New Year Letter to Future Self for Kids and Students (With Prompts)

A New Year letter to their future self is one of the simplest writing activities you can do with children, at home or in class. Kids write about who they are now and what they hope for, seal the letter, and open it at the end of the school year or next New Year's Eve. It takes about twenty minutes, and children love reading what their younger self wrote.

This guide is for parents and teachers. It has prompts for three age groups, a classroom plan, and ideas for keeping the letters safe until they're opened.

How to run a New Year letter activity (20 minutes)

1. Explain the idea (2 minutes). "You're writing to the person you'll be in a year. Nobody else will read it unless you want them to."
2. Share three or four prompts (3 minutes). Write them on the board or read them out. Don't ask children to answer all of them.
3. Write or draw (10 minutes). Encourage full sentences for older children, and pictures with labels for younger ones.
4. Seal and label (5 minutes). Each child seals their letter and writes their name and the opening date on the envelope.

Prompts for ages 5 to 8

1. Draw yourself today. What are you wearing?
2. What is your favourite food right now?
3. Who is your best friend?
4. What game do you love playing?
5. How tall are you? (Ask a grown-up to measure.)
6. What do you want to learn to do this year?
7. What makes you laugh?
8. What do you want to ask yourself next year?

Prompts for ages 9 to 12

1. What was the best thing that happened to you this year?
2. What are you really good at right now?
3. What is something you find hard?
4. Who do you spend the most time with?
5. What do you want to be better at by next New Year?
6. What are you looking forward to?
7. What do you think will change by next year?
8. What advice would you give yourself if the year gets tough?

Prompts for teenagers

1. What did this year teach you about yourself?
2. What are you worried about right now, and what are you excited about?
3. Who has been there for you this year?
4. What do you want next year to look like at school and outside it?
5. What is one thing you want to try that scares you a little?
6. What music, shows or games define your year?
7. What do you hope you will have stopped caring about by next year?
8. What do you want to remember about being this age?

Teenagers often prefer the full prompt list in 50 prompts for a New Year letter.

Where should you keep the letters until they're opened?

• In class: collect the sealed envelopes in a labelled box or a "time capsule" in a cupboard, and hand them back on the last day of the school year.
• At home: keep them in one envelope or folder with "Open on New Year's Eve" written on it, somewhere you won't move for a year.
• Online: a parent can type their child's letter into their own LetterForLater account and schedule it to arrive by email on the day you'll read it together. Students aged 16 and over can write and schedule their own.

When should children open their New Year letters?

For a class, the last week of the school year works best: the letter is still fresh and the group is together. For families, next New Year's Eve is a lovely tradition: read last year's letters, then write the new ones. A year feels very long to a young child, so for under-sevens the end of the school year or their next birthday is easier to wait for.