Writing a happy letter is a pretty simple task. The premise is simple…
Write a letter that will make someone happier than they were before they received the letter.
Despite the simplicity, happy letter writing may feel daunting at first. When you sit down to write your first happy letter, questions will abound. “What should I write about?” and “How do I find an address?”. This is normal for any new happy letter writer.
To help you in your process we wanted to share some basics of the happy letter writing process. These are examples of one way to write a happy letter. We encourage writers to build upon these basics to develop their own processes and share them with other happy letter writers through our Happy Letter Community Facebook page.
You don’t need anything fancy to write a happy letter. So have fun with your happy letters and be imaginative in your approach.
The 10 tools you will need to write a happy letter.
- A positive outlook
- Paper
- Writing instruments
- A place to focus
- Envelopes
- A mailing address
- Stamps
- A Happy Letter insert
- An inspirational insert
- Serendipity
1. A Positive Outlook
The first and most important tool you will need in writing your happy letters is a positive outlook. As a happy letter writer, your goal is to try and brighten another person’s day. So before writing, you will want to take a moment and ask yourself, “What would make me happy?” and “How do I want my letter to be received?”. These are important considerations!
Having a positive outlook doesn’t necessarily mean that you feel particularly happy at the moment that you sit down to write a letter. In fact, one of the great secrets of happy letter writing is that happy letter writers likely get more joy and satisfaction out of the writing the letters than the recipients do in receiving them.
So the next time you are feeling a little gloomy, press on and write a happy letter! You will find writing rewarding and uplifting. But remember that even if you are feeling a bit gloomy, you need to have faith that your letter will bring happiness to the recipient, and do your best to ensure that outcome.
2. Paper
One of the barriers that can keep people from writing happy letters is that they don’t have stationary, or a card on hand to send out. It can certainly be fun to spend some time carefully choosing the right paper, or the perfect card to brighten someone’s mood. Who doesn’t like walking the aisles of their favorite office supply or craft store?
While a happy letter writer might take pride in choosing stationery, the paper itself doesn’t matter. In fact, some of the most compelling happy letters can be made from up-cycled packing paper or ephemeral paper products. These products create interest and whimsy for your happy letter. They are also free! So be creative! The next time you go to throw something in the recycle bin, ask yourself whether it could be transformed into a happy letter.
3. Writing instruments
What you use to write your happy letters is personal preference. You can use everything from a crayon to the fanciest of fountain pens. The choice is up to you.
Some happy letter writers like to use writing to exercise the lost art of penmanship. For young writers, this is a great opportunity to learn cursive handwriting. For those of us that spend much more time typing these days, it is also a great opportunity to practice our neglected handwriting skills.
If you are a calligrapher, a happy letter is a great opportunity to hone your craft. For others, a letter carefully written with watercolor paints might be just the thing to bring a smile to a recipients face. The possibilities are endless!
Your writing instrument doesn’t have to be expensive or fancy. In fact, we typically use a basic ballpoint pen to draft most of our letters. Pens and pencils are common and inexpensive, so coming across a writing instrument should not be a barrier to writing your next happy letter.
4. A Place to Focus
One of the most important tools needed for happy letter writing is a place where you can focus on your writing and not be distracted. Sometimes getting started writing, can prove difficult. Even the most talented and notable writers can be struck with writer’s block. So once you start writing, you want to avoid small distractions that might cause you to lose your focus.
Good distraction-free places to consider are a home office, a quiet corner of the house, a public library, or the kitchen table an hour before everyone else wakes up for the day.
You don’t have to cloister yourself away in some dark cellar. In fact, many happy letter writers enjoy listening to music while they write. For some happy letter writers, a bustling cafe and a set of earbuds might be just the place to draft a happy letter or two.
Some happy letter writers have formed small groups that meet socially to write happy letters together. These social groups can help inspire you and allow you to see how others approach the art of happy letter writing.
No matter your style, experiment and find a place that works for you!
5. Envelopes
Choosing the right envelope is also a matter of personal choice. There
Envelopes don’t have to be fancy and can be incredibly affordable. We typically use inexpensive #6 all-purpose envelopes. The smaller size helps distinguish them from the hoards of #10 envelopes that are typically stuffed with bills.
You can also create your own envelopes! This is a great way to make your happy letters stand out. There are a ton of tutorials (1, 2, 3, 4, …) out there about how to make your own envelopes from up-cycled materials. Just remember, if you are making your own envelopes, make sure that your envelopes conform to postal standards or be prepared to spend on extra postage.
