What Do You Put In An Open When Envelope?

openwhenenvelopes

We’ve all seen the very sweet “Open When” letters idea, where you send your other half a series of letters to open in different situations (Open When You’re Sad, Open When You Miss Me, ect,.) but I haven’t been able to find out what people have put inside them! So here is what I put inside my Open When envelopes, plus a few more ideas 😉

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In the “Open When it’s your birthday” envelope I included a letter as well as a dollar store birthday boy pin and a few balloons that I had blown up, written sweet messages on and then deflated so that he’d have a balloon bouquet of sweet messages when he blew them up on his birthday 🙂

openwhenmissme

In my “Open When You Miss Me” envelope I included a letter and some printed photos of the two of us 🙂

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This one’s a little sexy ;). In my “Open When You’re Horny” envelope (what?) I included a sexy non-PG letter along with a couple of R-rated photos that I printed off the internet and glued my face on the bodies, more for a laugh than anything :p. Funny enough I did such a good face pasting job that I almost got myself in trouble! My boy said he was about to call me up and demand to know who took these photos of me, but then he realized what it was and thought it was hilarious. Phew! haha

openwhenmad

In my “Open When You’re Mad At Me” envelope (which has not yet been opened, woohoo :p), I included a letter as well as a handful of kisses (of the chocolate variety). Nothing like kisses and chocolate to mend a lovers spat ;).

openwhenstressed

In my “Open When You’re Stressed” envelope I included a letter along with a square of bubble wrap and instructions stapled on that say “For immediate stress relief: pop 3 capsules as needed. And remember that I ❤ you!”

openwhensmile

In my “Open When You Need To Smile” envelope I included a homemade card with a very beautiful and heartfelt poem on it: “Roses are red, But sometimes they’re thorny, When you’re around me I get sorta… (open card) … corny. Shame on you! I know what you were thinking.” I also included a couple inside jokes on the inside of it.

openwhenbored

And last but certainly not least, this envelope took a LONG time and alot of planning but it was so worth it cause he loved it :). For my “Open When You’re Bored” envelope I sent my man on a long distance scavenger hunt. For a while I worked clues into letters/presents/postcards I sent him and by following the clues in this envelope he was able to find a hidden key that would unlock the box inside this envelope. Plus, there were some good surprises along the way so he wouldn’t skip ahead! 😉

For a full tutorial on how I made this LDR Scavenger Hunt check out this post:

https://ldr13.wordpress.com/ldr-scavenger-hunt/

Some More Ideas:

I think this would be really sweet to include in an “Open When You’re Having A Bad Day” / “When You Need Some Hope/Faith/Courage” envelope.

takewhatuneed

A cootie catcher would make a sweet addition to an “Open When You Need To Know How Much I Love You” envelope; include 8 sweet love notes (one under each flap).

Incase you’ve forgotten how to make one, never fear! Here are some easy-to-follow instructions: http://www.wikihow.com/Make-a-Cootie-Catcher-(Origami-Fortune-Teller)

cootiecatcher

Another “Open When You Need To Know How Much I Love You” idea could be to make them a Youtube video or write up a nice blog post about them and include the link. Programs that I’ve used that worked well (and are free to download!) are VideoPad Video Editor and Youtube Movie Maker.

Any chamomile or sleepytime tea will work for this but you could go that step further and make these hand-sewn heart-shaped teabags, or these love letter teabags for an “Open When You Can’t Sleep” envelope. As an alternative you could include something like a relaxing playlist on cd or a pocket-sized book or printed story they’d like.

Heart teabags tutorial: http://home-shoppe.squarespace.com/blog/2013/1/27/youre-my-cup-of-tea-diy-heart-shaped-tea-bags

heartteabag fb05e17e71ecdcf54cf186d1c802f72f

“Open When you’re having a guys night” – certificates or money for pizza and/or beer, and/or a burned copy of a guys movie.

“Open When you’re having a girls night”- facemasks and/or money/certificates for snacks/wine/movie theatre and/or a burned copy of a chick flick.

In an “Open When Things Are Falling Apart” envelope include this adorable love note/photo puzzle, so that your loved one can put the pieces back together.

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In an “Open When You Need a Reminder” envelope you could include a thoughtful keychain that would remind them of you, or a swatch sprayed with your perfume.

keychain

In an “Open When You’re Feeling Grumpy” envelope, include their favourite candy. Favourite junk food always cheers people up!

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The possibilities for this are endless!

