
And of course, you can’t mail a letter without a stamp. These forever stamps that feature artist Ellsworth Kelly’s abstract colored shapes are not only graphically appealing but support the USPS at the same time.