National Mail Order Catalog Day
Note sull'episodio
National Mail Order Catalog Day
Long before we could click “Buy Now” and have a package arrive at our door the next day, there was the mail-order catalog.
For National Mail Order Catalog Day, Ellen remembers the catalogs that once arrived in our mailboxes and invited us into entire worlds of clothing, toys, household goods, holiday dreams, and possibilities.
Before Amazon, the internet, HSN, or QVC, catalogs were one of the main ways people could shop for items that were not available in their local stores. We flipped through the pages, circled our favorites, filled out an order form, mailed it with a check or money order, and then waited—sometimes for weeks—for the package to arrive.
That waiting was part of the experience. There were no tracking notifications, delivery updates, or pictures showing exactly where the package was. There was simply anticipation and the hope that one day soon, a box bearing your name would appear at the door.
But catalogs offered more than merchandise. They allowed us to imagine different homes, different wardrobes, different adventures, and sometimes even different versions of ourselves. A catalog could make the world feel larger and bring things within reach that we might never have found in the stores around us.
In this episode, Ellen explores the nostalgia of catalog shopping and what those pages represented: access, possibility, anticipation, identity, and hope. She also imagines what a future Travel Thru Grief catalog might include—shirts, hoodies, hats, mugs, journals, tote bags, and other meaningful reminders that healing is possible and no one has to travel through grief alone.
The Travel Thru Grief catalog does not exist yet, but creating TTG merchandise is on Ellen’s bucket list. One day, listeners may be able to wear their journeys, share their light, and carry a little hope with them wherever they go.
This episode is also a reminder that what we purchase can sometimes represent something deeper. A comforting sweatshirt, an encouraging mug, or a journal for processing difficult days can become part of the way we care for ourselves and honor the stories we have survived.
In This Episode
- Remembering the excitement of receiving catalogs in the mail
- How people shopped from home before Amazon, the internet, HSN, and QVC
- The ritual of circling items and completing paper order forms
- Waiting for packages without tracking numbers or delivery alerts
- Why catalogs represented possibility as much as merchandise
- The connection between clothing, objects, identity, and memory
- Imagining future Travel Thru Grief merchandise
- Choosing meaningful reminders of hope, healing, and growth
- Recognizing that healing is not something we have to do alone
Reflection Question
What catalog did you look forward to receiving, and what did its pages allow you to imagine for your life?
Connect with Ellen
To learn more about Ellen’s coaching services or schedule a conversation, visit:
https://paperbell.me/ellen-beckemeyer
You can also learn more about Travel Thru Grief at:
Or email Ellen at:
Until next time, keep traveling through grief—one memory, one choice, and one hopeful step at a time.