When you send a letter to a friend, or pen pal, the stationery can give clues to your feelings, and your opinion of the recipient. Many times the clues are as subtle as body language in a face-to-face conversation. What does your stationary say about you and your attitude towards the recipient? You wouldn’t dream of sending a business letter on a sheet of notebook paper torn out of a notebook, maybe with calculus notes in the margin, so why send a note on ripped out notebook paper with notations in the margin to a friend.
Notebook paper has its place, and if neatly trimmed can make excellent stationary for a friend who is in school, or getting ready to take tests. Notebook paper would not be appropriate to your aunt Mildred, unless of course you are asking for money to buy better stationery.
When selecting stationery for letters consider who you are sending the letter to. Your friend Jamie who likes bugs and has a pet tarantula would probably get a laugh out of stationary with bug stickers on it. Susan, who is a lace and ruffles kind of girl, would not appreciate it, but the stationery that has lace edging would tickle her. When considering the person who is receiving the letter try to describe them with adjectives, then see what type of stationery would be described using those same adjectives.
It isn’t just the printing, or fancy edging that portrays your opinion of the recipient. If you use cheap stationery all the time, then you say that they are not worth the few extra pennies good stationery will cost. If you truly need to cut costs when mailing a letter, use the good stationery for the first page and for subsequent pages use less expensive paper. This will show you care about them, but that the cost of mailing a letter is prohibitive.
The condition of the letter when it reaches your pen-pal says a great deal. Don’t send a letter that has a coffee cup stain in the middle, or chocolate fingerprints on the edges. This shows they are not worthy of your care and concern. Send a nice clean sheet of paper, unmarked by debris and dirty marks. When you fold the letter for the envelope, take the time to fold neatly, if you fold the letter in thirds, then it will usually fit in the envelope that goes with the stationery.
Using a matching envelope is a nice touch and shows how much care and consideration you deem the recipient of. As with anything written, the cues given by your letter should let the recipient know with what high regard you hold them. Take the time and find the perfect stationary to match both your recipient and your letters contents. You wouldn’t want to send a letter expressing your sympathy over the loss of a pet on paper that has sunshiny faces, a more subdued stationery would be most appropriate. On the other hand, stationery that has a black border wouldn’t be appropriate for the letter about your penpals upcoming wedding.
Before you place the pen on the paper consider the message you are sending with your paper and envelope. A little bit of thought will insure that your friendship is not strained because of unspoken/unwritten messages. Happy writing.
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