Chain letters send shivers down my spine. Mostly because in the late ‘80s I was petrified I was going to die in 27 days if I didn’t send a letter to 15 of my friends within a week. Oh, the torture. Especially because I didn’t have 15 friends to send it to. I didn’t sleep on the 26th night and nearly died from exhaustion by the 27th.
It got worse in the ‘90s when I was supposed to send a letter onto 12 friends in a bid to receive 36 pairs of underpants. I received one flimsy white g-string. In the early ‘90s I was in high school. And certainly not wearing g-strings.
Fast forward to yesterday, when I opened the mailbox to see an envelope addressed to Ella. Ordinarily, Ella runs to the letterbox, discovers all the letters and eBay parcels are for me and becomes bitterly disappointed. At age five, to see her own name on a letter was just the best thing since email. Not that she’s ever received an email.
This is what the Sticker Club chain letter said:
Dear Ella
Welcome to the Sticker Club! Please send one pack of stickers to the person listed in the #1 spot. Next, move my name to the #1 spot and put your name in the #2 spot. Then send the letter to six friends.
If you cannot do this in 6 days, please let my mom (yes, it said mom) know because it is not fair to all the other kids who have participated so far. Within 2 weeks, you should receive 36 packs of stickers!! This is a lot of fun and exciting to see where your stickers come from. I also LOVE getting mail, don’t you?
Thanks for participating!
Your friend,
PS. To the parents: Please take the time for this quick project. It is worth it to see the smile on your child’s face when they open their mail.
To make it easier, we have enclosed a blank letter for you to copy. Before you write on it, make 12 copies. One for each of the six friends you are sending it to and six blanks to make it easy for them as it was for you. You only need to buy 1 pack of stickers and 7 stamps.
I have to agree, getting mail really is the best. And to see the excitement on Ella’s face over just a letter, I can’t wait to see what happens when she receives 36 packs of stickers. That’s my kind of chain letter. Apart from the bit where I have to peel 36 packs of stickers off furniture, walls and carpet.
Did you ever do chain letters as a kid? Has your child been involved in any?
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