Postcrossing Blog

February is a busy month in the mail calendar, and we can’t wait for it to start! Are you ready? :)

I love a good mail challenge, and since February is the “Month of Letters”, it is time to dust off your special stationery and put pen to paper! It’s the perfect opportunity for reconnecting with family and friends, sending a Valentine card to your special someone, saying thank you to the helpful people in your life… or simply surprising strangers across the world with postcards! 😉

The rules of the Month of Letters challenge are simple:

• Mail at least one item through the post every day it runs. Write a postcard, a letter, send a picture or a cutting from a newspaper… anything goes!
• Write back to everyone who writes to you. This can count as one of your mailed items.

That’s it! The challenge started back in 2012, after Mary Robinette Kowal decided it was time for a break from the internet. She spent a month offline, and asked her friends to communicate with her through letters. The results were relaxing and intimate, so she decided to invite others to join, sparking a flurry of correspondence.

Another happy mail-related event coming up is Mail Carrier Appreciation Day, which happens every year on February 4th. This is the day to celebrate our trusty mail carriers, who make it possible for this hobby to exist by delivering all our postcards!

The date falls on a Monday this year, so make sure to make something nice for your mail carrier and give them a smile in the beginning of the week. Pour your gratitude into a thank you note that you’ll deliver (or affix to your mailbox) for them to discover on their rounds. I’m sure it’ll be the highlight of their day week!

If you can, take a photo of what you did to celebrate this special day, and share a link to it in the comments! 😊

February is a busy month in the mail calendar, and we can’t wait for it to start! Are you ready? :)

I love a good mail challenge, and since February is the “Month of Letters”, it is time to dust off your special stationery and put pen to paper! It’s the perfect opportunity for reconnecting with family and friends, sending a Valentine card to your special someone, saying thank you to the helpful people in your life… or simply surprising strangers across the world with postcards! 😉

The rules of the Month of Letters challenge are simple:

• Mail at least one item through the post every day it runs. Write a postcard, a letter, send a picture or a cutting from a newspaper… anything goes!
• Write back to everyone who writes to you. This can count as one of your mailed items.

That’s it! The challenge started back in 2012, after Mary Robinette Kowal decided it was time for a break from the internet. She spent a month offline, and asked her friends to communicate with her through letters. The results were relaxing and intimate, so she decided to invite others to join, sparking a flurry of correspondence.

Another happy mail-related event coming up is Mail Carrier Appreciation Day, which happens every year on February 4th. This is the day to celebrate our trusty postmen and women, who make it possible for this hobby to exist by delivering all our postcards!

The date falls on a Sunday this year… but don’t let that stop you from making something nice for your mail carrier. Pour your gratitude into a thank you note that you’ll deliver (or affix to your mailbox) on Monday February 5th, when they make their rounds. I’m sure it’ll be the highlight of their day!

If you can, take a photo of what you did to celebrate this special day, and share a link to it in the comments! 😊

Today is the day to thank our mail carriers, and a few days ago we invited you to make something special for these everyday heroes. A lot of you showed us the postcards you had made, and we were in awe of your talent and creativity… so many mail carriers are going to have a super special day because of you!

You can see all the submissions we’ve received on this gallery. We had a prize to give to the best one though, so here it goes — the winner is…

… EmilJohn (aka Emil) from the Philippines, who drew, wrote and decorated the card above. It reads “February 4 is ”Thank-a-mailman Day". Thank you and all those who work in order for us to receive our letters. Thank you for delivering my postcards always :) Respectfully, Emil, postcrosser."

Isn’t it just stunning? Congratulations Emil on your new stickers.

Now it’s time to go and thank our mail carriers, let them know we appreciate their hard work! 📬

PS – A big thank you to Pipsticks for sponsoring this giveaway and making all our postcards a little bit more fun! For those of you who would like to give the service a try, use the code HAPPYMAIL for 20% off the 1st month of any subscription.

… and we have a mission for you, if you wish to accept it! 😉 February 4th is Mail Carrier Appreciation Day and every year, we encourage you to make something nice for your mail carrier on this day. They’re the ones who walk, ride or drive miles and miles every single day, sometimes enduring harsh weather conditions in order to deliver all our mail… without them, this hobby would not be possible. So it’s time to say thank you, and make sure they know we appreciate their hard work.

This year though, we thought we’d give you an extra incentive… how does a $50 voucher from Pipsticks sound like?

All you need to do for a chance to win it is grab a postcard, write a nice message for your mail carrier or postwoman on the back and decorate it. Put your heart into your thank you message, and make use of that stash of crafty things you’ve been collecting for a while now: your rubber stamps, stickers and all those lovely washi tapes. Feel free to use old stamps as decoration too, if you’d like — these cards are meant to be delivered by hand or stuck on your mailbox for them to find on February 4th (or February 3rd, since this year the date falls on a Saturday). Make it sincere and make it stand out!

Once you’re happy with the result, take a photo or scan the postcard you’ve decorated and send the image to thank-a-mailman@postcrossing.com until the end of Feb 2nd (GMT). The best submission will win a $50 voucher from Pipsticks. We’ll announce the winner on Feb. 4th, and also show you the submissions we’ve received until then.

I’ve already started my postcard… but I really want to see yours! 😍 Come on, show us what you’ve got — and let’s make our mail carriers extra happy on their special day!

Just in case you forgot… February 4th is Thank a Mailman Day! They’re the ladies and gentlemen who deliver all our postcards day after day, rain or shine, so they deserve our appreciation. If you’ve always wanted to do something nice for your mail carrier to thank them for all they do, next Thursday would be the perfect time to show your gratitude.

Here are some ideas of things you could do:

• Tape a colourful thank-you note on your mailbox.
• Leave some sweets or a goodie bag halfway into the mailbox slot, for them to pick up.
• If you enjoy baking, make some cookies — bonus points if the decorations are mail-themed!
• Any party is better with balloons and sparklers! :)
• If you’re at home, meet your mail carrier and say thank you in person, nothing beats voicing a heartfelt thank you.
• Use your crafty skills to make them a flag or a pin they can carry for the rest of their round!

If we catch ours on the day, we’re planning to give her some flowers… we hope she likes them!

As always, we’re actually quite curious about what you choose to do… Leave a comment with your plans, let’s plot this “conspiracy” together! :)