Open When Letters: Ideas, How to, Prompts & More!

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When it comes to going away gifts that are sweet AND thoughtful, nothing takes the cake more than “Open When Letters”, which I would honestly classify as one of the most thoughtful gifts of all time.

These packs of letters (pretty much care packages on steroids) are not only easy to assemble, but a lot of fun to make, and a perfect chance to spoil a loved one who might be going away. Over the years, I’ve made a few of these and they have always garnered me brownie points to last for years.

So, if you too would like to collect brownie points (or perhaps just make a loved one’s day over and over), this guide on Open When Letters will tell you everything you need to know, from what they are, how to make them, and of course, plenty of creative ideas on what to fill them with!

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First: What are Open When Letters?

Open When Letters are a delightfully simple and genius gift idea. I’ve been obsessed with them ever since I knew how to work a Pinterest account, and have made them a few times over the years to great success.

Long story short, Open When Letters are special letters that you give to a loved one that are meant to be opened for specific occasions. All of them say “Open this when…”, and will be filled with some kind of cute note, mini-gift, etc. for the recipient when they need it. This of course creates the most adorable care package of all-time, and is a great go-to gift for someone who might be going away for a while, whether that’s for a job, study abroad, or moving.

Open When Letters: How to (Step by Step!)

So, if you want to create your own set of Open When letters, here’s a tutorial for you.

Honestly, creating Open When letters is a really simple process, mainly because you can literally be as extra as you want, or keep it as simple as you want. To create your own set of Open When letters, just follow these steps and you’ll be golden:

  1. Decide how many you want to do. You should start first by deciding how many of these Open When envelopes you want to make. There’s no real rule here, but I would say a dozen is a nice number. You can always do more or less, but I personally wouldn’t do less than 6.
  2. Write out the different envelopes you’re going to do and write out a shopping list. Before you shop/scavenge for your materials, you should get a list down. Take each envelope you plan to make and create a plan for them. You can get some ideas for prompts/envelope fillings below, but you should definitely know what you’re putting into each envelope before you go shopping!
  3. Get your envelopes. The size here really doesn’t matter but I prefer “Fatter” envelopes that can fit more stuff. Cute colours/patterns are preferred, but even plain white ones will do. You can always decorate them yourself later! Of course, make sure you get the right number of envelopes for how many you plan to do.
  4. Get some decorative materials/envelope fillings. Some ideas might be stickers, stamps, fun pens, craft paper, really small/light candies, etc.
  5. Get a box to store all your Open When letters. This is a step a lot of people forget about! What do you actually do with those Open When letters when they’re all done? Any box will do (a shoebox might actually be perfect for this purpose) but make sure you have a box that can handle all your sentimental adorableness
  6. Create the letters. Again, I have plenty of cute ideas for your below. The goal here is to make everything as personal as possible. The best Open When letters are the ones that nobody would “get” apart from the recipient. Load it up with inside jokes and ridiculousness! The more personal the better.
  7. Create a little “Instruction Sheet”. There are no actual ‘Open When Letter rules’, but it might be cute to create a little manual for your gift, in case the recipient isn’t familiar with the concept of Open When letters. A few things to include: let them know this box of letters is for when they miss you, tell them each letter is meant for a specific purpose and they should only open each letter one at a time when the moment is right! Lastly, also remind them to not open more than one per day ; )
  8. Send your box. Whether you’re shipping the letters or just dropping them off yourself, this is the last step! Get your box ready for the recipient and ship it off… Happy tears will surely ensue.

What to Put in Open When Letters

This is the fun part! Once again, I have to re-iterate that there aren’t really rules when it comes to Open When letters… you can make them completely your own, and this is definitely one of those instances where effort counts for more than anything else.

