So, who wants to help me surprise my kid?

[Silver Fire]

(I emailed Tuba in advance to green light this thread.)

Alex, who is 8, asked me the other day if he could use some tape. A few minutes later he asked me to come see his mailbox. It's a piece of notebook paper folded nearly in half, puffed out just a bit, and then taped to his door. At that time it said "Alex's mail" and nothing else. I suggested he decorate it a bit and he came back with this (http://s1119.photobucket.com/albums/k638/sarahbee42/?action=view&current=mail.jpg). Click through that album for pictures of him at an event we went to in the summer.

You can see in that photo that I've tucked an envelope in there already, addressed to "Alex James, Bedroom Down the Hall" from "Mom, Living Room," and I think he'll like it (he'll pretend he doesn't; it's a mushy "I love you so much!! Blah blah blah..." note) but it's not really mail and that's where you guys come in.

If you are interested in sending a boy you've never met some mail!!! (a postcard or short note or something?) for no other reason than because he wants some mail!!! and you happen to post at the same board as his mom, shoot me a PM for an address. Thanks!

[IvoryTowerDenizen]

I'm in! What is he interested in?

I'll send you a PM shortly. What a fun idea! We just got back from Florida and I've a few unused postcards...

[jali]

Sent PM

[Heart of Dorkness]

Heck yeah! PM comin' atcha.

[PapSett]

PM coming... is he an animal lover at all?

[Sunspace]

I'm in. PM on the way.

[Butterscotch]

What fun! PM sent.

[constanze]

PM sent.

[Ephemera]

I already sent him mail.

[Silver Fire]

I already sent him mail.
You need to quit changing your damn name. :p

You guys are fantastic. Let's see... what's he interested in? Zombies. Planes. He has some postcards with jets on them signed by pilots from the last air show we went to hanging on his wall, right next to some big rig trading cards my dad used to give him sometimes so semis also. He likes the military (camo, tanks, military aircraft). He will NEVER ADMIT that he likes the Care Bears and watches the Big Wish movie with his little brother all the time. Animals, yes. Lego. Pirates. Star Wars (he likes the original movies better than the newer ones). Cars, esp. older cars and esp. older Mustangs. Scenery. He likes big cities at night. I have a postcard of the Strip at night and Lake Mead and he asks me all the time if he can have them.

OMG, this is going to be so fun. I'm going to answer PMs now!

[phall0106]

I just sent you a PM. Hallboy and I are in!

[blondebear]

PM sent

[Rushgeekgirl]

I have a seven year old girl who would love to make and send him a card!

[grama]

Sounds like fun

[twickster]

He likes big cities at night. I have a postcard of the Strip at night and Lake Mead and he asks me all the time if he can have them.

Should be able to dig up one for Philly. PM sent.

[bengangmo]

I have a seven year old girl who would love to make and send him a card!

My seven year old girl is in also - how about we get the two 7 yr old girls to exchange letters? Practise their writing skills, and there is nothing quite so much fun as getting mail.

Mine got a (very late) letter from Santa today and was very happy about it.

I think with the culture differences (we live in Singapore) the girls could learn much from each other...drop me a PM?

[IvoryTowerDenizen]

My postcard is ready and will go out tomorrow! I'm also mailing an envelope with a little giveaway from the local bank. It's a paper snowman that's embedded with flower seeds. You can plant the snowman in a pot or garden and you should get flowers!

[King Bobo]

I too would like to surprise your son.

Count me in!

[Duckster]

PM sent.

[Lady Grey]

PM sent. Fun!

[ZipperJJ]

You guys are fantastic. Let's see... what's he interested in? Zombies. Planes. He has some postcards with jets on them signed by pilots from the last air show we went to hanging on his wall, right next to some big rig trading cards my dad used to give him sometimes so semis also. He likes the military (camo, tanks, military aircraft). He will NEVER ADMIT that he likes the Care Bears and watches the Big Wish movie with his little brother all the time. Animals, yes. Lego. Pirates. Star Wars (he likes the original movies better than the newer ones). Cars, esp. older cars and esp. older Mustangs. Scenery. He likes big cities at night. I have a postcard of the Strip at night and Lake Mead and he asks me all the time if he can have them.

Oh well, I completely missed the mark and sent him a card with dogs on it and some animal stickers. At least animals were mentioned briefly lol

[Silver Fire]

Umm, stickers are ALWAYS awesome. I'm so excited, you guys!

[Lancia]

Way cool idea. PM sent.

[Duckster]

Will go out in the mail tomorrow. Check your PM.

[blondebear]

My postcard is on its way.

[TheTerribleTako]

Mine is in the mail as well.

[brujaja]

Mine too.

