How to Celebrate a Loved One’s Birthday Long Distance

If you've ever lived far away from someone you care about, you know how difficult it can be not to be there to celebrate her birthday with her. Yet with some time, creativity, a little bit of cash, and an adventurous spirit, you can show your loved one who lives far away how much you care when her birthday rolls around.

Why not mail a month's worth of birthday wishes? If you think this idea's over the top, you might be right. But it's a lot of fun and definitely worth your efforts. As an example, let's say your sister who lives halfway across the country is turning 30 in a few months. And you want to really do it up big.

Start preparing now so you'll have 30 days' worth of surprises to mail her. Beginning about a month (plus however many days it takes for a letter to reach her by mail) before her birthday, mail your first item. Then, each day after that, mail another one. That's right; you'll keep her birthday mini-celebrations by mail coming every single day until the date of her big day.

Drop something in the mail every day during the month leading up to her birthday. If keeping it up for 30 days sounds like too big a job for you, send her something every other day. It will keep her guessing and she'll have great fun with it. Whatever you decide, here's some tips for your 30 day long distance celebration for your love one:

--Write brief half-page to one-page stories to send. Remind her about the trouble she got into as a kid or special times you shared together. Tell a tale of the funny neighbor or the guy at school that had a crush on her. Include some touching, poignant stories, too.

- Address your envelopes to her in advance with stamps on them so they'll be waiting and ready to go when it's time to put one in the mail. Use some of those blank greeting cards and write your messages in them. Buy a nice variety of cards just to make it interesting.

--Whatever you decide to send, vary what you mail on a day-to-day basis so that each day she receives something different in the mail. Today it's a funny card, tomorrow it's a short note you typed, the next day, it's a card with a serious message, and the next it might be a brief drawing with a copy of your secret recipe for lasagna that she always wanted.

--Let your creativity flow. Make up funny, poignant or entertaining lists of things. For example, create a "10 Things I Love About You" List to mail or a "10 Birthday Wishes Just for You" List. Design your lists to be personal and have special meaning for your sister.

--The final item you mail to arrive on her big day might be a birthday gift you know she will love. Or it could simply be a lovely birthday card with your heartfelt wishes with or without a gift card. Although it will take some time, money and upfront work to plan and prepare for your special loved one's month's worth of birthday wishes, it will be something you'll both remember forever.