So, Valentine’s Day was coming up, right? And every year, I kinda think, “Should I do something a bit more special than just grabbing a card last minute?” Most years, life gets busy, and the thought just, well, it remains a thought.
But this year, I actually decided to follow through. I told myself, “Nope, this time I’m gonna sit down and write some actual letters.” Not just a quick scribble, but something with a bit of effort, you know?
My Little Letter-Making Adventure
First things first, I needed the right stuff. You can’t make nice letters with cheap paper. So, I went out and got some decent cardstock. Some was plain white, some had a bit of a fancy texture. And pens! Definitely needed good pens. I dug out my old fountain pen – it just feels classier. Grabbed a few colored gel pens too, just in case I wanted to add a splash of color.
Okay, this is where it usually gets tricky for me. That blank page just stares back at you. So, what I did was, I just started scribbling down ideas. Who I was writing to, what I wanted to say. I made a little list for each person.
- Think about what makes them special.
- Remember a good time we had.
- Just be honest, basically.
I wasn’t trying to write the perfect letter straight away, just getting my thoughts down on paper. Like a rough draft, I guess. It’s way less pressure that way.
Then, with my notes ready, I started on the real letters. I took my sweet time with this part. Really tried to make my handwriting as neat as I could – which isn’t always my strong suit, haha. I just focused on saying what I meant, nothing too complicated. Just being straight up and genuine. That’s the main thing, isn’t it?
After all the writing was done, I thought, “Hmm, maybe a little something extra?” For some of the letters, I kept it super simple. For others, I might have added a tiny, silly drawing in the corner, or used a different colored pen for their name. Nothing too fancy, just a little personal touch. I even had this crazy idea to use wax seals, like in those old movies! Maybe I’ll try that next year, but this time I kept it a bit more low-key.
The Finished Product
And then, boom! A nice little stack of handwritten letters. It definitely took a chunk of my evening, not gonna lie. But honestly, it felt pretty good looking at them. Knowing I actually made them myself, with my own hands. There’s something about a physical letter, isn’t there? An email or a text just doesn’t feel the same.
It’s kinda funny when you think about it. We’re all zipping messages back and forth on our phones all day, instant this, instant that. But sometimes, doing something slow, something a bit old-school like writing a proper letter, it just feels… I don’t know, more real? More connecting, maybe.
I remember when I was a kid, getting a letter in the actual mail was a huge deal. You’d be so excited. We’ve kind of lost that a bit, I reckon, with everything being digital. So, making these letters this year, it wasn’t just about Valentine’s Day. It was sort of my way of trying to bring a little bit of that old magic back, for me and for the folks getting them. A bit of a throwback, you could say. And it felt good, it really did.
