What is Mail Tag?

October 19, 2018 ♦

Lucy ♦

♦

Mail box

If you’re new to snail mail, you may have come across the term ‘Mail Tag’ and wondered what on earth it means.

Put simply, Mail Tag is a game played by pen pals in their letters, which emulates the school playground game of Tag. One pen pal ‘tags’ another by sending them a list of tasks or questions. They are then ‘on’ and need to complete the tasks set. Next they will probably ‘tag’ you back. This can continue throughout all of your letters, or it might naturally start and stop as you both see fit. Some people will reply to your Mail Tag on their own Mail Tag, then add their list for you, or they may tackle the questions within their letter if they have lengthy replies to give.

The ‘Mail Tag’ is usually written on a separate piece of paper to the letter itself and seeing as the letter-writing community is a creative one, the list can be presented in all manner of different ways — whether written, typed or stamped, and on a gift tag, a postcard, or a pretty piece of paper.

How many items should your Mail Tag list contain? As a general rule, I’d say between 3 and 7, but it really depends on you and your pen pal.

So, what are these tasks and questions?

Mail Tag questions

Woman writing a letter

Mail tag questions are a great way to get to know your pen pal and they offer you an opportunity to ask unexpected or random questions that might not come up naturally in your letter. The questions can be as unusual or probing as you like, but it’s still important not to cross any boundaries — such as if you know your pen pal doesn’t want to discuss a certain topic.

A few ideas for questions you could ask: