Maintaining family relationships that are long distance

Nowadays, it is more and more common for jobs, school, or other opportunities and reasons to take a family across the country or even world, leaving the rest of the extended family behind.
Maintaining family relationships that are long distance used to be difficult with just letters and expensive long-distance phone calls. However, there are many things you can do now to make sure your family relationships stay strong, even if you are separated by many miles.

These are just a few of the things you can do:

Get the same cell phone plan.
If you have family members who are scattered across the country, consider all getting on the same cell phone plan. Most carriers offer free mobile-to-mobile minutes to those who have the same cell phone provider. This will allow you to talk as often as you want without having to worry about a huge phone bill. Even if you don't have the same provider, many plans allow you to put "favorites" on your plan, so you can call a certain number of people as much as you want without it counting against your minutes, regardless of what provider they use.

Start a blog.
Blogs are a popular and free way to keep your friends and family updated, no matter where you are. A blog is a journal you can post on the internet. Entries are organized by date, similar to a real journal. You can also post pictures, links, and anything else you want. You can link to the blogs of other family members and friends as well. This is an excellent way to keep your family in the loop even if they are far away. You can also set your blog to private, so only people you invite to see it can have access to the pictures and entries that you post.
Write letters.
Never forget the importance of snail mail--if you have grandparents, aunts and uncles, cousins, and other family members you want to maintain relationships with, don't neglect a handwritten letter or card every now and again. Set up a time or two each month where you all sit down as a family and write letters to family members who live far away. Have kids color pictures if they can't write. Print off photographs and send them as well, so family members can be involved in what you are doing as a family and see how kids are growing.
Remember important events.
You can also maintain long distance family relationships by remembering important events like birthdays or Mother's Day. Send gifts, even if it's just a handmade card or picture, to show them that you love them and are thinking about them. Great gift ideas include family photographs, so your family members have visual reminders of you that they can display in their homes.

Take advantage of technology.
Technological advances have made maintaining relationships with family members long distance easy. Skype, for example, is a service that allows you to call anyone with Skype for free, no matter where in the world they are--you only need a Skype phone. Webcam also makes seeing and talking with family easy. And email will allow you to write letters and send photos as well with the benefit of them being delivered instantly.
It's difficult to be apart from family. But these tips will help you to maintain long distance family relationships.