Letter ideas for every occasion

Texts disappear. Letters don't. Here's what to write for the moments that actually matter — each guide has examples you can steal and make your own.

Valentine's Day letters What to write on February 14th, whether it's your first Valentine's or your twentieth. Anniversary letters For one month, one year, or the kind of number that makes people say "wow." Birthday letters For a partner, a best friend, a parent, or a kid who'll read it in ten years. Apology letters How to say sorry properly, without excuses and without groveling. Open when letters A little stack of letters for the days you can't be there. 40 ideas to start. Love letters, any day A simple structure, lines to borrow, and the mistakes everyone makes.

The only rule

Be specific. "You're amazing" is nice for about three seconds. "You stayed up until 3 AM helping me rewrite my CV and never once told me to go to bed" — that's a letter. One real detail is worth more than a page of beautiful words that could be about anyone.

If you're stuck

Write like you talk. Read a line out loud — if you'd never actually say it, cut it. Start with the memory or the thank-you, not the opening line. The opening line is always the last thing you figure out anyway. Keep it shorter than you think it should be. Half a page of honest things beats three pages of filler every time.

Go write one

Waxsealed is free, no account needed. Pick a paper, seal it with wax, send a link. They open it like a real envelope. It lasts 72 hours, then it's gone.

Write a letter →