The sound of post dropping onto the doormat is a lovely one – especially when you know it’s cards, not bills. That’s how good news should arrive – with the satisfying rattle of the letterbox. And not, we hasten to add, with the automated ping of your inbox.
Yes, it’s tempting to send circular emails, updating friends and family on your year. But emails and texts are how we communicate for business. For work, for deliveries of groceries or to tell someone we’re running late. It’s worth keeping that division between the everyday and the personal at this special time of year.
Aside from the emotional warmth, there are scientific reasons behind why writing letters and cards is important. From the earliest age, our brains process ideas differently we put pen to paper. We consider and then remember things more vividly when we write them down. That’s why children still need to learn to write each letter at a time, not type on a keyboard.