ITTY BITTY PEN PALS

I came across the Giverslog this summer while on our marathon road trip from NM to GA and back again.  The concept is simple, to mail unexpected items weighing 13oz or less.  The woman is crazy (in a good way) and mails everything from rubber balls to easter eggs.  What fun surprises for her littles when they check the mail!!  After Meredith's scarf swap I couldn't get the idea of "little" swaps out of my mind so I emailed her and after a few emails back and forth she put together "Mini Mail."

From Meredith herself...

The mission (should you choose to accept it):
Friends, I don't know about your little ones but my Carson absolutely LOVES getting mail. He asks me every time we drive to our mailbox if there's something for him-- he gets so excited when there's ANYthing that I can pass off as a toddler-friendly piece of mail. I just know that he would be beside himself to get mail of his very own on a regular basis. Behold, I have created Mini Mail: itty bitty pen pals! The concept is simple-- to send and receive mail to and from your little ones. This will be super organized so it's not overwhelming and I can already promise you it will be SO worth your while. In this day and age of technology, isn't mail becoming a lost art anyhow? I just love the idea of little pen pals.

The nitty gritty: 

• If you choose to participate with your child/children, you will need to commit to a minimum of a 3-month pen pal partnership. 
• Your child will have 4 pen pals in a calendar year-- new pen pals will be assigned every quarter {January, April, July, October}. Since we are beginning this month your partner will take you through the end of this year, new pen pals will be assigned in January.
• Your monthly package can be as big or as small as you wish. Remember, you're mailing between toddlers. My 4 year old would absolutely FLIP if he got a note in the mail with a single treat. So, if you're not on top of your game one month and only have time to have your little draw a picture, write a quick note and grab some gummy bears or stickers-- it's all good friends. 
• But, in case you want to help yourself get ahead of the game... you can do what I just did and order a package of 10 or 25 small flat-rate USPS boxes for FREE online. Boxes will literally arrive at your door, ready to be filled month by month, free-o-charge. Mailing a small flat-rox box is $5.20 regardless of weight. You can even print your postage online, making a trip to the post office obsolete. These little boxes are the perfect size for notes, drawings, and a few surprises!
• On the 1st of every month I will post the theme and any instructions for your pen pal mail for that month. I am going to keep my guidelines very basic and allow you to take this to whatever level you'd like to go.  Raid the $1 bin at Target for some fun treats or toys to send to your pen pal.
• There will always be a letter aspect to the package-- for the first month of each quarter it will likely include a getting-to-know-you portion, a picture, and something theme-related for that month. 
• In your child's first package to their pen pal it may be fun to include something that's their favorite-- and it could vary depending on the month you're introducing yourself. October-- my favorite candy! January-- blue mittens, my favorite color is blue! Hope these keep you warm!

Mini Mail Dates:

• 1st of the month: monthly theme & pen pal mail instructions posted
• 1st of the month: pen pal partners received
• 15th of the month: packages must be IN THE MAIL.
• 29th of the month (February has 29 days this year): Blog about your pen pal package!

... right now I want to gauge interest in Mini Mail! If you and your littles would like to participate then leave a comment here with your names and their age(s). Please include the best email address to contact you. If you are unable to comment on my blog for whatever reason, you can email me all of your info to thetichenorfamily {at} gmail {dot} com with the subject Mini Mail. If I have a decent amount of participants I will get the ball rolling for October ASAP! Feel free to blog about this (you can absolutely use the mini mail image) and spread the word. The more mini mail pen pals, the merrier! 

 

Do you get as stoked as I do about your little's opening up the box to find sweet surprises JUST for them?  Then join in the fun and head over to thetichenorfamily.com to sign up!!

EEEK so excited!