Postcard Passion

At one of my favorite travel blogs, Cool Travel Guide, Lara is asking her readers about postcard passion.  Since I am a huge fan of postcards, I replied to Lara, and I thought it would be fun to tell you guys what I said, so here goes…

Who I send to: My practice has been that I send a postcard to my mom & dad, sister and brother everywhere I go.  Then if the trip is more special than normal, I send one to my grandmother, aunts, uncles and closest friends.  Then if the trip is extra special, I send postcards to my work, old friends and distant relatives…the Christmas Card list.

Graphic Subject: When I am at the shop, I pick cards that are visually interesting to me, then I later choose who gets which one. I only send postcards with photos or illustrations of places or scenes that I have actually seen or experienced.  I prefer for the subject matter to be architecture, but I sometimes pick up cards with graphics, like the London Tube map, or people, like a Bangkok street vendor.  I also prefer that all my postcards have unique subjects…so that when my sister visits my mom, she doesn’t say, “Jamie sent me that card too!”

Note Subject: If possible, my note is about the image on the front.  I also cater every note to the individual.  If I’m writing my niece I tell her the things I did that day that she would have loved, like watching the ducks play in the lake.  If I’m writing my grandmother, I tell her more about the sensory experiences. I try to keep the note simple and short, aka viewer friendly!! And I always date the postcard the day I write it, and I often include the time.  This way when I forget to put it in the mail (see below), they still know I thought about them while I was away!!

Where I write: I would love to write every post card while I’m experiencing the subject of that particular card.  Sometimes this works out, sometimes it doesn’t.  I often write them as a big group at a park or coffee shop, or sometimes at the hotel as I decompress from a long day.

The added perk: STAMPS!!!  I love picking out stamps from foreign lands.  Again, I try to pick ones that represent the host country, and I always walk away with a few for my own journal pages.

Unsent cards: Sometimes I forget to buy stamps at my destination, so I end up carrying written postcards with me on the plane home.  When this happens, I buy fun stamps at home and send them anyways and hope that they don’t notice!!

As a recipient: I don’t receive many postcards, probably because I move around so much! But when I do, I love it and they go up on the tack board in the kitchen for a month or so, then they move into a drawer with all of the other cards and letters I have received since I was 10.

What do you think about postcards???  Do you still write them?