Adventures in Postcrossing
A few months ago I discovered a lovely activity called Postcrossing. Originating on this lovely site, Postcrossing is a way to send and receive postcards from all over the world.
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| Check out postcrossing.com to learn all about this awesome hobby! |
I signed up for an account and automatically went searching for postcards online. Obviously if you live somewhere where postcards of your city are readily available, I would definitely recommend buying those, as most people like to receive cards that feature a picture of where they came from on the front. Finding postcards where I live isn't the easiest, so I started by picking a few books of postcards out on Amazon.
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| I started out with these Charley Harper postcards, but have since picked up a few more to send out |
After I received my postcards from Amazon in the mail, I went to Postcrossing.com and requested a few addresses to send postcards to. I wrote a little note and applied the proper amount of postage (about $1.15 from the US) and made sure to include the postcard ID, which is given to you with each address. It is VERY important that the postcard ID is written at least once on the postcard. This is how your postcard will be registered and how Postcrossing.com knows to give your address to someone else.
When you first start out, you can have up to five postcards out at a time. As soon as a postcard is received and registered, someone else in the world randomly gets your address to send a postcard to and you are able to send another postcard out. It's like a wonderful circle of postcard sending goodness.
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| So many stamps, so little space... |
If you live in the US, I would recommend getting some International Forever stamps. They have a value of $1.10, and you would just need a $0.05 stamp to make the $1.15 postage. I checked on the US Postal site and was quoted $1.15 each time, regardless of the country I was sending to, but double checking wouldn't be a bad idea.
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| I use my Mod by This is Ground to carry my Postcrossing goodies on the go. It's perfect for summer travels |
While the amount of time I've spent participating in Postcrossing has been small, it's definitely been enjoyable. I've sent postcards out to 8 different countries and have received postcards from 5 different countries. I enjoy picking out postcards for my recipients and reading the lovely notes that come through my mail box from around the world. Whether you collect postcards, or you just enjoy receiving and sending snail mail, Postcrossing is a wonderful worthwhile activity for everyone. In fact, I think this is the perfect opportunity for kids to practice writing, reading, and geography skills, so get them involved to!
Do you participate in Postcrossing? What's your favorite thing you've received from a penpal? Leave some snail mail love in the comments below.
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