Each year on 23 January it’s National Handwriting Day and I am going to celebrate with a letter to my old pen pal.

So often I don’t think twice about sending her an email or sending a message through facebook but I believe that more thought should go into sending messages to those we love.

National Handwriting Day was founded by the Writing Instrument Manufacturers Association (WIMA) so that we could continue to recognise the reward of composing a handwritten note using a high quality writing instrument.

The day is celebrated on the anniversary of the birth of John Hancock. It was chosen as he was the first man to sign the Declaration of Independence with a flourish!

I have to confess, I have a weakness for pens and paper. High quality, luxurious paper and a comfortable pen beats tapping away on a keyboard any day. I even carry a moleskin notebook and my favourite pen around to jot down those inspired ideas when I’m on the move.

So why don’t you celebrate this handwriting day with a written note composed by your own fair hands. A love letter is not quite the same when sent from an email address now is it?

You could always celebrate the day by giving the gift of a pen to a friend or learn about handwriting analysis. Who knows … you could even write a crime novel based on your new knowledge of handwriting analysis. And, what better way to write it than using your newly refined handwriting!