Why we started CardsFromDad
The morning I realized my boys were already halfway through their childhood — and what I started doing about it.
As a father, I've always wanted to find ways to connect with my boys. Then one morning I woke up to a hard truth: my boys are halfway through their childhood. The time I have at home with them is already 50% complete. In the next eight or nine years, their social worlds will grow even bigger and the window I have to influence and guide them will shrink even faster.
Day-to-day life was already so full. Trips to school, sports, birthday parties, friends' houses. Family and friend get-togethers were scheduled weeks or months in advance. Down time was spent picking up or planning for the next activity. Dinners were grab-and-go. Bedtime was rushed so my wife and I could grab a few moments to ourselves or catch up on sleep just to survive the next fully-booked day.
The quiet moments with my kids were too few and far between. I never felt the life lessons — the really important ones — had a place in our busy schedules. I needed to find a way to create a moment of connection.
“Cards are meant to be held, touched, and reflected on.”
I started writing cards with little things I thought were important for them to know. Statements that meant something to me, or things I'd read that resonated and I wanted to share with my boys in a way that would be more than a fleeting thought.
Cards are physical. Cards are meant to be held, touched, and — if they have meaning — reflected on. As a father, I wanted to give my boys something they could hold onto and use during a moment of challenge, or as a guide toward happiness or success. A card wouldn't only communicate a written message; it would carry the message of love and support behind it. It could be a reminder of the conversation we had, the personal example I shared, or the safety and comfort they felt when we hugged.
I saw the power those handwritten cards had on my relationship with my boys — and I saw that they wanted to keep them. As I delivered each one, and each conversation grew from the last, I saw a change in them and in us. We were closer. The words I'd written on the card were having an impact long after the conversation ended.
That eventually grew into a question: could cards do the same for other dads and father figures — and the kids who look up to them? Could we, working together, bring these lessons to families everywhere?
“The lessons now resonate with my boys even more.”
We started CardsFromDad out of our garage. My boys and I complete all the fulfillment, and today the lessons we share with families everywhere resonate with my boys even more — because they're the ones putting the cards in the envelopes.
We hope you find value in giving a card to your child and creating a way to share what matters, when it matters. That's really the whole point.
Where it started
The original cards.
These aren't what we ship today — these are the very first handwritten cards I made for my boys. The idea for CardsFromDad started here.
We've kept CardsFromDad small on purpose. Every card still feels personal, and every email gets read. The library grows from a community of father figures telling us what matters enough to make time to say — and when a lesson keeps surfacing, it becomes the next card.
Meet the team
Dad and Sons
Ben
Chief Writer
Writes the lessons, packs the boxes, and tries to keep the garage in some kind of order.
Theo
Chief Stuffer
Counts every order, double-checks the envelopes, and reminds Dad when he's running behind.
Aaden
Chief Stamper
Inspects every card before it ships. Will absolutely tell you if a corner is bent.
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