​Including 40 ideas for things to mail to your grandchildren!

I consider myself incredibly fortunate to be a grandparent in the digital age. Don’t you? The tools we have for building relationships with our grandchildren are so far beyond what our parents had! Instantly shareable pictures, video chat, texting—they all add so much to our interactions with our grandkids, especially for long-distance grandparents. But even if you live in the same town as your grandchildren, you’ll want to keep this post bookmarked. It’s full of ways to make the simple act of sending a letter into something that will make your grandchild feel special.

There are three keys to making letters to grandchildren more fun, and none of them involve writing skill! You just need to think about the outside, the inside, and the surprise. What you write is almost unimportant if you use these three things to tailor your letter to your grandchild.
​

THE OUTSIDE
Never underestimate the power of an exciting looking envelope. Use a bright color, or decorate a white envelope with a sticker or two. Get some fun stamps: I send letters to my grandkids with Sesame Street postage stamps I got at USPS.com. The UK Royal Mail site has stamps with Marvel characters among others that would appeal to children. Canada’s pickings are slimmer, but stamps change regularly, so keep checking!

THE INSIDE
Get some stationery that ties into an interest of your grandchild. Notecards can be found with all sorts of images. Does your granddaughter love dinosaurs? Get some dinosaur cards to send her notes on. Is your grandson going through a building phase? Print pictures of construction equipment and write on the backs. Amazon has all sorts of fun options. I’ve collected a couple of my favorites and are showing them below—just click on any image to learn more. I’m a fan of the Sanrio stationery sets, which have several characters with wide appeal. 

​THE SURPRISE
Not every letter to your grandchild needs to have a surprise inside, but there are so many fun things to send grandkids in the mail that it’s a shame not to include one! This doesn’t need to cost any money; many of the ideas to mail to grandchildren are things you can make or gather yourself. Here’s a list of 40 things that will fit in a regular envelope, with a few clickable images to make shopping easy. 

1. Band aids
2. Book plates
3. Bookmarks
4. Canceled stamps
5. Cartoons
6. Confetti
7. Coupons
8. Crosswords
9. Die cut images
10. Envelopes
11. Fake mustache
12. Flash cards
13. Fortune from fortune cookie
14. Friendship bracelet
15. Glow in the dark stars
16. Googly eyes
17. Hair ribbons
18. Inspirational quotes
19. Journaling cards
20. Labels
21. Magazine articles
22. Maps
23. Message written in invisible ink
24. Mini flags
25. Note cards
26. Origami creations
27. Paper crowns
28. Paper dolls
29. Photos
30. Play money
31. Poem
32. Pressed flowers or leaves
33. Recipes
34. Seed packet
35. Small notebook
36. Stencils
37. Stickers
38. Sticky notes
39. Temporary tattoos
40. Washi paper​

What else can you think of?
​

Now that you’ve gathered your letter-writing tools, you do need to write something on your notecard or pretty paper. For a year’s worth of answers to the question “What should I write to my grandchild?”, go read this post from last month! Sending mail is an easy part of building a strong relationship between grandchildren and grandparents. Get started now!
​