Giftcards (iTunes, coffee shop, movie theatre, spa, gas card, ect,.) open up tons of possibilities just in themselves, but make sure your sweetie has the service near them and can use the giftcard where they are (if they’re in another country for example). iTunes and Starbucks are a couple giftcards that I know can be used overseas :).

Examples:

“Open When You Need Some Romance” -iTunes giftcard with a written playlist, or a link to a youtube playlist you’ve made for them

“Open When You’re Homesick” or “Open When You Need Me” -gas card/train ticket/bus ticket (if they are away on base or at school they could drive home, or if they are driving distance from you and have a car they could come see you).

Anything small and meaningful make ideal little keepsakes to put in such an envelope. I will likely add to this list as I see things and I’d love to hear your ideas! Have you ever sent/received Open When letters? How did they go over? Leave some words! 🙂

Also feel free to check out my Pinterest for a million LDR ideas:

And come join me and make some new friends on the Long Distance Love Facebook Page 🙂

https://www.facebook.com/theLDRdiaries13

88 thoughts on “What Do You Put In An Open When Envelope?

  1. I love this! I’m just starting to work on open when letters and was getting a little anxious about trying to figure them all out. Thanks for the awesome ideas! ❤

    1. You’re very welcome! I’m sure your boy will love them 🙂 Also feel free to add any new ideas you come up with, I’m thinking of sending my sweetie a few more if I can come up with some good new ones 🙂

      1. I’m also doing one that “Open when you can’t sleep” and I’m making him a sleepy time playlist.

    1. that’s awesome, I’m sure they will love it 🙂 I just sent my two best girlfriends a “box of sunshine” care package full of girly things where everything in the box is yellow. Another idea I found thanks to pinterest!

  2. This is perfect! I’m making it for my boyfriend while I’m on a long vacation and can’t talk to him that much so this will be perfect!! thank u for the ideas inside cause I didn’t know what to put in some((;

  3. I did an “open when you miss my perfume” envelope and I included a small letter and small sample bottles of my favourite perfume for him to spray on a teddy bear I gave him 🙂

    1. That’s a good idea 🙂 I often go to the drugstore and spray my boyfriend’s cologne on a perfume card and carry it around with me. The smell always makes me instantly happy

  4. Loved this! My boyfriend of a year is going off to school twelve hours away in the fall and I wanted to do open when letters, but no one else showed what they put on the inside, so thanks so much for these great ideas!

    1. I had the same problem trying to find-out what you could put in them so I was hoping this would be useful to others, so happy you like the ideas 🙂

  5. Thank you girly ! I love them . im so anxious and excited to work on this project! his birthday is on the 18th of september and we’re getting engaged on the 19th ! Im so excited ! 🙂

    1. I’m also such a sentimental person so I love making all kinds of super mushy, romantic gifts 🙂

      You’re so welcome, glad I could be of help! The rest of the blog is full of similar ideas, thanks for stopping by.

  6. Thanks for getting my brain spinning on ideas! I’m putting together small packets of these for some special people in an assisted living center, and some relatives who are going through hard times. I am including beautiful scenery photos I took along with bible verses. I wanted a little more to go with it and your ideas have got me thinking. Thanks!

  7. These are so cute and are such a good idea! Ive never seen them before. My husband and i just got married not even a month ago and i always leave him little post it notes around the house and when i make him lunch for work but i wanted to step it up but didn’t know what to do. Im gonna give these to him as a Christmas present since i wanted to give him small sentimental things besides the actual present. Thanks for posting this i love them!

    1. I love leaving cute notes too, sometimes ill leave a post-it note on the underside of the toilet seat cause I know he will see it soon hahah.

      I’m sure he will love your present, you’re very welcome!

  8. This may seem creepy commenting however many months later, but I just came across your post 🙂 Recently I just heard about this idea and thought that it would be a fabulous & unique Christmas present for my best friend. However, like many, I ran into the dilemma of not knowing what to put inside the envelopes! Thank you for your ideas as they will be quite useful!! I can’t wait to start these tomorrow.

    1. Once upon a time I ran into the same problem; I saw these envelopes pop up everywhere and nowhere could I find what you might put inside one, so I thought I would just have to do some thinking and share my ideas as surely other people were looking for the same thing. Fortunately, I was right. So happy you’ve found this useful 🙂

  9. This is so great! I was literally struggling because I saw this idea all over Pinterest, but no ideas on what to actually put inside them. So thank you so much. I decided to do mini boxes (you know the tiny colored Chinese take out boxes people use as party favors sometime) because I put little treats inside, too. So like I put an “open when you’ve just finished a work out” and then I add a little Slim Jim in it as a little pun haha. And “open when you’re sick and put a cough drop in it. So I kinda put my own little spin to it. But I’m definitely using the bubble wrap. That makes anyone’s day better!

