50 Goodies To Include In Your Letters

The wonderful thing about letters is that you can put so many things in an envelope for just fifty-five cents. But then again, you can’t send everything. A few helpful tips for those of you in the US when mailing letters:

• A letter over 1/4″ thick requires additional postage.
• A letter over 1 oz. requires additional postage. (You can get extra ounce stamps for just fifteen cents each.)
• A letter that is rigid and non-bendable requires additional postage.

So keep that in mind when including goodies, otherwise your pen pal might have to pay to get the letter. (I have been guilty of this, unfortunately. Sorry pen pals!)

Anyway, onto the goodies! I’ve collected a huge list of fun things to put in an envelope, and hopefully you’ll find some new ideas in here!

1. maps
2. recipes
3. cross stitch
4. twine or ribbon
5. business cards
6. wall decals
7. vintage stamps
8. newspaper or magazine article
9. prints of your photography
10. tea bags
11. ATCs
12. enamel or button pins
13. little pieces of your art
14. pressed or dried flowers and leaves (note: at least in the US, you can’t send these internationally.)
15. book or movie suggestion list
16. temporary tattoos
17. paint samples
18. flattened origami
19. face masks (they’ll most likely require additional postage, just a heads up)
20. sheet music for whatever instrument they play
21. interesting coins
22. word searches / activity sheets
23. stickers (maybe make a little sticker pack for them to go in!)
24. scrapbook paper
25. sticky note pad
26. bookmarks
27. CDs
28. nail files
29. drink mixes (i.e. hot cocoa in winter and kool aid in summer)
30. pressed souvenir pennies
31. small or empty gift cards
32. iron on patches
33. seed packets (note: at least in the US, you can’t send these internationally.)
34. bucket list
35. Polaroids
36. confetti/glitter (for the sake of your pen pal not being glitter bombed, you may want to put this in a bag. ;))
37. mini bunting/banner
38. ticket stubs
39. friendship bracelets (and if you don’t want to make them yourself, check out this page for info on buying them from me to support The Smile Project!)
40. instant grits (what? I’ve been sent some before, hehe)
41. gum
42. flat candies (like air heads, candy dots)
43. handlettered quotes and Bible verses
44. clipart cut-outs and die cuts
45. a color swatch of some new art supplies
46. playlists
47. brochures
48. paperclips
49. washi tape samples
50. band-aids

I made it to fifty! Although really, does anyone appreciate getting band-aids? It’s a bit of an odd thing… although odd things are interesting to get in letters. But now you should be well supplied with many ideas of what to include with letters.

Don’t feel like taking the time to find or make all of your goodies? Check out the Goodies Snail Mail Kit in the shop!