IN THIS age of Facebook, email and video-calls, putting pen to paper seems like such a task, but Christmas might just be the perfect time to polish up your handwriting skills.

Put in a little extra effort and make something special for your loved ones at a special time of year.

Professional calligrapher Moya Carroll has more than 130,000 followers on Instagram and credits social media with reviving a love of handwriting.

"There is something very relaxing and rewarding about putting pen to paper and creating a beautiful piece of writing and the more you practise, the better you become,” Moya said.

"From writing lists, to Christmas cards and gift tags, Christmas offers the perfect chance to put pen to paper and practise your handwriting skills.

"A carefully hand-written card or letter is a beautiful gift in itself.”

Moya has a few tips for polishing up your penmanship for Christmas:

- Be consistent - keep your letters all about the same height and don't switch from cursive to print halfway through your message.

- Rule of thumb - don't be afraid to rule guidelines if you can't write in a straight line.

- Think ahead - have an idea of what you want to say before you start writing and plan out your space so that you don't run out of room at the end.

- Relax - don't worry if it's not perfect. The whole point of a handwritten note is that it comes from your hand instead of from your printer.

Your handwriting conveys your personality in a way a computer font never could - imperfections and all.