  10. This is incredible! I will let you know if i think of any more catchy ideas but man you are an amazing girl friend!

  11. So glad I found this! (Even if it is a lil late!) I’m lucky enough to have my boyfriend living 20 minutes from me (big props to all of you in LDR!) but, he’s very romantic and loves me being soppy – I’m not normally very good at it so I like to write down how I’m feeling. These letters were perfect but I never knew what to include, thank you so much for this! Hopefully giving them to him on Valentines Day 😀

  12. What a fun idea. Absolutely LOVE the heart tea bag idea! I’m curious of what made you think of doing it? Are you and your man often separated?
    And thanks for finding and following me!
    Love,
    Aimée

    1. Hi Aimee, I saw the heart teabag idea on Pinterest and had to do it. It’s a bit time consuming but it isn’t hard and they are just so adorable! I love hearts. My man and I live 3,000 miles apart (Him in England, me in Canada… we met online 2 years ago). But good news, I am moving to be with him in April! I can’t wait!! You’re welcome for the follow, I’m excited to read more of your posts. Love, Alanna

  13. This was SO much help! I have been stuck trying to figure out things besides letters to put in my envelopes. I LOVE the bubble wrap idea. My man is a truck driver and is gone 90% of the time, so I think this will be the perfect Valentine’s gift for when he starts missing home.

  14. i need help with what to put in mine for my boyfriend!
    Heres the envolopes i have and what i have so far.
    * Open When you first get these letters:(Gonna write him along letterfor this one.)
    * Open When you need a laugh: (wrote down a bunch of jokes and printed funny pictures.
    * Open When you’re thinking of me.
    * Open When you need a smile.
    * Open When itsyour birthday: (got a free movie on your birthday ticket and gonna get a card.want more for this one.)
    * Open When You are lonely:
    * Open When You get a bad grade:
    * Open When Youfeel like giving up. (Thinking about a letter and quotes for this one.)
    * Open When you are stressed.
    * Open When you are happy
    * Open When you need a hug. (pop up hug card?)
    * Open When its Valentines Day: (cheesy kids valentines)
    * Open When youre having a bad day.
    * Open When youre feeling nervous
    * Open When you cant sleep: (Bedtime story?)
    * Open When its our anniversary. (hershey kisses. )
    * Open When your angry (Chill pills -> Tic Tacs with changed label.)
    * Open When Youre bored. (puzzles? brain teasers)
    * Open When you want a kiss. (hershey kisses and printed lips.)
    * Open When youre feeling sad

  15. LDR thanks so much for the ideas this was so helpful. I wanted to do something for my boyfriend who will be away for few months and was looking for something fun and creative like the open when letters but just wasn’t sure what to put inside them. This was very helpful please keep sharing fun new ideas. I love them.

  16. This site may also be helpful: http://www.ldrmagazine.com/blog/2014/02/20/35-inspiring-open-letters-made/

    Thanks for you’re great ideas! Other ideas:
    Open when you need a night out: movie tickets, bowling night, etc.
    Open when you have guys night: not sure what to put.
    Open when you want to game: xbox points or ps3 points or something.

    Maybe do another thing with fake coupons that they can use for you. Like a coupon to use so they can pick the movie. Or a coupon they can use for a homemade dinner. Something like that that they can use through out the year!
    I’m making my envelopes today and I can’t wait for Saturday for Valentine’s Day!
    I also bought a cute Valentine’s Day themed box for him to put all the envelopes into!

    1. For open when you have a guys night I’d put in money for beer, or a certificate to the liquor store or pizza shop. Or a dvd they’d like that wouldn’t be my cup of tea 😉

  17. Oh and another could be
    Open when you want to remember our first kiss/date/etc. Include a description of how you felt that day and describe the place it happened.
    Or open when you want to remember the day we met.

  18. Thank you so much for this! I’ve been wanting to do these for awhile for my boyfriend but never knew what to put in them. Now I can get started!