Of course, filling up a dozen, twenty, or more (good for you!) envelopes is a daunting task, so if you need some inspiration on what to put inside your open when letters, here are a few to get you started…

Open When Letter Ideas for Your Boyfriend/Girlfriend

If you’re wondering what to put in Open When Letters for a boyfriend or girlfriend, here are some cute, funny and romantic ideas:

  • Open when you’ve just arrived: A cute photo of you two that they can put up
  • Open when you need a laugh: An embarrassing photo of you two, a photo of you in an embarrassing outfit they love but you hate, an inside joke only you two would get, a funny memory, printed funny memes
  • Open when you’re starving: snacks, instant mashed potatoes (yes I did this once!!), a gift card for a food place
  • Open when you need caffeine: instant coffee sachets, a coffee shop gift card
  • Open when you miss me: A bunch of kisses (chocolate or lipstick marks on paper), cute photos of you, a note that simply says “Don’t whine. I obviously miss you more”, a YouTube URL with your song
  • Open when you are sad: A silly photo of you, a bad joke, a heartfelt reminder that everything will be okay
  • Open when you feel lonely: A list of “things I love about you”, a bunch of cute “remember when” memories written on different slips of paper
  • Open when you are bored: a pack of origami paper with instructions, a photo of you two that you’ve cut up into a puzzle
  • Open when you’re sick: a pack of instant soup mix, tissues, cough drops
  • Open when you miss how I smell: a little paper with a spritz of your perfume/cologne, or even better, a tiny sample of your preferred perfume or cologne
  • Open when you need a taste of home: some kind of little snack you can only get where you’re from
  • Open when you feel homesick: A cute postcard from your partner’s home signed by all your loved ones
  • Open when you need motivation: a bunch of motivational quotes from their heroes, a fun mini pep talk written by you
  • Open when you’re craving something sweet: their favourite candy, hot chocolate mix
  • Open when you want to spice things up: a mini-packet of hot sauce + a saucy photo of you!
  • Open when you miss my voice: record a voice message for them telling them how much you love them and upload it onto Google Drive. Write out that URL (or generate a QR code!) with that link and put it in the envelope
  • Open when you miss my jokes: funny (or not so funny) jokes

Open When Letter Ideas for Your Best Friend

  • Open when you’re so tired you might die: Instant coffee packs, gift card for coffee shop
  • Open when you get munchies: snacks, instant mashed potatoes (yes I did this once!!), a gift card for a food place
  • When your love life is faltering: photos of their celebrity crush, clip-outs from embarrassing Cosmo articles
  • Open when you’re down: embarrassing photos of you (or you both), motivational quotes, cute animal photos, memes, a sweet memento
  • Open when you need a taste of home: some kind of little snack you can only get where you’re from
  • Open when you are bored: a pack of origami paper with instructions, a photo of you two that you’ve cut up into a puzzle
  • Open when you feel homesick: A cute postcard from your friend’s home signed by all their loved ones, a keychain from home
  • Open when you need a throwback: Cute childhood pics, funny photos from when you were younger
  • Open when you’re stressed: Gift card to a bar, mini stress-ball, bubble bath mix, face mask, bubble wrap
  • Open when you need a boost: $10 bill telling them to treat themselves, candy, instant coffee packs
  • Open when you wanna dance: a YouTube URL of their favourite dance jam + mini glowsticks
  • Open when you need dating advice: cheesy pick-up lines, silly pieces of advice/words of wisdom
  • Open when you miss my jokes: funny (or not so funny) jokes
  • Open when you’re sick: a pack of instant soup mix, tissues, cough drops
  • Open when you need an “us” night: bag of popcorn, Netflix movie URL of your favourite movie you love to hate, margarita mix

Open When Letter Ideas for Your Mom/Dad

  • Open when you want to remember how cute I am: ugly photos of you, cute photos from your childhood
  • Open when you miss my hugs and kisses: chocolate hugs and kisses, a photo of you giving a smooch to the camera
  • Open when you miss me: Photos of you together, memories written out on slips of paper, a list of funny memories
  • Open when you’re worried about me: a note that just says “mom/dad, I’m fine” or better yet, a photo of you holding up a sign that says that
  • Open when you’re stressed: bubble wrap, bubble bath mix, gift card for a bar
  • Open when you’re sick: a pack of instant soup mix, tissues, cough drops
  • Open when you need a pick-me-up: instant coffee, coffee gift card
  • Open when you miss cooking for me: a selfie of you eating your mom/dad’s signature dish

I hope you enjoyed this guide to Open When Letters!

Let me know in the comments if you have any more questions. Happy gifting!

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