By A. Noelle

Being a Long-Distance Auntie (LDA) can be pretty difficult, especially when you don’t have many chances to travel and visit your adorable nieces and nephews. Fortunately, there are still plenty of ways for us LDAs to stay in touch! But before you reach for your cell phone or turn on that laptop, Auntie, you might want to consider a more traditional approach, especially since April is National Card and Letter Writing Month.

When was the last time you sent your nieces and nephews personal, handwritten letters? If you’ve never sent one, then this is the perfect opportunity for you to break out the ink and paper and send a heart-warming message to the lovable children you wish you could visit more often. Imagine the look of joy on your nieces’ and nephews’ faces when they open that hand-addressed envelope and pull out pages of stationery, covered in the handwritten, inspirational prose that can only come from their beloved Auntie. Imagine that comforting feeling of familiarity that your nieces and nephews will get by simply seeing your own distinctive handwriting. If they’ve been having a rough day or a particularly trying week, your words can encourage and simply reassure them that their Auntie is always thinking of them, and that there is someone out there who truly cares.

Make it snazzy, Auntie!

If you’re writing a letter to your younger nieces and nephews, you might want to purchase some colorful and playful stationery. You can decorate the borders of your letter with stickers of their favorite animals, sports, pastimes, etc. You can even make your own cards, Auntie. At your local arts and crafts store, you might be able to find cards that you can paint on with watercolors, cards with photo frames, and eco-friendly cards made of bamboo or hemp or recycled fibers. Your older nieces and nephews may prefer simpler styles; some might even prefer postcards to letters, especially if you’re a Savvy Auntie who does a lot a traveling. The next time you travel abroad or to another state, consider surprising your nieces and nephews with a postcard greeting.  This can become a special tradition you share with your niece or nephew.

You might want to consider keeping up the correspondence with your nieces and nephews; encourage them to write back and continue to exchange letters every so often. You could include recent photographs in your letters to keep your nieces and nephews updated on your day-to-day experiences. When your nieces and nephews start to miss and crave some of those famous dishes from their Savvy Auntie’s kitchen, you might want to send them some easy recipes so that they can cook up their favorite foods with their parents – of course, you’ll want to save those extra-special recipes for the next time you get the chance to cook for them yourself. If you and your nieces and nephews are musicians or share a passion for music, you could even send scores of your latest compositions back-and-forth. If you have a niece who just loves to shop for makeup and skincare with her Auntie, you could send her samples from your last shopping spree.

There are countless possibilities for making your personal letters more special and enjoyable for your nieces and nephews. The letters themselves will serve as wonderful keepsakes and reminders of your love that they’ll be sure to treasure for years to come.

Photo: anankkml
Published: April 24, 2012