A letter to a grandchild can be a wonderful thing. My Mother wrote to my oldest daughter when that daughter was just 5 years old. She still has that letter and it is one of her most valued possessions.

In this day of electronics, it is so refreshing to get a hand written letter. I know that some people just don’t have a good hand or don’t enjoy writing by hand. Its perfectly fine to type a letter and then sign it with your own hand. Think what a treasure either one of those types of letters will be one day.

There are all kinds of occasions for which you may want to write a letter to a grandchild. A letter to a newborn is a marvelous way to welcome that child to the family and a great addition to the baby book.

Older siblings wondering about their place in the family now that a new child has arrived can benefit from a kindly written letter boosting their self confidence. Graduations, new jobs, weddings are all great occasions to write a letter.

When writing to a grandchild its hard to know where to start but I have found that its important to write just like you talk. If you’re formal when you speak, then write a formal style letter. But if like me you’re very casual when you speak to the grandchild, by all means, write that way.

How ever you decide to write, formal or casual, let your letter be conversational and not forced.

You can start with the type of paper you use. Choose something that is representative of who you are. I recently wrote letters to my grand daughters inside a journal I bought for them. My own Grandmother used to write on spiral notebook paper. The paper isn’t really important as long as it reflects who you are.

Next, think about the main point of your letter. What is the one thing you want to impart to your grandchild? Let everything you write point toward that one idea.

Start your letter by dating it. Many years in the future your grandchild may rediscover this letter and the date will be important then,

Now, use a salutation that sounds like you. If Dear Mary sounds like you, use it. When you see your grandchild in person, what do you first say? I usually say “Hey Girl!” So that’s how I start my letters and sometimes I use their names instead of “Girl”.

Begin your letter by a loving statement about the child, inquire about her and let her know that you hope she is doing well. Tell her that you miss seeing her or that you have been thinking about her. Or tell her that you are happy that you do get to see her frequently.

Now write the body of the letter. Tell her exactly why you’re writing the letter. Perhaps you are proud of her or perhaps you want to cheer her up.

It could be that you want to tell her some stories about family members she may or may not know. The body of the letter is where you can do that.

Write from your heart, using words and phrases that you would use if you were speaking to her in person. The length of the letter isn’t important. Say what you want to say no matter how many words it takes.

At the end of the letter simply tell her that you are thankful that you had the opportunity to write to her or let her know that you love her and care about what is going on in her life. Be sure to end your letter with a very loving statement like, “I love you always”, or “I am thinking of you this Christmas.” Then end with your signature using whatever the child calls you. I end my letters with Love, Grammie.

Now you’re all done with your hand written letter so don’t forget to mail it! Or in my case, wrap it up and give it to her for Christmas.