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~ Gift Ideas for Prisoners ~



Prison rules vary from place to place, so to be sure what is allowed you should contact the prison or ask your pen pal before sending anything in. Many prisons are quite strict, allowing only money orders to be mailed so the inmate can buy from the prison. The following is a list of things that is acceptable to most prisons.

Magazine Subscriptions

These are great fun and can be shared. They usually need to be sent in via a publisher.

Money Orders

This is the easiest way for them to purchase what they like. You may send it to the prisoner by mail in most cases but in some prisons a form needs to be filled out and mailed to a separate place for cashing. The inmate will then receive notice that his account has been credited.

Calendars

These are usually accepted providing there is no spiral binding on the calendar. In some prisons it may need to be shipped directly from the publisher.

Stamps

Stamps are not allowed in some prisons. Some have a weekly limit and others are only allowed the embossed envelopes. These are always a welcome gift.

Cards and Note Paper

They love to receive pretty, colorful stationery and cards. When birthdays and holidays come around, many prisoners cannot afford to send a card to a family member so this helps them considerably.

Word Search/Crossword Puzzles

They also enjoy getting word search and crossword puzzles. If the book can't be sent..tear out a few pages at a time and include in your letters.

Submitted by Kris.

Free Stuff!

I send my pen pal jokes, stories and information I print from the internet. It's free and it gives him a chance to see the world from behind bars..:)

Submitted by Terri.

Special Gifts!

For my friend on death row, I wanted to buy him something for Xmas that I knew he wouldn't already have and also something the system could never take from him, so I had a star named after him, it's not expensive and all the other guys loved it to because none of them has one, it was really appreciated.


I also rip pages out of all my magazines when I've read them, he loves them and I also send paintings my 4 year old son has done at school.

Submitted by Lynn.


I sent my pen pal a strip of photos taken from a photo booth as a book mark, with some silly expressions, my penpal got a laugh, why not try it yourself?

Submitted by Scott.


I have a photo program where I can take any photo replace the face with my inmate's. For someone who has not seen himself in anything but prison clothes for over 24 years, this has been soooooo much fun for him to see himself in the pages of a Wal-Mart ad modeling clothes, or walking along a beach, or any number of other creations. I've also done a calendar month by month with one of these fun pictures. Its great, not only does HE get to "see himself" in a different light, but so do I and its easier to picture him out here someday!

Submitted by C. Jones.


I sent my pen pal coloring pages that I cut of coloring books of his favorite character, and I try to scent them with a nice perfume or fragrances. Remember they don't have too many scents in there.

Submitted by Miriam.


I send my pen pal post cards of just about anything and he loves them. I do not write on the card itself, just enclose it with my letter. He really spends a lot of time looking at these. And he even sends a thank you note for them. Cards from places that I have traveled too, some of local attractions. I try to find ones that have some sort of printing on the back because he is a very curious fellow. The cost is 25 cents each and he really enjoys them!

Submitted by William.


News papers or home town journals............ soft back books.......... many read the entire series by many authors........... Clancy is a favorite, Gresham is another..... however there are many, many others.......... detective and mystery novels do great too!

Submitted by Scott.


I write a prison inmate all the time and we have become very close friends. One of the things I do for my friend is get song lyrics from the many song web sites out there and mail them to him. He can't seem to get enough of these and is the envy of all his neighbors because he knows the words. Sometimes he will get the whole tier singing along.

Submitted by Billy.


I have a prison pen pal and one thing I like to send him is jokes that I get off the internet. They don't have too much to smile about in there, so he really enjoys these.

Submitted by G.Thompson.


Every so often I mail my pen-pal an air freshener (the scented cardboard ones that you hang on your auto rear view mirror) that is in the shape of a cartoon character. He puts it under his pillow to make his bed smell nice. I thought the flowery ones would be best, but he prefers the pine scented ones. He closes his eyes and he is outside in the trees.

Submitted by Colleen


What I do is I send him his horoscope along with mine, I highlight it and it comes with the news and a lot of different places and things. I then give it a light sprinkle of body spray so he can read it and think of me at the same time!

Submitted by Marita


Whenever I go to a concert, or an event, I like to try to obtain something from the event that I can send, a flyer, photos, ticketstubs, etc. I had one of my inmate's favorite bands sign a band photo, and since it was on paper, I could send it. He loved it. It's a nice way to let your inmate know he/she is missed, and thought about out here in the "free" world.

Submitted by -Jamie Phx, AZ


My penpal likes mystery paperbacks. It gives him something to read and find out if the guilty party is who he thought it was.

Submitted by e-mail


Amazon.com has a bunch of crossword puzzle books and books in general; and if you spend over $25, the shipping is free. My prison pen pal's birthday is coming up and plan on ordering ahead of time.

Submitted by e-mail


Something that I do for my inmate friend is decorate plain white envelopes and writing paper with various themes that I draw myself with colored pencils. It doesn't take much artistic talent... in a recent letter I just decorated the envelope and writing paper by drawing green vines around the edges. Ideas come to you as you go, just be creative and keep it simple. It does take a little time but for that very reason your decorated letters will be very well recieved. I help my friend out with stamps, a few bucks for canteen, and a magazine subscription too but the first time I sent one of my hand-decorated letters he was overwhelmed that I "took the time" to do that just for him. Give it a try!

Submitted by ~Joe


I send my nephew the latest issue of TRADING TIMES. He will not be getting out soon, but he likes to keeps up with current items for sale.

Submitted by Jim


I have a few pen pals in prison and I also scent my letters to them so they can smell the sweet scent of the oils that are out there you can pour them in a spray bottle and lightly mist the paper. One can also take photographs of flowers, trees in the change of seasons and the like being that some of them never see anything other than their cells. You can also go to Wal*Mart that has a mailing center in them and you can buy books, stationary and the like. The prisons will accept it 'cause it will have the store address and there will not be an issue.

Submitted by Chris E. ~ Concord, Ca.

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If you have an idea that hasn't been mentioned, please email us and we'll add it to the list.
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