The Postcrossing Forum is a big and lively place, full of different corners where postcrossers connect, share tips, and have fun together. For newcomers, it can sometimes feel overwhelming to know where to start… so we thought it would be nice to highlight some of its sections in a series of blog posts, giving everyone an easier way to explore and join in. To kick things off, here’s an introduction to the Spread the Joy section by Clarisse (aka CStar9), a fellow postcrosser who knows it well!
Shortly after beginning my Postcrossing journey, I discovered the Forum. There’s a lot to love there—especially for newbies experiencing the slow wait between official cards—but for now I’ll focus on one corner of the Forum that I’d recommend to everyone.
Spread the Joy is a caring place where postcrossers make requests for postcards for loved ones who need a little cheering up, who are celebrating a special milestone, and more. Often, the person making the request will send a thank you postcard to those who contribute.
Over the past several years, I have posted two requests. Both times, the outpouring of love from the Postcrossing community has made a real difference for the people who received the cards.
Postcards for Alanna, a young person who needed a boost during a difficult time.
I now visit Spread the Joy weekly, and collected some opportunities for you to spread the love below. This is a gentle nudge to consider watching the Spread the Joy corner for future posts that might resonate with you.
Note that if you haven’t been active on the forum before, you’ll need to browse around a little bit first, to “level up” your account and get access to this part of the forum. It’ll be worth it!
Skittykitty (USA) is collecting postcards for her husband, who is undergoing cancer treatment. He is interested in music, anime, manga, video games, horror movies and books, military history, local myths and legends. (See the original request.)
Anirudhpostcollecter (India) requests postcards with nice wishes for his high school teachers as a token of appreciation for their dedication, guidance, and hard work. Help him make their Teachers’ Day special! (See the original request.)
letterin (Uganda) is requesting postcards – and any other expressions of support – for youth at a children’s home he founded in Uganda – called St. Dorothea Kinderheim – for children in the Masaka region who have lost parents to COVID-19 and HIV/AIDS. (See the original request)
The children of St. Dorothea, after receiving postcards from postcrossers.
Esteparia (Spain) is gathering postcards, written in English or Spanish, for her niece who will turn 13 years old in March. She’d like to introduce her to the many different countries of the world! (See the original request.)
Kyylie (Canada) is collecting mail for their grandma who loves cooking and baking, and has had a challenging few years. Especially welcome are any recipe cards, food/cooking/baking-themed postcards, an envelope of recipes you love, or a postcard sharing a famous local dish! (See the original request.)
Volvomom (U.S.A.) is a teacher looking to connect with other teachers anywhere in the world with students who speak Spanish or are learning Spanish. She would like to facilitate a Spanish-language classroom postcard exchange in the upcoming school year (See the original request.)
BlueMeeple (U.K.) is collecting postcards for her mum, who is enduring a long, slow, and frustrating recovery from a knee operation. Her mum enjoys images of flowers, art, the colors blue and turquoise, Lego, Russian dolls, illustrated animals, handmade cards, religious art, and book covers. (See the original request.)
mohansn (India) is a hobbyist nature photographer who loves to send cards to local libraries and bookstores to thank them for their service to the community. He’s not looking for cards from you, but rather seeks your recommendations of a local, quaint (not famous) library or bookstore that he should send a card to. (See the original request.)
Kimberlly_Carvalho (Brazil) will celebrate her 21st birthday in September. 2025 has been a difficult year for her, and she’s looking for postcards with extra cheer to help her celebrate her special day! (See the original request.)
Interested in spreading some joy? You can navigate directly to the original request in the Forum, or message me (@CStar9) or the original poster for more information and the mailing address.
What do you think? Have you had an experience with these sections of the forum? Are there other opportunities you’ve found online to spread snail-mail joy, such as https://loveforourelders.org/ or https://www.moreloveletters.com/? Leave a comment below to let us know — 5 commenters will be randomly selected for a postcard giveaway from the new set, Most Fascinating Museums, this time next week.
During their school’s “Alternative Learning Week”, the students from an Italian school embarked on a special project that took them on a journey through time, rediscovering the beauty of postcards and stamps. This initiative, led by their teacher Matteo Aldrovandi (aka mattyboy3y) aimed to introduce students to the magic of traditional correspondence, stamp collecting, and the joy of waiting for a postcard in an increasingly digital and fast-paced world. Here’s Matteo’s report of that special activity!
