Give Back by Returning Letters



My husband’s grandparents have a quirky little habit. We often send photos of the kids, or us, or letters to them, and they will photo copy them, and return them. It always makes me laugh to get pictures that I have sent them over the years in the mail, back. But, I love to keep those precious memories, and if they are really old, I love getting them back and looking at them again!

Do you have a relative that writes you a lot of letters? Letters seem like something of the past, but in reality, they are a precious gift now aren’t they? So few people write letters like they used to. I wonder if kids in school even bother to write notes to each other anymore? Probably not with all the text messaging they get to do.

Imagine this. You have a friend with whom you corresponded for years, and you saved all of her letters. Or, perhaps it is a relative. You’ve kept these letters in a scrapbook, or a box, and have cherished them. But, what if that friend that wrote them to you doesn’t have a copy? Of course, they probably don’t. How would it be to make copies of those precious letters and make her a scrapbook out of them? It would be like walking back in time through her own life and all the things that she shared with you over the years. I guarantee she would enjoy reading them.

It can be a simple gift to put together too. Simply make copies, put them in plastic sheet protectors, in a notebook, and send them off. You don’t have to do a lot of decorating.

If your friend sent you a lot of cards over the years, think about making copies for yourself to keep, then send her the originals. Simply find some small metal rings that you put through loose papers to hold them together. Punch two holes in each card, and bind them with those metal rings. To make it extra special use some heavy scrapbooking cardstock to create a front and back cover for the little card journal. Write an inscription in the front letting your friend know that you made copies of all of the cards to keep for yourself, and how precious it was for you to receive them over the years. Include in the inscription how much your friendship means to you.

I know for a fact that I would love to get back some old letters that I had written in my teen years Not only would they be entertaining, but they would definitely give me a glimpse back in time to know what I was really like at 16, 17, or 18 years old. This will be a gift that your friend or relative will treasure forever.

Meredith Ethington is the author of this blog. To learn more about Meredith, and her history with Scrapbooking and Genealogy, go here.

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