Most importantly have fun with your creations! Your envelope will be the first thing that your recipients see. So consider using your envelope to bring happiness and joy before it is even opened to read your letter!
6. A mailing address
One of the key pieces of any happy letter is a mailing address. We get a lot of questions about how to select a mailing address. There are a lot of different approaches that could be employed.
When we first started Happy Letter, we began by looking in the White pages to select a specific recipient based on a random name search. This resulted in happy letters addressed to a specific person. While this is a very personal way to send a happy letter, it also has the potential to cause some anxiety for a recipient.
We have instead switched to using a service like Google Maps and the Street view feature to view specific address and house numbers. Once we have a mailing address, we then send the letter to “Current Resident” at the specific address. This allows us to send the letters randomly, without creating concerns about personal privacy.
You can also send a happy letter to someone you know might needs some kind words. Although these letters aren’t random, they are still incredibly valuable. Just send the happy letter to the person directly, but plan to address the letter to “Current Resident” to keep the spirit of the happy letter both magical and anonymous.
Some happy letters are also placed out into the community at various locations to be found by a random recipient. They could be left at a coffee shop, or the library, etc. These letters are not addressed and don’t require a stamp. They also offer a chance to share happy letters directly within your local community. The downside of this practice is that it be difficult to distribute them and maintain anonymity. So use caution with this method.
When writing happy letters it is also important to omit return addresses. By not including a return address, you are able to maintain your anonymity. Instead, we encourage happy letter writers to either label the return as HappyLetter.org or use a simple smiley face to foreshadow what is inside.
7. Stamps
Happy letters are handwritten and one of a kind. The creation of a handwritten letter reminds both the writer and recipient of the one-on-one connections that we all share as people. This is not insignificant! In our modern electronic world, it would be easy to send a single message to thousands of recipients, but ask yourself, how you would respond to such a message. How would such a message make you feel? Would it have the same impact as a handwritten letter?
For this reason, we choose to send happy letters via the postal service. There is nothing like receiving a handwritten letter to brighten up that stack of bills! But to send those letters you need a stamp!
Stamps provide a great opportunity to accentuate your happy letters. We frequently buy the standard American flag stamps for the convenience of purchasing by the roll. But today you have a lot of choices. There are many stamps designs, so choose a stamp that matches your particular style!
8. A Happy Letter Insert
One of the things that we have created to support happy letter writers, is the Happy Letter Insert. You may be wondering, “Why do we need an insert?”. The unfortunate reality of our times is that today a happy letter may cause some anxiety or suspicion without proper context.
The Happy Letter Insert provides context for your letter and offers the recipient an avenue to explore their questions by visiting HappyLetter.org. This site was created as much to ease concerns of recipients as it was to support happy letter writers. So include an insert to spread happiness but spare the worry!
9. An inspirational insert
The inspirational insert is the one tool that could be considered optional for a happy letter. You can always send a well-crafted happy letter and know that it will be well received. That said, an inspirational insert offers some of the greatest freedom in your happy letters.
Your inspirational insert could be a fun doodle, a watercolor illustration, a handwritten poem, a copy of your favorite recipe, an inspirational photograph, a funny joke, or a favorite quote or saying. These can really be anything that you want them to be! Express your creativity!
Can’t think of an inspirational insert to include in your happy letter? We can help! We have added an inspirations page with user-submitted creations that you can use for inserts with your letters.
If on the other hand you love creating your own inspirational inserts, please consider sharing your creations with others through our Happy Letter Community Facebook page. We may even share your inspiration on HappyLetter.org!
10. Serendipity
The last tool that your happy letter needs is serendipity. All of the time and effort spent writing your happy letter depends greatly on making sure that it reaches the right hands at the right time to make a difference in one’s life. This cannot be understated! We will often say a little prayer for our happy letters to find the recipient that needs them most. So choose wisely and have faith that your happy letters will find the right home at the right time.
Share Your Happy Letters!
Before you send that happy letter, help inspire others by sharing! Follow these three simple steps…
- Send us a photo of your happy letter via our Happy Letter Facebook Community Page to share with others.
- Provide an address, city, or map coordinates for your letter.
- Your happy letter gets posted to the Happy Letter Community Map.
The more points we can add to our map, the more happiness we can bring to the world. So keep sharing the happiness one stamp at a time!