Letter writing from a hotel is one of my favorite parts of traveling. There is something about knowing the recipient will see a postmark from a different city or state that makes it feel exciting before they even open it. Instead of a text, they have something they can actually touch. A stamped souvenir with a piece of my experience inside for them to keep.
Being away from home makes you want to reach out and bring someone along with you. If you have been wanting to get back to writing letters, here are 5 things I do that make the practice feel meaningful for both you and the recipient.
1. Set the scene
Before I write a single word, I note the date, location, and sometimes even the weather at the top of the page. Then I carry that into my opening paragraph, describing the atmosphere and what I am doing there. It grounds the letter in a specific moment and signals to the reader that this was written somewhere intentional.
2. Make it about them
Even though you are the one traveling, the best letters turn toward the person receiving them. “You would love it here” or “I walked past a bookstore you would have dragged me into.” Then ask about their life. It shifts the letter from a travel update into an actual conversation, and it makes the person on the other end feel genuinely thought of.
3. Add ephemera
Tuck something in. A photo, a ticket stub, an old menu, a sticker, a pressed flower. Anything that speaks to where you are. This is where the letter becomes an experience.
For photos, I love the Instax photo printer for on the spot printing. If you don’t have one, Walgreens prints photos within an hour. They typically print 4x6 or four photos to a 4x6, which I find too small. My workaround is designing a layout in Canva with two photos in a 4x6, then cutting them in half at home. You get a better size and it still feels personal.
4. Make the address beautiful
I center my recipient’s name on the envelope to make them feel a little extra special. For stamps, I either pull from my collection of vintage stamps or use one standout Forever stamp. I seal the back with a sticker and add my return address. The outside of the envelope is part of the letter too.
5. Decorate the envelope (optional)
This one is entirely dependent on my mood. Sometimes I decorate the envelope, sometimes I don’t. If you do, just make sure the address and stamps are still clearly visible. It is a finishing touch, not a requirement.
The Pfister gifted me this stationery, and I used it to write to my uncle in Southern Illinois. That letter is on its way to him now, postmarked Milwaukee. Letter writing does not have to be elaborate. It just has to be intentional. A little effort goes a long way when someone holds something you made for them in their hands.
— Megan