The countdown clock is rapidly ticking away, the 82 Facebook event notifications are still pending, and the demand for tutus is as high as it’s been since last February. It’s time to finally face it — it’s dancer mail season.

If you have no idea how to get started, or if you just want to out-support your best friend’s DRCM, we’ve made an easy guide on how to make the best dancer mail the Bryce Jordan Center has ever seen.

Organize

With all the event invites floating around, you want to make sure you get everyone you intended to. Be sure to keep the dancer and their number together. It’ll be super awkward if your cousin gets a letter full of inside jokes between you and your roommate.

Plan it out

Dancer mail can come in either letters or packages. Decide to whom you’re going to write a nice letter and for who you’re going to stuff a box. It makes the process of making dancer mail faster if you have all of your supplies ready and together before you get started.

Get creative

Now it’s time to get crafty and channel your inner “big during big-little week.” Use as much color and excitement as possible when decorating the card or box. By Mail Call, dancers are usually delusional enough they think they are having a riveting conversation with a trash can, so you don’t have to worry about it being too perfectly crafted. Just be sure to make it nice enough so that it’s more exciting than the chat they are having with a plastic bin.

Be supportive

This is most definitely not the time for a “u rock never change” letter. Always be encouraging, and maybe include a few quotes in the letter to keep your dancer inspired. If you’re sending a package, decorate the box as well. Stuff the package with everything you purchased earlier that could keep them entertained. You can include coloring books, hot loops, pictures, or really anything that would help them get through the last day — just not caffeine.

Deliver mail

Be sure to bring all mail to 324 HUB and packages to 325 HUB before February 11. Before dropping it off, make sure to double-check that the dancer number is on it and clearly visible. If you’re not in Happy Valley and need to mail it, send it to:

ATTN: Mail Call
Dancer’s Number
Dancer’s Name
227D Hetzel Union Building (HUB)
University Park, PA 16802

In order for it to arrive in time, be sure it’s postmarked by February 9.

And that’s it! It may seem time-consuming, and you may not feel like lugging a box to the third floor of the HUB, but it will be worth it when your dancer’s face lights up and they get a surge of energy and emotion. If you’re counting down the days and can’t wait for THON, this is a perfect way to channel your excitement.

We dance in 24, Penn State!