The Benefits of Handwritten Letters: Why They Are The Perfect Gift For Any Holiday!

Kristi Hurley
May 12, 2017
7 min read

Updated: Apr 6, 2023

Handwritten Letters: The Perfect Mother's Day Gift!

Hey Everyone!

I wanted to start by saying Happy Mother’s Day to all of you amazing moms out there! This holiday is so special & the perfect reason to talk about the importance of handwritten letters! They are the absolute perfect gift for everyone, especially mom! I am excited to share with you some important benefits about having handwritten letters!

There are truly no words to describe what becoming a mom feels like! It is the most incredible, miraculous, time-consuming, rewarding, scary, amazing, tiring, emotional, blissful, overwhelming, fulfilling, stressful, & sometimes dirty job BUT it is the most important job in the world & comes with more responsibility than any other job out there! I couldn’t imagine doing anything else! 🙂

After hearing that description…you have to wonder why on earth anyone would want to become a mom, right? 🙂

The truth is, that it is the most crazy transition in life but it is the most incredible gift that anyone could be lucky enough to receive! It is a gift that continues to give & bring more joy to your life then anyone could possibly imagine! You create a love & bond so deep that you never even knew could exist….it is something so powerful that it changes your life forever! 🙂

This is why I thought it was so important to write this post today, about giving the perfect gift!

As I have been talking about becoming AWARE of our feelings & thoughts in previous posts…I thought it would be perfect to do a little reflecting on your mom. If you would like to read more about creating happiness & becoming aware of your thoughts read here.

First, let’s take some time to reflect:

When thinking of your mom, it doesn’t have to be your biological mom. Maybe it is an aunt, or a friend, your grandma, any mother figure in your life. Someone was has cared for you, taken the time to listen & love you, whomever, that “mother” figure is for you, sit & reflect on all the things that she has done for you over your life time.

If you are becoming more aware of your feelings then this will be a great exercise for you. As we ALL have so many people in our lives to be grateful for…especially our Moms & it is a perfect time to celebrate them!

So take a moment to be still & quiet….just reflect on your past…your mom….

As you’re reflecting, please take time to write some of the memories that stick out about her down on paper.

Here are a few things that I can think of to be grateful for with most of our moms: 🙂

Loving you
Worrying about
Wiping your tears
Making sure you were always clean & cared for
Playing with you
Reading to you
Making you laugh
Driving you all over
Making dinner
Birthday Parties
Holidays
Talking with you
Teaching you
Laughing with you
Cleaning your room
Helping with homework
ETC., ETC., ETC.

The list can go on forever, right? Moms very rarely get days off or even a few hours off, so the list is seriously endless! Hopefully, this little list will help you remember all of the incredible things you have to be grateful for with your mom, right? I am sure this will help you bring back some great memories for you….as it always does for me. 🙂

When talking about Mother’s Day & the overwhelming amount of gratitude & love we share for our moms, we obviously want to come up with the perfect gift for her, right? Something that will make her feel loved, appreciated, & something that will give her some idea of how incredibly special she really is.

The perfect gift:

What is that PERFECT present that would show her exactly how we feel??? 🙂

Well, I have the answer to that question & it is PERFECT, SIMPLE, EASY, AFFORDABLE, & comes straight from the heart. 🙂

It is one of the most beneficial exercises that we could ever do for ourselves, something so powerful, & enlightening but is also something that is becoming a thing of the past…it is taking the time to handwrite a letter!

Have any of you received a handwritten letter in the mail from someone? Isn’t is so special? Do you value it so much more than a card or even a computer written letter? I certainly do & there are many reasons why.

My oldest son went to boot camp 4 years ago & it was incredibly hard for all of us. We were so proud of our son, but at that same time, letting go of him & watching him become a man was very hard on his dad & I.

It was a beautiful time as we all grew so much as a family & we all became to appreciate the little things in life so much more!

We received our first letter from our son 2 weeks after he had left for boot camp & I will never forgot how our entire family felt! We all gathered around the table with so much excitement, tears in our eyes & read each line of his letter with so much emotion & anticipation. It was something that I will always remember & cherish. Watching all of my children’s faces, the excitement and emotion that each word brought was such a gift…just seeing his handwriting was so beautiful & comforting to me.

It was the perfect gift & every Thursday our family would wait for that mailman with the same excitement, anticipation & tears of joy as we would read those letters. I still have every letter from him & I will keep them forever. They were so personal & there was so much emotion, expression & love from him in each letter that he wrote. It filled all of our hearts with joy.

I also have a letter that my little brother had written to me on my birthday just 10 days before he died….it truly is the most precious gift that I have ever received & something that I can physically hold in my hand & remember his precious face, & voice.

My mom still has every single letter that my dad wrote to her when he was over seas in the Navy. Those letters comfort her just how my letters give me so much comfort. It is a beautiful thing…hand-written letters.

Hand written letters are truly priceless & a true expression of love that lasts a lifetime.

The benefits of handwritten letters:

They are beneficial for so many reasons:

It makes you stop & reflect.
Exercises different areas of the brain.
It gets us away from a screen.
Enables you to practice your writing.
Gives you the opportunity to reflect on relationships & connect with others far away.
Gives you a chance to think before writing as it is harder to correct your mistakes…you cannot just delete or edit.
It is therapeutic a type of meditation.
Letters last forever.
It’s free, however, PRICELESS!
It’s beautiful, almost an art form.
It’s small and can be kept forever.
Etc…

This is why this is the perfect giftyour mom…it is personal, it is something that lasts forever, & you can let her know exactly how you feel about her! It is a gift that continues to keep giving…just like our children. 🙂

There are many fun ways to write letters so don’t think that you have to be an incredibly skilled writer! Just grab a pen & paper & have some fun with this! I promise at the end of the letter you will feel amazing by thinking of all of your positive memories & all of things you are grateful for & her heart will be filled with more love & gratitude then you could ever imagine! 🙂

You could write to your mom by:

Writing a poem.
Create a list of all that your grateful for & all she has done for you.
Write an old-fashioned letter letting her know that you appreciate all she has done for you & how much you love her.
Create a journal over the next year writing down all of the things that stands out about your mom & give it to her the following year.
Write down 10 of your favorite memories with her.
Write a list of all things that make you smile about her.
Write her a list of all of the times that you laughed until your stomach hurt.
Write a list of words that describe your mom.
Take a photo framed photo of both of you & write on the matting words that describe your mom.
The ideas are endless. 🙂

Take your time & have fun with this! Your mother deserves it & so do you! This is the perfect gift for the both of you as this exercise with sharing your gratitude liftsyou up as well. It is a beautiful reminder of what we take for granted so often & a great reminder of all that we have to be thankful for on a daily basis!

I want you to take a quick note on how your feeling inside once you start reflecting on the love & gratitude you have for your mom….it is amazing & such a big part of creating your own happiness!

My mom means the world to me & I think of her & all she has done for my family & I all of the time. Being a mother is such a selfless job & I see what she has sacrificed for us over the years & I am so incredibly grateful for her! She has taught me so many valuable lesson in life, the most important being how to be a good mom! She is an inspiration to me & so many others & could never have asked for a better mom. I am truly grateful……

Here was an amazing little gift that I received from my daughter yesterday…it truly made my entire year! A gift that I will keep forever. I love it and will cherish it forever!!!