Whenever we have school holidays coming up, I always try and order at least one new book for Anya.  It’s just something I started doing a while ago but now it’s become a holiday habit.  The holidays have somehow become my prompt to get her some new books and with half term coming up next week, I went looking.  I don’t always get a story book but it can be an activity book, a joke book, an art book or anything that looks interesting and will keep her occupied for a while.

On my search I discovered Letters to my Future Self.  This obviously isn’t a typical book but it’s 12 old fashioned air mail style letters all bound together like a book.  The idea is that you write letters to your future self.  Each of the 12 letters contains a simple but thought-provoking prompt like ‘I promise to myself…’ or ‘It was an extraordinary day…’ Once the letters are written, they are sealed with stickers that come with the book and stashed away for you to open in years to come.  What a lovely idea.

At first glance this may not seem like a book for kids but I think it absolutely is.  As long as your kids are old enough to write sentences, they can use this book so I’m thinking around 7+ years would be the lower age but I don’t think there is an upper age limit.   And the really special part for them will be opening it in years to come.  I haven’t given Letters to my Future Self to Anya yet but I plan to get her to write one letter every few months starting in her holidays next week and imagine the joy of opening them when she is 18 or even older.  I’m even thinking of getting one for myself.  How fun to open the letters in 10 or 15 years time although it will be hard not to resist a peek sooner.  And because the letters are all beautifully bound in a book, you’re not in danger of losing them – I know I would have lost them otherwise.

I’m also thinking this book would make a great gift for kids, teenagers and adults alike.  It’s an unusual gift that is such a great keepsake and even something to hand down over generations.  My UK readers can find Letters to my Future Self here and my US readers can find it here.

P.S. If you’d like some more inspiration, here’s a list of some great activity books for kids.