Letters, Anyone?

[Noirblack]

I'm wondering if many of you write letters these days. If you are on this forum, you can obviously email. Does anyone make a point of sending good old fashioned mail any more? I can't remember the last time I got a real letter from someone. I'm excluding cards and thinking of just letters. If you do write letters, do you hand write them or type them? And why do you do it when you could email?

 

[rue]

The last time I received a letter was about 4 months ago from my step-grandmother who is 94. I sent her a letter back too. She doesn't use a computer.

I also send thank you notes in the mail and yes they are hand written. I do it because it's the proper thing to do and because I love it. An email or a typed letter just isn't the same as a handwritten note.

Personally I miss Christmas cards.... I send them out and get e-cards instead

 

[TidiousTed]

Although we see each other quite frequently I often both send handwritten letters to and receive handwritten letters from both my daughters. It's a tradition we have upheld since my x and I got divorced. The girls were 4 and 6 then, now they are 20 and 22

 

[sheeplady]

I send thank you notes. I send thank you notes for everything- if you invite me to dinner or something else small like that I do thank yous.

We do New Year cards. I try to write a personal message in each, at least a few sentences. But we only send out about 40-50 cards for the holiday so it is doable. Last year we got 7 holiday cards in the mail- I have this cute decorative card holder and it was only a 1/6 full last year. I get that the economy is bad and everything, but it made me kind of sad.

 

[rue]

I send thank you notes. I send thank you notes for everything- if you invite me to dinner or something else small like that I do thank yous.

We do New Year cards. I try to write a personal message in each, at least a few sentences. But we only send out about 40-50 cards for the holiday so it is doable. Last year we got 7 holiday cards in the mail- I have this cute decorative card holder and it was only a 1/6 full last year. I get that the economy is bad and everything, but it made me kind of sad.

You know there's really no excuse for not sending out cards. You can get them for about 5 bucks for 20 of them and if you don't have the money for that a handwritten Merry Christmas or homemade cards would be welcome. It's called lazy.

 

[sheeplady]

You know there's really no excuse for not sending out cards. You can get them for about 5 bucks for 20 of them and if you don't have the money for that a handwritten Merry Christmas or homemade cards would be welcome. It's called lazy.

I can see for a very few people the cost of postage being too much. For instance, I know a person who has basically lost their contract job and can't afford the 44 cent stamp on all the cards they send, because they are living off their savings and don't qualify for unemployment. If the $20-40 in postage really means that the family can't eat or eat as well that week- I don't want a card. In fact, a couple families I knew who were in crisis situations didn't send cards last year, but I understand. Even if someone is getting unemployment, I understand that the $20 can seem like a lot.

However, most of the people I know aren't in that situation- and I agree that they just use that excuse for not spending the $30 on postage and cards and they're lazy.

I always buy my cards after the holiday to save money.

 

[AmateisGal]

My 86-year-old grandmother and I write letters back and forth. We've been doing it for years, since I moved clear across the state and only get to see her a few times a year.

I love writing letters and receiving them. It's just better than an email (though I love email, too!).

 

[Captain Neon]

I send hand-written postcards to my neices and nephews every month. If I haven't traveled some where for work or a vacation, I send them postcards from where we live. If I see them once a year, that would be often. I usually see them once every two years. We all live far apart, and it started as a way for them not to forget their uncle and aunt that live far away and move a lot. They are all still small, oldest is 11 and the youngest was born a few weeks ago. Desperately hoping that the oldest will be able to stay with us this summer for a few weeks.

As for Christmas cards, my wife or I will type an annual newsletter, and include it in our Christmas card. We will send 100+ this year. We also include a photo. I, too, think it a shame that fewer and fewer people send Christmas cards any more. We used to get inundated with Christmas cards when I was a child. My mother was horrible about sending Christmas cards, but it is some thing that I started doing myself when I moved out on my own to update my friends from college in the days before Facebook.

 

[C-dot]

Sheeplady, I like to send thank-you notes too. Those I handwrite.

I don't send actual letters, typed or handwritten, though - I prefer phone calls. I send out enough typed letters for work to flood over into my personal life, I suppose!

 

[davidraphael]

I don't think I've written a letter for the best part of 20 yrs.
And I very rarely use the phone. I hate phones.

I guess that makes me sound a bit hermit-like.

My only connection to society is via a complex periscope mirror system from my bunker 2 miles below the earth's surface.

