Any ideas for weekly themed postcards?
January 10, 2016 5:33 PM Subscribe
I'm looking for some ideas for weekly themed postcards to my partner who lives 3500 miles away. Ideas welcome.
I'm approximately six months into a relationship with a wonderful woman who lives 3,500 miles away. We see each other quite regularly, we email throughout the day and talk in the evenings. I'd like to do a series of weekly postcards, preferably themed and connected, over the course of a half-year or year (25 - 52 postcards), but I'm coming up short with _how_ to connect them. So far I've come up with the following:
1. A weekly postcard expanding on a single property of her physical/mental/emotional being, explaining why and what appeals to me (e.g. her hair, her intelligence, her eyes, etc).
2. A summary of interesting and unusual things that happened to us over the course of the week, a one-year week-summary if you will.
3. New things I learned about her over the week - a homage to her, so to speak.
but they all seem a bit bland to me.
She's very very intelligent so anything with a game-playing/puzzle solving nature would be well received but I'm open to any and all ideas. I'd prefer lighthearted ideas, but am not averse to more serious ones.
I'm approximately six months into a relationship with a wonderful woman who lives 3,500 miles away. We see each other quite regularly, we email throughout the day and talk in the evenings. I'd like to do a series of weekly postcards, preferably themed and connected, over the course of a half-year or year (25 - 52 postcards), but I'm coming up short with _how_ to connect them. So far I've come up with the following:
1. A weekly postcard expanding on a single property of her physical/mental/emotional being, explaining why and what appeals to me (e.g. her hair, her intelligence, her eyes, etc).
2. A summary of interesting and unusual things that happened to us over the course of the week, a one-year week-summary if you will.
3. New things I learned about her over the week - a homage to her, so to speak.
but they all seem a bit bland to me.
She's very very intelligent so anything with a game-playing/puzzle solving nature would be well received but I'm open to any and all ideas. I'd prefer lighthearted ideas, but am not averse to more serious ones.
a nerdy idea would be to find a new game (from around the world) to describe (sort of a "mental floss magazine" type of story) - maybe you would find new games to play together (either in person or long-distance)
i like the idea of writing a short note each week of something magical from your week - whether it was a conversation with a stranger you accidentally bumped on the train and apologized to, that led into something richer. or the kitten that followed you for a block, etc. a moment of beauty that makes you say "i wish you were with me for this"
you could write a line of poetry on each card and every few cards (or the whole series) is the entire poem (with drawing included)
you could have a weekly puzzler and each week, following the first, is the answer and a new puzzle (ala NPR) - maybe she could send you one back.
i'll stop here but what a lovely idea! i think it is great!
posted by anya32 at 5:39 PM on January 10, 2016
i like the idea of writing a short note each week of something magical from your week - whether it was a conversation with a stranger you accidentally bumped on the train and apologized to, that led into something richer. or the kitten that followed you for a block, etc. a moment of beauty that makes you say "i wish you were with me for this"
you could write a line of poetry on each card and every few cards (or the whole series) is the entire poem (with drawing included)
you could have a weekly puzzler and each week, following the first, is the answer and a new puzzle (ala NPR) - maybe she could send you one back.
i'll stop here but what a lovely idea! i think it is great!
posted by anya32 at 5:39 PM on January 10, 2016
I would have found your ideas overbearing/cloying during my long period of long distance relationship with my boyfriend, so be sure that they reflect the sorts of interactions you have on a regular basis.
It'd be kind of neat if you had a set of questions to ask and went back and forth (is she able to send you postcards, too?). Like, one week, you describe your earliest memory, and she writes back with her earliest memory. The next one is explaining how to prepare your favorite meal. The next one is the story of how one set of grandparents met. Fostering the sorts of emotional intimacies and shared life histories that come naturally when you live together and see eachother regularly - nothing overly dramatic or that you'd be embarrassed for the mail people to see.
Or, maybe a long-running game of Twenty Questions?
I really liked hearing about goofy gossipy kinds of things - my boyfriend would regale me with stories of department drama and the like, which I felt very far away from, so it was fun to stay up to date on the goings-on of our friends and acquaintances.
posted by ChuraChura at 5:47 PM on January 10, 2016 [4 favorites]
It'd be kind of neat if you had a set of questions to ask and went back and forth (is she able to send you postcards, too?). Like, one week, you describe your earliest memory, and she writes back with her earliest memory. The next one is explaining how to prepare your favorite meal. The next one is the story of how one set of grandparents met. Fostering the sorts of emotional intimacies and shared life histories that come naturally when you live together and see eachother regularly - nothing overly dramatic or that you'd be embarrassed for the mail people to see.
