February is a busy month in the mail calendar, and we can’t wait for it to start! Are you ready?
We love a good mail challenge around here, and since February is the Month of Letters, it is time to dust off all that special stationery and put pen to paper! It’s the perfect opportunity for reconnecting with family and friends in these socially-distanced times, 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 American writer 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 yearly flurry of correspondence.
If you’re planning to join this year, you’re welcome to share your progress with us on this forum topic.
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 Friday this year, so make sure to prepare something nice for your mail carrier and give them a smile before the weekend — for instance, 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! 😊
29 comments so far
Thanks mr postman. i will join the appreciation day
Looking forward to reading about ideas for the Month of Letters in the forum topic, as well as happy news about happy mail, sent and received through February!
I will do my bit.
Love it, thank you for the reminder! ❤️
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Thank you for the reminder!!! Hope to join the celebration day! <3
I did not know this day! Yay I will put gift in mailbox for the mail carrier. Thank you!
😊 Happy to do this 'cos I haven't been out for over a week due to 'flu and this will need a trip up to the post box every day. I'll include a THANK YOU postcard to local sorting office ❣
Can't wait! I took part last year and received over 60 letters! It was wonderful - they came from all over the world!
This is a WONDERFUL IDEA 💡
Signed up on the Forum. Come on February ✍💌💌💌💌💌💌💌💌💌💌💌💌💌💌💌💌💌💌💌💌💌💌💌💌💌💌💌💌
Is 'mail carrier appreciation day' a National day in USA? Or do other countries celebrate this as well?
Back to writing again and Feb. 4th is marked in my calendar, Thank you.
Wonderful ideas! Here in Finland the postmen and -women are endangered professionals.
Very appreciated for the folks still.
It's a wonderful idea! Thanks for this blog!
Really wonderful idea ! Thanks for this blog and I will attend this.
I have a few penfriends that I "met" years ago when I first took part in the month of letters. I definitely will write again this year.
I might not be able to send out a letter every day but it's a really cool idea. And a huge thanks to all of our mail carriers!
I am so looking forward to another month long challenge of letter writing. I did this back in Nov 2021 of writing to my younger brother everyday for a month, it was tough just writing to the same receiver and not telling him, why he was being showered with letters and cards everyday, but it was such a joy to comfort him and cheer him up during a month of hardships. We live across the country from one another and it was a way to feel closer to him. I will be writing to several receivers this time around.🙂
Noted, thank you for the reminder! I'm so excited
I don't know who delivers my mail but I write a card for the person, put it in an envelope and leave it on my mailbox for them to find each year on Mail Carrier appreciation day. They deserve a thank you :)
I think it's a perfect time for writing letters: long winter evenings in the northern hemisphere and cooler hours after hot days in the south. Or maybe you can do it my way and write very early in the morning, even before the sunrise. 🌄
It seems we have another similar day in the US on July 1 called National Postal Worker Day: (in addition to, maybe not instead of): https://www.news18.com/amp/news/lifestyle/national-postal-worker-day-2021-history-significance-and-importance-during-covid-19-3908360.html
A great month to help get through the New England cold and snow! :)
I am so excited to be a part of this challenge!
Вау какое хорошее событие!
Definitely going to attempt this challenge, and am making a list of people to send correspondence, both letters and postcards. Also have a "Thank you" card picked out for my postal carrier friends!
I don't know who delivers my mail ... Posted by BrokkoliKatze
@BrokkoliKatze - my Mail Carrier definitely knows me. I walked an entirely different street and saw him. He had the headphones on and was busy with the mail. I thought he would not notice me, but without looking at me he reached into his mailbag and handed my mail over. :-)
Postcrossers don't go unnoticed. :-)
Thank you for this opportunity! I am excited to write each day to someone for the month of February. I’m working on a list also. I am also happy to get to make a gift box of snacks and goodies for my mail carrier. I did this last year for the first time. She loved it. I did it again for Christmas. This time I’m making her a sunshine box where everything is in a yellow wrapper. I went to 5 stores to find what I wanted. This is so fun. Then Random Acts of Kindness starts this month too. I love this kind of stuff!
Sending my first postcard with blue grape hyacinth bulbs in wooden box to a cousin in a serve burnout...💙
Thank you for the reminder👍🏼! I’ll remember that❤️
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