By the way, what the heck kind of event was that anyway, in the photos? It looked awesome! I especially loved the (presumably) glow-in-the-dark finger puppets.




Oh wow, he likes older mustangs? You didn't mention that he was a genius! :cool:

[Silver Fire]

That was Outbreak: Omega 4, the "zombie shoot", an event sponsored by a local company called DPMS Panther Arms which manufactures AR-15s and accessories/parts. The event is geared toward adults who basically pretend that there were zombies and then they were contained and then containment was broken and now we're all effed. Some guys go all out and dress in full military gear and get squads together and what not. Others just dress however, grab their weapons, and show up. Alex, as you saw, wore his Nerf tactical vest and lugged Nerf guns around all day. It's a just for fun (i.e., non-scored) shooting competition and it is fantastic. At the end they have a pig roast, which was delicious, and beer and live entertainment and people camp but we didn't.

I brought Alex because... well, I thought he would think it was awesome. I was worried about bringing a kid to that sort of thing because it is an adult event and maybe these guys use it to get AWAY from their own kids, you know? But he was very well received. The DPMS guys were thrilled to have him and asked me to bring him back again this year, he got free stuff from vendors (t-shirts, zombie targets, patches, those finger puppets, whatever) just for being cool, just about everybody stopped to snap his picture at some point, he got 100,000 positive comments/thumbs up/whatever, he was photographed and interviewed by a magazine and a newspaper, and he won the "Best Dressed" competition (awarded by audience applause which was THUNDEROUS and ridiculous and it made me cry with incredible pride and happiness because he was so happy) which was awesome but cost me $300 because the prize was a gift certificate in that amount for DPMS which has absolutely nothing of value for a kid.

It was one of the coolest days we've ever had.

[Silver Fire]

FedEx just dropped off Alex's first package, from Atlanta!

[Bookkeeper]

PM sent.

It's too late for this year, but if he likes getting mail you might want to sign him up for next year's Christmas Cards for Doper Kids. (http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=632482)

[Silver Fire]

Somebody mentioned that in a PM. I can't believe I missed it!

[Silver Fire]

I can't believe I missed it... FIVE TIMES. WTH? :smack:

[brujaja]

Don't forget to come back and tell us how he reacted. I just love hearing stories like that.

[Silver Fire]

He came home that day and saw a package with his name on it and said, "Hey, what's this? Who's [sender]?" So I had to tell him what I've done. He got all excited, put up his "Rock on!" metal hands, and said "This is going to be AWESOME!"

He really liked his first package. It had a typed note in it (typed, it was explained, because the sender's handwriting is HORRIBLE!) that made him laugh.

We got a box full of mail today and none of it is addressed to me, so today should be fun for him.

[Silver Fire]

"Ooh, Seattle! That's a pretty sunset, huh Mom?"

"Hey! It says I can plant this and get FLOWERS!"

"Mount St. Helens. Is that in California?" "No, it's in Washington. The state, not D.C." "Oh. Well, we should go there next summer. Look at this, Mom!"

"Oh, haha. Look at these dinosaurs, Mom. That one's eating a sign. And they crashed a car! I don't think it's a real picture though."

"Wow, this town looks old-timey. It's got -- hey, wait. There's a guy hanging from that building." "Uhh... he's not real." "Oh. Weird!"

"(reading from a card) 'My friend made this card...' Whoa! She has a friend who made this card but it looks just like the kind you buy in a store. [rubs on the front of the card a bit] It says he's an artist. He did a nice job! Oh, and she says hello to you, too, Mom."

"Aww!! It's a little dog. No, wait. That's a BIG dog! Oh, they're so cute. We should have a dog, right Mom? Oh! And it has STICKERS!"

His friend came knocking on the door because apparently Alex was supposed to come in off the bus just long enough to grab some cars to go play outside. The friend said, "Are you ready?" and Alex replied, "I need a couple minutes. I'm just going through my mail." Bwahahaa.

Thank you guys SO, SO much!

[IvoryTowerDenizen]

Ok, sweetest thing ever!

[brujaja]

Thanks! That absolutely made my day! (and it will make Keith's day too, when I tell him.)

[PapSett]

Still one to come... I haven't forgotten, just been unexpectedly busy. :-(

[IvoryTowerDenizen]

Can I send him my cable bill?

:)

[Silver Fire]

Oh, I can see how that would go.

"Hey, what's this one? Oh, a bill. Mom, this one's for YOU."

[IvoryTowerDenizen]

Oh, I can see how that would go.

"Hey, what's this one? Oh, a bill. Mom, this one's for YOU."

I see. He's a smart one!

[blondebear]

"Oh, haha. Look at these dinosaurs, Mom. That one's eating a sign. And they crashed a car! I don't think it's a real picture though."Glad your son got a kick out of that card. It's not a real picture, but there ARE giant dinosaurs to be found just off Interstate 10 near Palm Springs...and they are very cool. I was up in the T-Rex's mouth just last year!