 

[Noirblack]

I don't think I've written a letter for the best part of 20 yrs.
And I very rarely use the phone. I hate phones.

I guess that makes me sound a bit hermit-like.

My only connection to society is via a complex periscope mirror system from my bunker 2 miles below the earth's surface.

Come out and enjoy the sun with the rest of us

It looks like letters aren't completely dead yet. There are some cases where people don't have email and you have to send snail mail. It just seems a shame that we send collections of electrons to each other. I remember when I went to university my friends and I kept in touch at different schools mostly through mail. Long distance calls used to be very expensive, so mail was a great option. It was nice to know that someone took the time write a letter and send it to you. I also especially enjoyed sending and receiving air mail letters. That just seemed to add to the fun somehow. And the letters seem to show that the sender was thinking of you specifically. With so many emails today, it just seems like the sender is copying lots of people on it and it is something like "here's a fun link". I know that's a way of keeping in contact, but it lacks the personal touch.

 

[sheeplady]

Email and letters serve different purposes to me- email is more like a quick phone call than a letter to me.

I'll sit down and spend an hour writing a letter, but obviously I cannot do that everday or to everyone I know- only for those at a distance with whom I don't speak to often. Email is helpful for making arrangements and quick check-ins (particularly when someone has a hectic schedule and I do not wish to interrupt them). I don't spend an hour writing an email, except to a few people who move around a lot and therefore it's hard to write letters to or people who want emails and not letters.

Email hasn't "replaced" my letter writing, it's more replaced my short telephone calling. But I have to add that I spend 12+ hours most days on the computer for my work and studies, and the last thing I want to do when I am done with that is spend an hour writing an email. Or deal with even more emails than I already do- particularly emails that I have to read in a deep and dedicated way like I would a letter (I got 140 emails yesterday).

 

[avedwards]

Lately I seem to be sending a lot of post, though none of it particularly personal. I hand handwrite some letters and type others depending on the effect I'm trying to give. For example, I sent our dear Prime Minister a letter a month ago and intentionally hand wrote it in green ink to make it stand out. However, I sent a letter to Greater Manchester Police a few days ago threatening them with court action which I thought would best be typed to make it look professional and avoid it prematurely finding its way to the shredder.

Whilst I was away in Germany over the summer I sent my girlfriend regular handwritten postcards as it seemed more special than text messages.

 

[angeljenny]

I send and receive maybe 3 or 4 letters a week. I love getting handwritten letters! It makes me realise how spoilt I am but using the computer and spell check though. My letters are to my pen pals and they don't all have electricity so it would be cheeky of me to type mine as they have to hand write their letters!

I also send thank you cards and always have a selection to choose from.

 

[Edward]

Last time I sent a handwritten letter, I think I was still in my last relationship, so that must be six or seven years ago or thereabouts. I don't think I've had the occasion since.

 

[renaissancemedici]

Not anymore, but it was something my friends and I used to do for years and years during the summer months. Recieving a letter in the mail has always been one of my greatest joys. No you only have to expect bills, I'm afraid.

 

[AmateisGal]

Personally I miss Christmas cards.... I send them out and get e-cards instead

As the years go by, I notice I'm getting less and less Christmas cards. That's sad, but I still keep sending 'em out every year! I love finding just the right kind.

 

[avedwards]

I'm trying to apply for a job at the German Embassy at the moment and whilst I could have sent an email I thought a letter would stand a greater chance of being read than an email.

 

[RichardH]

I don't think I've written a letter for the best part of 20 yrs.
And I very rarely use the phone. I hate phones.

I guess that makes me sound a bit hermit-like.

My only connection to society is via a complex periscope mirror system from my bunker 2 miles below the earth's surface.

You live in the "führerbunker" ? jk

I have never written a letter to anyone, ever.
Most of my family/friends are nearby, and those who live in another part of the country or overseas, I prefer to call 'em.. I express myself better vocally than verbally

 

[Paul von Zander]

As a writer and graphic artist (in addition to what I do to pay the bills), I have a weakness for fountain pens. A few months ago, I found a never-used Parker Centennial Duofold for sale at a local secondhand store which supports our local symphony -- for eight dollars.

I don't necessarily believe in signs, but it was a small stroke of luck. And rather than going out to buy a lottery ticket, it pushed me to do something I'd thought about for some time, and began writing letters to friends -- some in the same city -- hoping they would respond back. Some have, some haven't.

But I've gone and had personalized stationery done, so I don't think I'll be stopping anytime soon....