A few months ago, I joined www.postcrossing.com. I heard about it through one of my favorite Facebook groups (Bullet Journal Junkies). In short, postcrossing is a way to connect with other people all around the world through good old-fashioned snail mail. Some people do it because they collect postcards or stamps. Some people do it because they like to get real mail. I signed up because I thought it would be a great way to see how small the world is, although getting real mail is nice too.
What is Postcrossing?
The basics of postcrossing are, first, you sign up with your name, address, and a short “get to know you” entry. Then you send some postcards to addresses of other postcrossers (a postcrosser is someone who uses postcrossing). The website gives you their address and a tracking number to put on your card. You also are given access to their “get to know you” info. They may tell you what kind of postcards they like, or maybe a little about their hometown. You can mail up to five postcards at a time to begin with, and this number grows the more postcards are sent and received. Once your cards begin to be received, the website gives your address to other postcrossers and you begin to receive postcards too. When a postcard is received, it is registered on the website using the tracking number.
Who are Postcrossers?
People have been postcrossing since 2005 when a student from Portugal started the project. There are now over 650,000 registered users. These include men, women, and groups (such as classes of students and their teachers). Together, they have sent over 38 million postcards more than 121 billion miles. That’s 4.8 million laps around the earth!
I have been a postcrosser for almost three months and it has been loads of fun. I have received cards from 12 different countries so far and sent cards to 14 countries, I have seven cards currently travelling to countries as different as Finland, Brazil, and Singapore. Currently, there are 209 countries involved in postcrossing. So I have a long way to go if I want to receive cards from all of them. The website provides stats on your cards (received and sent). It also keeps track of miles traveled and has a gallery to post photos of your postcards.
My Own Experience
Postcrossing has shown me how small the world can be, that we are alike in m ore ways than we are different, and that there are good people everywhere. One of my first cards came from a grandmother in Holland. She is a teacher (like me!) and has a grandson with the same name as my youngest child. Another card came from the town where my husband traveled to this summer while visiting his family in Germany. I mailed a card to a woman in Australia who loves books and asks postcrossers to send her the titles of their favorites. She emailed me a thank you (through the site) and has already read two of my recommendations.
I have received a wide variety of cards. Some are of famous landmarks from the country of origin. Others have cute animals, historical facts, artwork, and holiday themes. Sending cards is also fun because I get to keep my eye out for fun cards to buy and send. As far as hobbies go, it is fairly inexpensive. Postage and a postcard don’t cost too much and the fun of getting cards from all over the world is definitely worth it.
I, for one, cannot wait to open my mailbox each day and get a nice surprise. My kids are loving it too. They like to hear about the different places I send cards to and get cards from. They have even started hunting for inexpensive postcards in shops we visit. And my husband keeps eyeing the stamps for his collection!
Some of My Favorites
Here is a small collection of some of my favorite postcards so far. Aren’t they pretty?
I plan on doing this for a long time. There are postcrossers who have sent thousands of cards. I want to be like them. A recent recipient of my postcard said she thought postcrossing exists “to make people HAPPY!” I surely agree with that. When we share what we have and what we are with others, it brings us closer together. When we see that we are more alike than different, it makes the world a little less scary. We are all connected in one way or another and postcrossing is a fun way to strengthen our connections.
Please share this post with anyone who you think would benefit from it. Thanks for reading!
