Woohoo, your Simple Hospitality FUN MAIL has arrived! 📬
Hi First name / friend–
I hope the beginning of 2026 has felt gentle, slow, and refreshing for you. We’ve eased into this new season with a sense of gratitude and intention — giving ourselves permission to begin softly rather than rush ahead. After 18 regularly scheduled monthly ‘Fun Mail’ editions, we took a little break in January and are ready to begin again. Some of the most meaningful beginnings are the quiet ones, aren’t they?
Below I’ll share an excerpt from my book Simple Hospitality, 3 ways you can show love this month, a book recommendation, a family-loved Strawberry Pie recipe (so easy!), and a new shop carrying my book!
As we’ve settled into February, I’ve been thinking about love — not just the kind we celebrate on Valentine’s Day, but the kind that lasts beyond one date on the calendar. The kind that shows up in the everyday, ordinary moments of life. Hospitality, at its heart, is simply loving people well — and small gestures often carry the biggest impact.
Love doesn’t end on February 14. Hospitality is simply loving people well. Small gestures carry lasting impact.
I’m also especially excited because next week I’ll be speaking at MomCo (formerly called MOPS) in Atlanta! Our daughter, Anna will be sharing the devotional beforehand, and I’ll have the joy of speaking with young moms — a together-first opportunity for us, and something I’m truly grateful for. It feels like a sweet way to step into the year, encouraging others in places that matter…their home. I’ll be sure to share a recap of some of my favorite thoughts in a blog post next month!
Since my sister, Jeana, and her husband Tom were in town from Wisconsin for Valentine's Day, and we got to celebrate our traditional progressive dinner together here at home. The weather was beautiful so we had appetizers on the dock, dinner on the back patio, and dessert in the sunroom.
The following night, we had our children and grandchildren over for dinner and did a scavenger hunt that my sister organized and the kids were led to their Valentine’s, which was such a fun and creative way to celebrate!
One of the invitations from Simple Hospitality that I keep returning to is the one about handwritten notes, Invitation #3: Encouragement with a Card. In our world of quick texts and notifications, there’s something deeply meaningful about ink on paper — a thoughtful card sent just because, a note of encouragement, a few lines that say,
“I see you, and I care about you.”
It doesn’t have to be long. It doesn’t have to be elaborate.
It just needs to be sincere.
You can read the full invitation and book excerpt on my blog here:
Here are three small, practical ways you can practice hospitality in February and March — no dinner party required:
Write one handwritten note.
Drop off flowers…florist, garden and grocery store flowers all count! Or, how about dropping off a loaf of banana bread?
Invite someone for coffee or a walk.
These invitations don’t require a lot of time or expense — just intention. And they remind us that hospitality isn’t about perfection; it’s about presence.
A Book Recommendation
One unexpected gift this winter was reading “Theo of Golden” by Allen Levi together. Scott and I had been given the book months ago and, if I’m being honest, I hadn’t paid much attention to it. On a recent trip out of town, I grabbed it on our way out the door. I started reading on my own, mentioned it to Scott, and on our four-hour drive home he said, “Why don’t you read it to me?” In 45 years of marriage, we had never done that before — and we loved it.
We decided we wouldn’t read ahead without the other. Sometimes when he went on his morning walk, I would be his “audiobook” and read to him on the phone for an hour. Other evenings we could hardly wait to be together so we could continue. We finished the entire book in a week, and there were even a few tears near the end for me — moments where I had to stop and he would read because I couldn’t continue.
When we closed the final page, we both felt we had learned so much in those last chapters that we wanted to experience it again with fresh ears after a few weeks. The next morning Scott surprised me by downloading the audiobook, and now we’re listening together and the narrator is fabulous. The book is almost over again, and I truly don’t want it to end.
It’s a beautiful story about generosity, kindness, and the quiet ways our lives touch others. Scott was so moved by the book that he purchased copies for everyone in his office and even asked me to come share our experience with his team. The only other time I’ve visited his office to gift and talk about a book… was my own. 😉
🍓 A Little Sweetness: Strawberry Pie Recipe
If you’re looking for something cheerful to make this season, I’ve just shared a fresh strawberry pie recipe on the blog. It’s bright, easy, and a delightful treat to share with a neighbor, friend, or your own family around the table, and always a February favorite in our household since the strawberries are so fresh!
While recently staying at the Ponte Vedra Inn & Club for a Board retreat we had the nicest server at breakfast one morning, named Dora. She insisted on going into the retail shop at the hotel and purchasing the owner’s autobiography for us. She would not let us pay her for the book. The 95 year old owner, Mr. Peyton happened to be in the restaurant and was finishing breakfast so we had a chance to meet him and sign each other‘s books. That doesn’t happen very often!
You can see the picture below.
We were shown “extravagant hospitality” later that day as we had chocolate covered strawberries, a carnation, and a handwritten note delivered to our room!! Talk about memorable hospitality!! I’m so proud to say that my book is now being carried in their beautiful retail shop.
In Closing… 🤍
Thank you for reading along, for showing up with a kind heart, and for choosing to see the beauty that’s already present right where you are.
Wishing you a month filled with small joys, meaningful connections, and kindness that lingers long after the moment has passed.
I’ll leave you with a quote I recently saw on Instagram from @thehousethatholds, “No one taught us how to welcome, they taught us how to impress… Hospitality was never meant to feel like a show. Come in, sit down, and stay awhile.”
WITH LOVE,
P.S. Did you know? All proceeds from my book, Simple Hospitality, go directly to support the new Orlando Health Children’s Pavilion—a place of hope, healing, and care for families in our community. Thank you for helping make a difference with every book you gift and share.
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If someone forwarded it to you—welcome! I'm so glad you're here. My name is Jennifer Boyd, and I recently published Simple Hospitality: An Invitation to Add Kindness to Your Everyday Life, a dream 25 years in the making. In both my book and newsletter, I share the heart behind hospitality—simple ways to bring kindness and connection into everyday life.
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