[Silver Fire]

He loved it. I can't believe I forgot to mention DINOSAURS in my "what's he into?" paragraph.

[Silver Tyger]

He loved it. I can't believe I forgot to mention DINOSAURS in my "what's he into?" paragraph.

Because you don't have to? Because all little kids are into dinosaurs? As well as all little kids in tall bodies?

[Poysyn]

Planes and military things huh?

***off to root through the cupboard (says the Air Force Public Affairs Officer)***

I'll see what I can find, but I want to call around, it may be delayed...

[Tastes of Chocolate]

Planes and military things huh?

***off to root through the cupboard (says the Air Force Public Affairs Officer)***

I'll see what I can find, but I want to call around, it may be delayed...

Oh oh. I think your son may need a bigger mailbox. No way is a jet fitting in the one he made.

[IvoryTowerDenizen]

Because you don't have to? Because all little kids are into dinosaurs? As well as all little kids in tall bodies?

For a minute I thought you were talking to yourself. :D

[not what you'd expect]

"Ooh, Seattle! That's a pretty sunset, huh Mom?"

"Hey! It says I can plant this and get FLOWERS!"

"Mount St. Helens. Is that in California?" "No, it's in Washington. The state, not D.C." "Oh. Well, we should go there next summer. Look at this, Mom!"

"Oh, haha. Look at these dinosaurs, Mom. That one's eating a sign. And they crashed a car! I don't think it's a real picture though."

"Wow, this town looks old-timey. It's got -- hey, wait. There's a guy hanging from that building." "Uhh... he's not real." "Oh. Weird!"

"(reading from a card) 'My friend made this card...' Whoa! She has a friend who made this card but it looks just like the kind you buy in a store. [rubs on the front of the card a bit] It says he's an artist. He did a nice job! Oh, and she says hello to you, too, Mom."

"Aww!! It's a little dog. No, wait. That's a BIG dog! Oh, they're so cute. We should have a dog, right Mom? Oh! And it has STICKERS!"

His friend came knocking on the door because apparently Alex was supposed to come in off the bus just long enough to grab some cars to go play outside. The friend said, "Are you ready?" and Alex replied, "I need a couple minutes. I'm just going through my mail." Bwahahaa.

Thank you guys SO, SO much!

How fun! I'm loving this and plan to steal this idea for a grandchild someday.

[constanze]

Back in the 80s, before the Internet and Email, there were several organisations offering pen-pal through schools, so German kids could practise their English/ French/ Spanish by writing to kids from other countries, and also learn about other cultures, promote understanding and peace between nations yadda yadda, the usual exchange stuff.

Interested kids signed up for which language and then received a letter from somebody. (I got a letter from a kid in Greece, but didn't write back often enough, so it atrophied).

If your kid is really interested in not only getting mail, but also ready to write in return, and wants real letters, not emails, you could ask around - I'm sure they still exist (today, screening of adresses is probably more important than back then).

[Butterscotch]

Posted a card today! Fingers crossed for a quick arrival :)

[constanze]

I wrote the postcard last week, but forgot it last time at the PO, so it was posted today. It will probably take a week or so across the ocean.

Since space is limited on a postcard, a few additional info:

The uppermost line is my own adress, in case he wants to write back. I make no promise how soon I will answer, though (I'm terrible at answering letters, though I will read it!)

The web adress has some basic information about Herzogsägmühle, the protestant charity where the card was made (I picked it out before I had read your entry on what he likes).

The real stamp shows the famous Kreidefelsen (Chalk cliff) at the island of Rügen, and the name of the national park its part of. (He should be able to find more info at wikipedia).

The printed stamp shows the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin, which due to the Berlin wall has a lot of emotional importance for Germans.

You could also tell him that I took extra care to write the 1s and 7s the American way so that the USPS would have no problem with it, but that we write them differently. (And that we use Umlauts like the ü in München in the German language.)

I might look through my own postcards to see if I have a city postcard, but that will take some time.

[Bookkeeper]

First card (finally) sent off yesterday. More to come.

[don't ask]

I'm sorry that I have been a slacker, but I had a plan. I want to send a shot of the Sydney Harbor skyline at night with two tickets to concerts I attended at the Sydney Opera House - Fleet Foxes and Beirut, with questions for Alex.

But bugger me I can't find a bloody postcard out west where I live.

Soon. Honest.