Hi everyone! I’m Matteo, a teacher at Scuola Secondaria di I grado ‘B. Croce’ in Gonzaga, working with three first-year classes (students aged 11 years old). Our “Alternative Learning Week” is all about breaking away from traditional teaching methods and exploring new, enriching experiences. Thanks to the Postcrossing forum, I connected with Ana (aka Anacalma), a Spanish teacher working with students with motor disabilities. When we realized that both of our classes had around 70 students, we saw the perfect opportunity for a “direct swap” between our schools. And just like that, with the help of Postcrossing, our adventure began!
The project unfolded in several exciting phases. First, my Italian students explored the fascinating history of postal communication through archival videos from Poste Italiane website, learning how stamps and letters have played a crucial role over the centuries. Then, they took part in a fun and engaging challenge: voting for the “Most Beautiful Stamp of 2024,” a competition that sparked their curiosity and appreciation for stamp design.
But the real highlight of the experience was the creation of personalized postcards. With enthusiasm and creativity, each student designed their own unique postcard, which they then carefully addressed and stamped—many of them for the very first time! These special postcards were sent across borders to their peers in a secondary school in Madrid, Spain, turning this into a truly international exchange.
None of this would have been possible without Postcrossing! Through this initiative, my students not only experienced the excitement of sending a tangible message but also discovered the anticipation and joy of receiving a postcard in return, perhaps even starting new international friendships or sparking a newfound interest in stamp collecting and postcard writing. Who knows? Maybe among these young participants, there are future postcrossers… or even the designers of a future Italian postage stamp!
A heartfelt thank you to the Postcrossing team, to Anacalma, and to everyone who helped make this project possible. This experience proved that even in the digital age, the charm of postcards and stamps remains as magical as ever!
Over the forum, there’s a fun topic called “You know you’re a postcrosser when…”, started by Jenny (aka Axolotl_) back in 2021. We love seeing what people post there, so we thought we’d share some of the ones which jumped out at us (though it’s very hard to choose!).
One of the earliest posts by Jewell (aka jewelldelis) does seem like a bit of a giveaway, and other members have mentioned similar:
You know you’re a postcrosser when… Your postal worker knows you by name.
I don’t think I’m quite at that stage myself, but I do wonder sometimes if the person emptying the pillarboxes sees all my postcards pushed in at once and thinks “ah, it’s that one again”! Though it’s rare for me to send as much as Ksenia (aka Xute). She says:
You know you’re a postcrosser when… you measure biweekly sent cards in centimeters rather than a number
Sometimes it’s not just about us. It’s the way the whole family gets involved. For example, even Shannon (aka MystiqueDeep)'s kids are in on the Postcrossing fun:
You know you’re a postcrosser…
When your children all have their own postcard collections, and they are already so large they need multiple binders just to keep them.
When a neighbor doesn’t recognize the image on your postcard and your 4-year old tells them it’s a mailbox from Japan.
It’s not just at home with the neighbours and the local postal workers, either. Kanerva has even been spotted as a postcrosser in a touristy spot:
You know you’re a postcrosser… When you are buying postcards in a tourist hotspot and the clerk behind the counter asks if you are a postcrosser by any chance?
I’ve been asked about all the postcards I was buying before, but they didn’t know about Postcrossing yet. Don’t worry, I told them all about it!
Quite recently, Sai (aka Boson) shared the fun facts about addresses that he’s learned because of Postcrossing. He says you know you’re a postcrosser when:
You know you’re a postcrosser when… you eventually know
UAE, QATAR, Jamaica, Bahamas, Belize, Fiji, Central African Republic, Rwanda, Guyana, Gambia, Tuvalu, … don’t have Postal codes.
and Some have only one postcode for the entire country/territory:
Gibraltar – GX11 1AA
Christmas Island – 6798
Vatican – 00120
Macao – 999078
Gabon has 2 numbers, and Iceland, Bahrain, Madagascar, Oman, … have 3 number postcodes
Some places have two postcodes like Germany’s/Swiss exclave/enclaveBüsingen 1 to forward mail easily
On another note, Maggie (aka fire_maggie)'s suggestion got me thinking:
You know you’re a postcrosser when… you check how to say “where is the post office” and “commemorative stamps” in the local language before traveling, along with the cost to send postcards from that country.
Clearly, I need to add this to my travel checklist… Do you know how to ask for stamps in many languages? I think I could manage French, and I always have my wife to ask in Dutch. After that I might be stuck. Better preparation next time!
For those who have a mailbox to open, Nadine (aka Amalaswintha)'s got a suggestion:
You know you’re a postcrosser when… you are trying to open every door with your mailbox key.