Or, maybe a long-running game of Twenty Questions?
I really liked hearing about goofy gossipy kinds of things - my boyfriend would regale me with stories of department drama and the like, which I felt very far away from, so it was fun to stay up to date on the goings-on of our friends and acquaintances.
posted by ChuraChura at 5:47 PM on January 10, 2016 [4 favorites]
I've always wanted to do something with the French Revolutionary Calendar. Each day is associated with a particular agricultural product, so you could make postcards for a particular day each week.
*To date, all I've really done is eat a jar of Nutella on hazelnut day.
posted by kevinbelt at 5:49 PM on January 10, 2016 [5 favorites]
*To date, all I've really done is eat a jar of Nutella on hazelnut day.
posted by kevinbelt at 5:49 PM on January 10, 2016 [5 favorites]
Can you draw at all? What if the 52 postcards were a giant puzzle? Where the edges what you line up to tell a story or show a map or depict your courtship? You don't have to draw well, stick figures would be okay if the overall message and implementation was good. It would give her a reason to save them beyond just coming from you.
posted by cecic at 5:57 PM on January 10, 2016 [3 favorites]
posted by cecic at 5:57 PM on January 10, 2016 [3 favorites]
Maybe just send her the weirdest thing you see each week. Like take a picture of it and print it onto a postcard.
posted by Jacqueline at 6:04 PM on January 10, 2016 [3 favorites]
posted by Jacqueline at 6:04 PM on January 10, 2016 [3 favorites]
I may not be your target demographic because all of your ideas would have creeped me out a bit. I'm not happy when the world is that focused on me.
Maybe take a favorite quote and cut it up into 25 individual postcards. Most of the cards can be an individual word, but also split longer words onto multiple cards. Send them out of order and let her puzzle them out.
posted by 26.2 at 6:07 PM on January 10, 2016
Maybe take a favorite quote and cut it up into 25 individual postcards. Most of the cards can be an individual word, but also split longer words onto multiple cards. Send them out of order and let her puzzle them out.
posted by 26.2 at 6:07 PM on January 10, 2016
Maybe choose some lovely art postcards or postcard books (this site lets you search by artist too) and send them along with what you like about the art. Then, if she ends up keeping 50-plus postcards around, they're at least pretty to look at. Bonus points if you find out enough about _her_ tastes to pick some that she'll actually like - maybe start from knowing one or two artists or works that she likes, then figure out _why_ she likes them, and then you can find artists or adjacent art movements that have some of those same qualities.
This way, yes, it's about her, but it's also about you and what you like (or should be), and you can enjoy the postcards for their own sake while discovering what you both enjoy. It's enriching for both of you even beyond your relationship.
She wants to know about you, too, but you're both really busy!
posted by amtho at 6:10 PM on January 10, 2016 [1 favorite]
This way, yes, it's about her, but it's also about you and what you like (or should be), and you can enjoy the postcards for their own sake while discovering what you both enjoy. It's enriching for both of you even beyond your relationship.
She wants to know about you, too, but you're both really busy!
posted by amtho at 6:10 PM on January 10, 2016 [1 favorite]
Also: be willing to change ideas whenever you want, based on how it feels, or ideas you have based on talking to her, or even how much time you have. Being able to respond to changing circumstances, feelings, interests, or new ideas -- and being sensitive to what's "too much" -- is very valuable, much more so than picking a "theme" and sticking to it for a year. Unless you just want to put together a collection because you think it will be fun or cool, which may be more about you than her....
OTOH, if you know something that she particularly likes or is interested in, that might be a place to start.... as long as she's not so much an expert that she's already seen anything you'd find.
However, having a new thought whenever you send something would be great. Maybe one week it's an image that shows an artist's vision of longing, the next something showing how cold the weather is or an image of warmth and coziness to counter the cold weather, the next some interesting landmark nearby that you could see on an upcoming visit, etc. This could be a kind of conversation between you...
posted by amtho at 6:16 PM on January 10, 2016 [1 favorite]
OTOH, if you know something that she particularly likes or is interested in, that might be a place to start.... as long as she's not so much an expert that she's already seen anything you'd find.
