You can start reconnecting with friends and family that you have not seen for months and months. It is cheap and effective and it will not require difficult scheduling!
Take the challenge
- Post on your social media that you are looking for 30 people with birthdays in the next 30 days.
Hit up all your people on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Discord or wherever they are. You can send a batch of emails or text messages to the people you really love or spread a wide net and catch lots of fish! Ask for any special occasions that friends might be celebrating in the next month, kids birthdays, anniversaries, promotions!
You can also do this by going to your EVENTS tab in Facebook and you will see all the upcoming birthdays.
Grab these and put them on a calendar. I have this one for you to download and display for the challenge.
- Collect Addresses
Once you have a list of people and events that you want to celebrate, get addresses for everyone.
You can get these by messaging everyone directly or by choosing people who live locally to you!
- Make Up Cards
You can head to the store and start picking out cards or you can DIY them and make some sweet cards.
Sit down and make them all and make sure you have envelopes for each one. Take the time to write your address in the return address spot.
Having all the cards ready to go is going to make the challenge easier, but if you cannot chunk out that much time, shoot for having 10 done.
- Go Grab Some Postage
If you are going to mail these cards, get your stamps ahead of time! There are a few places you can stock up on stamps beside the post office.
- Gas Stations
- Drug Stores
- Office Supply Stores
- Online at USPS.com
You can expect to spend about .50 per letter, but if you would like to save money, choose some people who live nearby and drop off those letters while you are out.
- Set a Start Date
Ok, you are all set, you have all the information that you need all the supplies you need, now choose a GO date!
Fill out the calendar with what you will be sending each day and start!
- Assemble the Team
You do not have to write every letter or card yourself. I encourage you to have your kids and your spouse have a few that they are sending!
Make it a family project to reconnect with people you love dearly, but have not seen lately. This is a beautiful and worthwhile project, and if it is worth doing, it is worth doing together.
- Choose a Writing Time
Chose a time of day that you will be writing, I like to do it over lunch or after breakfast.
Keep your writing supplies next to the table, and when you find yourself sitting down, write out the card or letter.
If you tend towards perfectionism, set a timer and only write for 10 minutes, do not get stuck thinking it all needs to look a certain way, it will be better to mail it.
- Include a Treat
The magic of mail is that it is going from your hands to theirs, include something special.
What can I mail with a letter?
- Stick of Gum
- A Drawing
- Photograph
- Maze
- Magazine Collage
- A bookmark
- A secret code
- Pressed Flower
- A Tea Bag
- Flattened Origami
- Stickers
- Magazine Quiz
- Friendship Bracelet
- A Return Envelope for them to write back!
Make these letters or cards a sweet gift to the recipient! Am I the only one who gets so excited about this stuff!
- Mail Out the Cards
You can leave the cards in the mailbox with the flag up and your post office worker will pick it up. You can even schedule a pick up through the USPS website if you are concerned.
You could also drop the letter in a blue mail box or bring it to the post office.
- Give Yourself Grace
Being separated from friends and family is very hard, give yourself grace as you try to connect with someone every day.
Writing letter or cards gives you a simple way to reach out and spread some love, but it can be emotionally difficult. It can also be difficult to establish the new habit of writing every day.
If you miss a day, do not give up. Just pick it back up and write again, do not try to catch up.
Take the challenge with me, let’s get our arms out wide to our friends and family that we have been missing.
Take the time to reach out and build a bridge to friends and family who might wonder if anyone remembers them. It is going to be really great.
Are you taking the challenge with me? Let me know!
When its time to visit these lovely friends, you might be surprised at how easy it is to rent a van and take a trip!
Meet up at a campground and just hang out or plan an event.
I was surprised at how much more I felt like myself once I started to reconnect with my people.
