Inside: the best places to find your Penpals for Teenagers & great ideas to send them once you’ve found one.
Having a pen pal as a teenager can be such a fun experience. It’s basically free (minus the pen, paper, and stamp it takes to write and send a letter), and it has so many awesome benefits for your teen! I know that sounds funny because it’s such a simple thing. But you’d be surprised.
Think about it: having someone across the globe or even in your hometown to write to will help your teen to work on their writing skills. It will allow them to think from an outside perspective, and to reflect on what’s going on in their life. It will help them to slow down. I mean, snail mail alone will help them to improve their patience.
It will bring about more interest in the social aspect of life.
And if their pen pal is from across the world, it will give your teen a glimpse into life in another’s shoes in a way that is hard to achieve.
Letter writing is a dying art. It was used back in the day, but now, what with cell phones, computers, and instant communication, the need for it is basically gone.
There is something much more personal about a handwritten letter that a text cannot even come close to. Plus the fact that it is a physical item that you can hold and feel, is amazing.
Also, having something to look forward to finding in the mail can be such a big change from only getting excited if you ordered something.
Nope, this is something that will hold intellectual meaning, not a materialistic one.
How to Find a Penpal for a Teenager
The most important thing to keep in mind when on the hunt for a pen pal to write to your teen is safety. You do not want to be giving your address out to strangers all willy-nilly, and you definitely don’t want this person to be rude or untrustworthy. It can be hard to figure these things out about a person but luckily there are so many reputable pen pal sites that can take the middle man out of the way.
I’ve included the sites below to help get you started but when looking for your teens penpal I highly suggest having them there with you to pick. After all, they are the ones that will be writing to them!
Some things to have your teen keep in mind when deciding on a person are:
- Are they similar in age?
- Do they share similar interests?
When you keep these things in mind, you will absolutely find a great pal to write back and forth with. So without further ado, down below are the sites for you to start your pen-palling journey. There are many different sites to choose from, so if one doesn’t fit your fancy then try the next one.
Best Pen Pal Sites for Teens
1. PenPal World
2. Compatipal
4. Worldwide Snail Mail Pen Pals
5. Wanderful
6. PenPal.me
7. PenpalsNow
Free Pen Pals for Students
Finding a student pen pal, in my opinion, is the easiest and safest option. These sites are set up so that you can find other students that are in similar age brackets and interests, and so you can have all of the cool conversations about your likes and dislikes as you so please! Here are 4 free sites to look at & pick whichever speaks to you the most.
11. Circle of Friends for Girls
12. Kids for Peace
Pen Pals for Students Around the World
If you are looking for a more global route, then these next three may be the sites for you. These are dedicated to connecting students from across the globe. It can be so eye-opening for your teen to learn about what it’s like for kids their age in different parts of the world, and there is no better way to do that than by receiving handwritten letters!
So take a look and choose whichever site feels right for you.
15. ePals
3 Things to Make your Letters Extra Fancy
When writing your letters (physically at least), there are so many ways that you can add things to spiff them up. I only included 3 things but I figure that these will get your creative juices flowing and you’ll come up with more ideas if you so desire.
16. Stationery Kit – Writing on fancy paper and sending it in a matching envelope is a sure-fire way to make this whole process feel that much more special!
17. Calligraphy Pens – If you want to practice your calligraphy while you practice your communication, then you’ll definitely want to pick up these calligraphy pens. They make all the difference!
18. Dried Flowers from Where You Live – This one can really bring your letter up a notch. You simply pick flowers from around your house or neighborhood, dry them(this can be done by pressing them between a paper towel and something heavy, then microwaving them in 30-second intervals until it’s dry), and then include them in your next letter. Not only is this person going to be getting a physical letter from you, but a little piece of the land you live on too. How cool!
And there are our favorite penpals ideas for your teenagers to help them get started with finding the perfect pen pal! With some patience, you will be off and running. W
ell, it’s really more of a light walk…but that is part of the beauty of it. Oh, snail mail, how we appreciate you in all of your hilariously slow glory.
More Creative Ideas For Your Teens
- 21 BEST ADVENTURE BOOKS FOR TEENS – If your teen likes to write, chances are they also enjoy a good read. So take a look at this list of 21 of the best adventure books on the market. These will scoop you up out of your normal everyday life and place you into the most epic adventures. We can’t all be runaway pirates, but we can sure pretend to be for the length of a good book!
- 39 CREATIVE JOURNAL IDEAS FOR TEENS – Do you love to journal and have hit a wall in terms of what to write next? Well do not worry, I got your back! I know better than anyone the struggles of not knowing what to write about, it can be so hard to come up with ideas and topics. So I thought I would help you out a bit and so I made a list of 39 Creative Journal Ideas for teens. This way, you don’t have to sit in that dreaded writer’s block, you can write your way right through it.
- 27 ART KITS FOR TEENS THAT THEY’LL LOVE – Since we are on the topic of more artistic and creative endeavors, I thought I’d show you this list of 27 art kits that your teens will love! These can also be so helpful when creating your letter to send to your pen pal, the more thoughtful and put together it is the more special it will feel. These kits are amazing and have basically everything you need starting out as a teen artist. And they are conveniently in some very cute packaging! What more could you possibly want? So take a look and get yours today.
I am Natalie, the eldest sister of two teens. I hope to bring not only a fresh outer perspective but an internal one as well when writing here.