However, having a new thought whenever you send something would be great. Maybe one week it's an image that shows an artist's vision of longing, the next something showing how cold the weather is or an image of warmth and coziness to counter the cold weather, the next some interesting landmark nearby that you could see on an upcoming visit, etc. This could be a kind of conversation between you...
posted by amtho at 6:16 PM on January 10, 2016 [1 favorite]
If you're willing to have your answers visible to postal workers, maybe do the 36 Questions. This seems extremely goofy but in my experience has been a lovely intimacy boost even for an established relationship.
posted by babelfish at 6:26 PM on January 10, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by babelfish at 6:26 PM on January 10, 2016 [1 favorite]
How about designing the postcards to make up a photo mosaic? You'd have to print them all ahead of time but that way you could write a variety of things of the message side but the "theme" would be an image of some kind - a photo of the two of you, a photo from a trip you took together, her favorite painting, a ring if you intend to propose, etc. Then the two of you can make a joint project of putting them all together at the end of the year.
I am a little perplexed that anyone would be uncomfortable receiving these, especially since you all chat frequently but everyone's MMV. So maybe just make it clear she doesn't have to return the gesture every week (unless she wants to of course).
posted by Beti at 6:33 PM on January 10, 2016
I am a little perplexed that anyone would be uncomfortable receiving these, especially since you all chat frequently but everyone's MMV. So maybe just make it clear she doesn't have to return the gesture every week (unless she wants to of course).
posted by Beti at 6:33 PM on January 10, 2016
Agreed that you should make sure this works with how you two interact in general. A weekly "homage" to me would activate all of my "run like hell" instincts. That may just be my personal reaction and something that wouldn't occur to her at all, but to me, it would seem creepy and invasive. I would feel like I was being watched. Something like a weekly "fun fact" related to her interests might be better. Or silly haikus you make up. Unless you are really sure that she'll love something more serious, I'd try to keep it light.
posted by FencingGal at 7:16 PM on January 10, 2016 [2 favorites]
posted by FencingGal at 7:16 PM on January 10, 2016 [2 favorites]
I would just try to do light, fun postcards rather than have a heavy theme. Go to a crafts store, hit up the scrapbooking aisle, take a look at the scrapbooking embellishments (and washi tape). Pick a theme, e.g., "Hawaii" and go at it. I wouldn't over use the embellishments, just one or two, and some washi tape that matches somewhat. Write a few romantic words like, "Can't wait to travel to new places with you" etc. Boom! Done.
Also, I'd stick more toward the lower end of frequency (25 postcards) than the upper end, but that's just me.
You may also find walking up and down the aisles of a crafts store helps to give you ideas, once you see what's available.
In terms of topics, my advice is stick to number 2 only - the other things seem I don't know kind of weirdly fawning. Plus, what if you complimented her hair and she's like, "Um, thanks - but I was thinking of chopping it off/ dying it" etc.?
posted by joseph conrad is fully awesome at 7:51 PM on January 10, 2016
Also, I'd stick more toward the lower end of frequency (25 postcards) than the upper end, but that's just me.
You may also find walking up and down the aisles of a crafts store helps to give you ideas, once you see what's available.
In terms of topics, my advice is stick to number 2 only - the other things seem I don't know kind of weirdly fawning. Plus, what if you complimented her hair and she's like, "Um, thanks - but I was thinking of chopping it off/ dying it" etc.?
posted by joseph conrad is fully awesome at 7:51 PM on January 10, 2016
Plan in advance to provide secret messages over the course of many weeks... putting specific letters in a different color that she needs to unscramble, slowly provide additional clues to a mystery, etc. as part of a more chatty message.
posted by metasarah at 7:56 PM on January 10, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by metasarah at 7:56 PM on January 10, 2016 [1 favorite]
Inspired by this comment from Mrs. Pterodactyl, you could write her a sweet postcard from various fictional/historical characters. I would personally love getting fun postcards from Marie Antoinette, Charlotte the spider from Charlotte's Web, Laura Ingalls, Sigmund Freud, Huckleberry Finn, Pippi Longstocking, the ghost of Ethel Rosenberg, etc.
posted by mochapickle at 8:10 PM on January 10, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by mochapickle at 8:10 PM on January 10, 2016 [1 favorite]
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I also considered sending her postcard sized facts about her hometown, etc but this seemed trite too.
posted by gadha at 5:38 PM on January 10, 2016