    1. You’re so welcome! I ran into the same problem a while back so I made up my own and figured there must be others looking for ideas too 🙂 Goodluck with your envelopes, I’m sure your man will love it. xx

  19. Thank you so much for sharing what you put inside these, I have known about them for ages but never known what to put in them, you really helped thank you so much , I am making these for my friends birthday now 🙂

  20. thank you so much for the great ideas. I’ve been thinking for awhile on how to do them, but i finally can get started

  21. Oh my gosh, you saved me! I have had this idea for a while, and my boyfriends birthday is on the 7th of June :O and I saw this and was like – OH MER GURD I can finally do it because I have ideas! I bought some rainbow envelopes and are nearly done, I had an idea for ‘Open when you can’t sleep, and its a bedtime story and some instant hot chocolate.. =3
    Thanks for the help!

  22. I’ve been trying to find more of these! My fiance is deploying this January and I have over 100 made so far! I’m so excited to add more! Thanks for posting!

  23. I took a twist on this and made a set for my (about to be) 20 year old son, who is out on his own. I included them in a box of birthday goodies to be sent to him, including a few birthday gifts plus some party supplies, so he can celebrate with his friends!

    Here is what I included in mine…”Open When…”:
    ~You miss Mom: a letter of “100 things I want him to know as he ventures off into the world” (it’s 4 typed pages long!)
    ~You miss your family: family photo, a few handwritten family memories
    ~You are stressed: the bubble pop “pills”
    ~You need encouragement: scriptures of encouragement
    ~You need to smile/laugh: jokes…stupid, silly ones…LOTS of them and a QR code to a Youtube playlist with songs that should pick anyone up (“Don’t Worry, Be Happy”, etc.)
    ~You’re mad at someone: a forgiveness letter to himself
    ~You are bored: a photo scavenger hunt checklist with instructions to email them to me and a scratch off lottery ticket
    ~You’re having a bad day: the “Take what you need” printout
    ~You need to know you’re loved: a cootie catcher that has sentiments of love, “to our son” style
    ~You can’t sleep: sleepytime tea and a QR code to a Youtube soothing playlist

    Photo of the envelopes here: http://s6.postimg.org/d0u7xjcdb/2015_08_22_Open_When_Envelopes_Birthday_Box002a.jpg

    Thanks for the idea!!!

      1. Yes it is by farrr my most popular atticle on this blog. So happy that so many people are using this to make someones day 🙂

  24. I’m not supposed to have a boyfriend but I do and his birthday is coming up. We have only been dating for 1 month. I want to do something sweet for him but still keep it a secret from my parents.
    Should I do the open when letters or no?

  25. Love these ideas! Thank you. I also added some!

    To compliment the “Open When” letters, I made a “Play Me When…” CD:
    -The first track said “Play When You Miss Me” and it’s a recording of me talking to him telling him how much I love him and miss him too.
    -Track 2 is “Play When You Need a Laugh” which has a recording of Taylor Swift interrupted by a screaming goat (a video that never fails to make him laugh).
    -Track 3 is “Play Me When You Can’t Sleep” and it’s a really long relaxing song to help him sleep. (It’s a 20 minute loop of Kingdom Heart’s “Dearly Beloved” I downloaded from YouTube)
    -Track 4 is “Play When Yoh Need to Know How Much I Love You” and it’s a love song that describes exactly how I feel about him.

  26. THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!!
    My boyfriend and ny best friend are moving because of the university and I was planning to make then some of these letters but I didn’t know what to do. Thanks for the ideas ^^

  27. I love your idea. Thanks. I m trying to add some ideas along with yours and give it to my boyfriend. I love him a lot. I hope he will like it.

  28. I’m doing these right now for my man who is away from home and one of them I put open when your missing home…the. I put pictures of the house insid. I also burn a lot of tarts in my house so I took a piece of burlap and sprayed it with cinnamon swirl room spray that way the letter smells like home….

  29. Thank you for these ideas. I’m going to make these for a friend that is moving to care for her terminally ill son. She wants to stay positive & I’m hoping these will help her through difficult times ahead. This has my head spinning with other ideas.
    Rest- melatonin & a bed time story or camomile tea
    Energy- vitamin B & a Starbucks gift card
    Recipes could also be included.

    1. I’m very sorry to hear about your friend. I’m sure she will be very appreciative of your thoughts and effort. That’s a very kind thing for you to do. You’re very welcome for the ideas! Best wishes x

  30. Oh my gosh thank you so much. I was struggling with this for a while, I’m going to use some of your ideas, if thats okay. These are really cute ideas.

  31. This is amazing! I’m currently working on some “open when” letters and I thought about doing a “don’t look inside” letter 😂😂 but I can’t think of a way to pull it off😂. But I really thought this was a great idea and very helpful. Thank you!

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