Ditch’s letter, word for word
Below are Ditch’s letter and the star certificate, word for word. Copy them out by hand tonight, or get the pack and have both printed on the gold frames with your child’s name and their word already in.
The letter is the part children go back to. Long after the gift has been lost under the sofa, the letter is still on the fridge, and on a bad night, being read the letter again does more than almost anything else you can say. So it is worth being on paper.
Ditch’s letter
Dear [Name],
Thank you for your special dummy! I have used my fairy magic to turn it into a beautiful, bright star just for you. Look up in the night sky to find it twinkling!
Starry wishes,
Ditch the Dodo Fairy
Say paci, binky or soother? It is the same letter with your word in it. Pick your word on this page and the letter above changes to match.
The star certificate
Print it, or write it out on the nicest paper in the house, and put it somewhere they can see it from floor height. Children ask to have it read to them for weeks.
This star belongs to:
[Child’s Name]
Thank you for your special dummy!
By fairy magic, it is now a beautiful star shining bright in the night sky.
Fairy love,
Ditch the Dodo Fairy
The second letter (for the hard night)
This one is the secret weapon and almost nobody thinks of it. Keep it written and hidden. If night three goes badly, it appears on the windowsill in the morning.
[Name], I saw. Last night was a hard one, wasn't it.
I wanted you to know that your star was watching the whole time, and it did not go out once. Not even when you cried. Stars are like that.
Hard nights are part of it. They get further apart. I promise.
Still yours,
Ditch the Dodo Fairy
Making it look like it came from a fairy
- Small paper. Tear it rather than cutting it. Fairies do not own scissors.
- Tea or coffee stain, then dry it flat under a book for an hour.
- Roll it and tie it with a single strand of wool or a blade of grass.
- Leave it slightly damp with dew if you put it outside. A letter that has been out all night should look like it.
- Scatter a few grains of "dust" near it, and disturb them slightly, as if something small landed and took off again.
- Write in a colour you never normally use, or with your other hand. A surprising number of four-year-olds recognise their parents' handwriting.
Want their name printed in?
The pack prints your child’s name and their word into the letter and the certificate, lets you name their star in Ditch’s sky, and adds the morning-after letter, labels for the box, the seven-night plan, a star chart and the card of what to say at 2am.
Ask your own question
Not sure how the whole thing works yet? Start with A Dummy’s Guide.