[Silver Fire]

I haven't been around when Alex gets off the bus and gets his mail lately so I don't have immediate commentary like the last time I posted, but I've got my nephew here for the weekend and Alex keeps saying things like, "Oh! Oh! Read this one. It's from WAY across the world!" and handing my nephew postcards from Germany and Australia (a really beautiful aerial shot of Sydney harbor and a funny note; he especially liked the commentary for the dingo stamp), and of course he bragged about the two from San Francisco, both of which are shots of bridges at night (HE LIKES COOL BRIDGES! I don't think I mentioned that, either!), and the other one from San Francisco which has the TransAmerica building in the background. He recognized it immediately from the television show Charmed, which his grandmother watches. He got one postcard with a silly (but freakin' AWESOME; we both agreed on that) plane on it and loved, loved, loved it.

brujaja, he gave my nephew the card from you and said, "Do you think that was bought?" and the nephew, 14 years old, said, "Well... yeah." So Alex said, "Read it!" Keith is a big hit in our house. :)

He got one with a note that said "Greetings from California!" on the back and came up to me all, "This one is really easy. I can just bring a thank you note to school tomorrow." I asked him what in the world he was talking about. Turns out he only just glanced at the note and thought it said "Greetings from the Cafeteria!"

[Butterscotch]

Mine should be there soon!!

[Cheez_Whia]

I don't know how I missed this thread! Does he still want mail? I live near a dinosaur quarry/area.

[Silver Fire]

Alex got a HUGE package from Australia this weekend and postcards keep coming in.

He got quite a nice letter from a girl around his age in Singapore and we are working on replying to that, definitely.

I want to say that he is extremely appreciative of every single thing he gets. He has two huge laminated maps, one world map and one of the states, hanging on a wall in his bedroom so we have a routine where we check the postmark (or, in the case of postcards, we check where the picture on the front was taken) and find it on the map. I think he is still very much in awe that people from these far away places are mailing him things for no reason and I really think that sometimes he thinks I'm doing it (sort of like Santa Claus and the Tooth Fairy; why not fake a bunch of mail?) but then he gets some foreign candy we've never seen and he gets that it's really not me.

You guys are phenomenal. This got way bigger than I expected and our whole family has enjoyed it (even the toddler; he's the only one who happily ate the Musk flavored Life Savers :D ) so thank you all so very sincerely. It's been so much fun.

[bengangmo]

Alex got a HUGE package from Australia this weekend and postcards keep coming in.

He got quite a nice letter from a girl around his age in Singapore and we are working on replying to that, definitely.

I want to say that he is extremely appreciative of every single thing he gets. He has two huge laminated maps, one world map and one of the states, hanging on a wall in his bedroom so we have a routine where we check the postmark (or, in the case of postcards, we check where the picture on the front was taken) and find it on the map. I think he is still very much in awe that people from these far away places are mailing him things for no reason and I really think that sometimes he thinks I'm doing it (sort of like Santa Claus and the Tooth Fairy; why not fake a bunch of mail?) but then he gets some foreign candy we've never seen and he gets that it's really not me.

You guys are phenomenal. This got way bigger than I expected and our whole family has enjoyed it (even the toddler; he's the only one who happily ate the Musk flavored Life Savers :D ) so thank you all so very sincerely. It's been so much fun.

I got in trouble for not including pictures in the letter she off....next time definitely. She's keeping an eye on the mail for Alex to reply :D

I must admit though - I have ulterior motive, I want her to practise her writing and typing...

[twickster]

Argh, I said I'd send one but haven't yet -- I'll be in town on Thursday, promise to buy some postcards then.

[GuanoLad]

In honour of this thread, I am eating musk flavoured life savers today.

[Eliahna]

The toddler scored - musk flavoured lollies are awesome! :)

[Silver Fire]

The toddler scored - musk flavoured lollies are awesome! :)
I had Alex try the Vegemite. I think he expected it to be gross (probably because of the Life Savers :p ) so he took the tiniest little nibble and right away was like "Pft, ugh! Aarrrrgh, it's so gross!" He kept chewing though and like a second later he said, "Wait. That's actually not bad."

It was the funniest thing.

[Eliahna]

Yes! The secret is to start them young. Kids love Vegemite, and grow into adults who love it. Welcome, Alex. One of us... one of us...

Cats often like Vegemite too, but when I told that to my other half he looked skeptical. I tried to prove it with his cat but the cat rejected it. Stupid imported cat (it was from England originally). If you've got a cat you can see if it will lick Vegemite off your fingers (unless you've got a better way to pass long evenings at your house).

[legalsnugs]

Is Alex still wanting mail? I haven't been on the SD for awhile and just saw the thread. I live in Budapest, Hungary and there's a really cool Chain Bridge and a castle, and they do look awesome at night. No dinosaurs that I know of, though. I'll be happy to send him a postcard.

[twickster]

I bought postcards today, but now can't find Alex's address -- could you PM it to me again pls?