As we have family in China, and have not been able to visit them or be visited from them this year, I started looking for ways to stay connected even though we could not meet physically.

Of course we have a weekly chat online, but I also wanted to do something more tangible. I decided, that as we have small children, sending a physical letter each month could be a good solution. I send the letter on behalf of the children, writing as if they were the ones speaking to their grandparents (also my Chinese characters look like those of a 4-year-old). I include printed photos of what we have been doing the latest month, and I make something small but creative with the kids.

The added benefit is that I also get to spend some quality time with the kids being creative and preparing small works of art.

I like to keep it simple and use things we already have in the house – paper and paint mostly. So far, I have for example drawn a small tree and let the kids dip their fingers in paint to make the leaves, used their feet to make butterflies and used their hands to make Santas for Christmas.

I don’t tell our family when I send the letters out, so it is always a surprise for them when they find a letter in the mailbox. It is my impression that they are really happy to receive these little gifts, especially as the kids don’t really have so much patience to sit and talk to them on the phone or tablet.

I have posted some ideas for what you can send below. How do you stay connected with your far-away family? Let us know in the comments.