special edition: sneaky sparkly scented snail mail

Read time: 3.5 minutes

good gobble guys & gals,

happy thanksgiving week to those who celebrate! happy almost black friday and cyber monday weekend to all!

btw, what’s up with black friday sales starting on nov 1? it’s way more than lost that friday feeling. anyways…

this weekend is special for me.

not bc of thanksgiving.

not bc of my first cyber weekend in business.

it’s because it’s officially one year since i printed my first ever physical cards !!!

i dished these thank you’s out last thanksgiving to my family.

and wow am i proud of how far i have come from this paper print out and photo lighting!

but the sentiments remain true towards my family AND towards you! i’m so grateful for each & every one of you dear readers.

you make me so merry!

[read until the end for my thank you gift to you]

now let’s dive into more top tips for building your holiday letter writing habit.

dasher, dancer, & dunbar

i introduced dunbar’s number in a prior newsletter.

robin dunbar, a british anthropologist & psychologist, determined how many friends we can realistically keep.

the answer was that we can maintain 150 meaningful relationships at any given time. our 150 friendships are not created equal. so it’s best to think of our friendships are a series of concentric circles, growing from very intimate to almost strangers (as shown below)

for the holidays prioritize the inner circles, but also use this as an opportunity to connect with the outer circles.

here’s how i vary my holiday connection efforts across these circles

• 1.5 intimates: your romantic partner & your BFF with daily interactions

  • 🎁🎁🎁💌 big gifts & handwritten letters

• 5 best friends: your chosen fam with weekly interaction

  • 🎁🎁💌 medium gifts & handwritten letters

• 15 close friends: your everyday social companions with monthly interactions

  • 🎁💌 small gifts & handwritten letters

• 50 good friends: your party friends with bi-annual interactions

  • 💌 handwritten letters

• 150 just friends: your wedding/funeral friends with annual interactions

  • 📱digital messages & phone calls

[plus all merry members get a hand written cards from me too!]

one year, when i have more time, i dream of sending a handwritten letter to all 150, but this is sadly not that year.

10 more people to send holiday mail

holidays are about personally connecting with more than just the friends mentioned above. it’s a time to connect with anyone that’s played an important role in your life. they’re likely in the 150 above.

but to help you double check your list, here 10 more people to consider:

1. family

2. neighbors

3. current & former clients

4. current & former teachers

5. current & former coworkers

6. advisors, mentors, & investors

7. a digital friend that inspired you

8. local business owners & workers

9. your favorite coffee shop baristas

10. your mail carriers & delivery drivers

please don’t let this list overwhelm you.

remember your notes don’t have to be long. sincerity always trumps length!

10 special supplies for sending

last week i shared that one hack to develop a better letter writing habit is to use special supplies. [link once live]

here are 10 super special stationery supplies for the merriest of mail:
[no affiliates here, just links i love]

1. seasonal stationery

   • custom merry makery holiday cards (obvi!)

   • custom pet portraits cards

   • custom scratch off cards

2. eye-catching envelopes

   • holiday plaid envelopes

   • winter scene lined envelopes

   • gilded greenery black envelope (warning will need metallic pen to write on!)

3. pretty postage stamps

   • in the us: rbg, diwali, winter woodland animals, snow globes, pinata, roy lichtenstein, waterfalls, & buzz lightyear.

   • in canada: hockey, stunning scenery, hannukah, & monarch butterflies.

   • in the uk: harry potter, paddington, river wildlife, & the rolling stones.

4. pleasing pens

   • gel pens (g2 or muji for me)

   • calligraphy brush pens

   • fountain pens (my one day dream to use!)

5. signature seals

   • custom address stamp

   • custom wax seal stickers

   • custom crest wax seal stamp

6. serene scents

   • frasier fir room spray

   • peppermint essential oil

   • your perfume or this indulgent ginger biscuit cologne

7. splendid stickers

   • custom return address stickers

   • so many cute sticker packs on etsy

   • temp tattoos from inbox naughty or nice

8. beautiful bracelets

   • woven string friendship bracelet

   • taylor swift friendship bracelet

   • festive embroidered friendship bracelet

9. striking scratch offs

   • lotto cash tickets

   • golden concert ticket

   • trip passport ticket

10. crazy confetti

    • snow confetti

    • glittery gingerbread men confetti

    • custom holiday face confetti

5 first class mail tips

one year into mailing lots of mail for merry makery, i’ve learned that sending it is not as simple as sending it.

sadly i only know the us rules, so uk & can friends please skip along.

5 first class mail tips (i.e., regular postage stamps):

1. return address can be on front top left or on the back flap

2. your envelope must be flat & meet size requirement for first class postage

3. you pay first class postage by ounce, but the pricing is NOT linear

   • 1 oz = $0.66 = 1 forever stamp

   • 2 oz = $0.90 = 1 forever stamp + $0.24 (not 2 forever stamps)

   • 3 oz = $1.14 = 1 forever stamp + $0.48 (not 2 forever stamps)

4. if your mail is any of the following, it’s considered nonmachinable:

   • square or irregularly shaped envelope

   • rigid or chunky envelope

   • sealed with button, stamp, seal, or non paper closure

5. nonmachinable means the letter can’t be processed by the normal postal machines so instead it must be hand processed

   • thus an extra $0.40 surcharge for $1.06 in total for 1 oz

   • you can buy specific non-machinable stamps here

friendly reminder here to save yourself the hassle of collecting all the addresses yourself & to instead collect your addresses with one of the 5 free address collection tools i recommend in my newsletter two weeks ago.

gift guides galore

to help you with cyber monday next week, i’m going ga ga over gift guides. sharing my favorite guides & finds. so that you can snag them on sale!

if you have a favorite gift guide or gift, please do pass along.

merry feasting,

p.s. i’m running my first & biggest sale EVER

50% off all single cards & 30% off everything else.

from now until 11/27. no discount codes required.

happy shopping to you, merry maker!