Handwritten holiday letters to senior citizens

This project wasn’t an art lesson in the traditional sense—but it may be one of my favourites this year.

With my homeroom class, I spent time teaching something increasingly rare: how to write a handwritten letter. Together, we wrote friendly holiday letters to senior citizens living alone in a nearby care home. It was simple yet meaningful.

Writing friendly letters offers so many benefits for kids’ development. It strengthens writing skills such as grammar, punctuation, spelling, and vocabulary, while also supporting reading comprehension as students learn how to communicate clearly with an unseen reader.

Letter writing also encourages reflection and emotional intelligence. Students have to slow down, think about what they want to say, and express their thoughts, feelings, and experiences in a thoughtful way. Writing to a real person—especially someone outside their own age group—fosters empathy and social awareness. They begin to consider another person’s life, experiences, and feelings, and how their words might be received. 

I thrifted all of the Christmas stationary from Goodwill. You know the kind—the holiday letterhead moms used in the 90s to send their annual family Christmas letters. Turns out, since almost no one sends letters anymore, there’s tons of it at thrift stores. I paid no more than $1 per pack, and I have so much leftover for other projects. I also luckily found a pack of red envelopes to complete the look.

We brainstormed ideas together before writing: family traditions, which holidays they celebrate (I have students from all faith backgrounds), favourite winter activities, hobbies, and small moments that bring them joy. For privacy reasons, students didn’t include their real names or school. They drafted their letters first on lined paper, which I proofread, and then chose their favourite stationary to write their final copy. Watching them carefully rewrite their words in pen—slowing down, concentrating, and taking pride in their work—was honestly a joy.

The letters turned out incredibly sweet. Thoughtful. Kind. Genuine.

I hope they bring a smile to the seniors who receive them—and I hope my students remember that their words matter, that connection doesn’t have to be digital, and that sometimes the simplest projects leave the biggest impact.