I’m kind of relieved I don’t have a mailbox, because I can definitely picture that happening to me. But Kasia (aka kasia_kiwi) has one I definitely relate to:
You know you’re a postcrosser when… you know the locations and collection times for all the postboxes in your village and you take postcards to send on your walks (which are always planned to pass by a postbox).
That was actually my only motivation to go for walks for a while. I used my Postcrossing cards to get me out of the house, because I wouldn’t want to disappoint anyone by not posting their postcards right away!
That was just a selection of all the fun ideas people have shared about what marks them out as postcrossers on the forum. It’s obvious how much time people take over Postcrossing and how much they love this hobby, and it gives us the warm fuzzies. (And as you can see from this post, I’m the same!)
What about you—do you think there’s something very specific that marks you out as a postcrosser?
It probably doesn’t come as too much of a surprise to learn that here at Postcrossing we’re really interested in all things postal. There’s a fascinating topic in the Postcrossing forum about how people’s post offices look, allowing glimpses of how different it can be in different communities and different countries. We’ve asked some of the posters for permission to use their photographs, but you can check out the whole thread on the forum to see lots more!
It was difficult to choose which photos to include here, but in the end I thought I’d highlight some of the photos which show how different post offices can be the world over, from a little desk tucked into the corner of a local shop to a custom-built building just for the mail.
For example, in Hanna, Alberta (Canada) the entire town get their mail by coming to this post office building full of personal boxes. Jill (aka Borborhick) explained that it’s open 24/7, with a desk that’s open during the week for picking up and sending parcels, buying postage, etc.
On the other hand, here’s a little post office that’s set up in someone’s house, in Wales, UK. I didn’t actually know there were still any post offices in the UK like this, run from someone’s home, so this was an intriguing find for me. Mary (aka maripost) explained a little about about what it’s like: there’s one counter position, which is busy most of the time, and she knows most of her customers since she grew up in the village. It looks lovely!
Another lovely thing about the thread is the number of nice (and often old) buildings that post offices live in. Brenda (aka BrendaVR) took some lovely ones of her local post office in Ontario (Canada), the Walter Street Post Office. Here’s the one that first struck me, showing the entrance and a sort of mini clocktower at one corner:
Speaking of older buildings, here’s a rather classic-looking doorway of a post office in Oxford, UK! This picture was taken by Christine (aka travellingsheep). The building is from 1879, and I’d love to get a closer look at all that detail above the door…
My attention was also caught by a post from Thisura (aka TazocinWilson) in Sri Lanka, about the post office in his community, Cinnamon Gardens (a former cinnamon plantation). Established in 1905, Thisura called it a living museum, saying that the mail is still collected in leather bags, sorted by hand, and stamped by hand with ink (rather than a franking machine). The red brickwork against the white columns is a really pleasing look!
Contrast that with this more plain building spotted by Justyn (aka vireolanius) in the US…
Though in fact inside Justyn spotted a lovely detail: a quilt hung on the wall that says “Thank you for using Priority Mail”. It’s an unusual decoration, giving a surprisingly homey look to the inside of the building, but it looks really nice!
To close, here’s something a little different! Kanerva talked about the fact that Finland has very few actual post offices, and lots of “postal partners” where postal services are offered by corner shops, etc. There’s just one post office in Northern Finland, and that of course is Santa’s main post office, at the Arctic Circle! Kanerva took a few photos to show what it’s like.
One neat detail is these postboxes. One takes normal mail that can be sent anytime, but the other takes mail that will actually be sent in December (regardless of when you put it in the box). A nice way to set up a surprise for someone…
These are just a few glimpses of different post offices, so don’t forget to check out the full topic… and maybe add some of your own photos? We’d love to see!
PS: Just as Nicky was finishing preparing this post some weeks ago, a fire devastated Manila’s Central Post Office in the Philippines, an historical building over nearly 100 years old. An irreparable and tragic loss of a national landmark, and a part of Manila’s cultural heritage and history. 💔 Please cherish and use your local post offices! -Ana
Some time ago, Ana chose a number of the handmade cards from the forum to highlight on the blog. That forum topic is still going strong (do share your own handmade cards there too!) — and now it’s my turn to choose some of the gorgeous creations to share.
Let’s start off with a smile! These animals with googly eyes from Caro (aka Pigglet) really made me smile. Especially the sheep, with the mismatched eyes!
These lovely images introduced me to the concept of etegami, a Japanese art form which involves the combination of words and images to create a simple postcard. Etegami isn’t about creating the most beautiful or skilled picture, but about expressing yourself. These examples were made by Hikari (aka hikarin).
In the previous post, we’ve shown off some of the collage postcards people make. These ones made from a fashion catalogue by Nadja (aka Nadjafee) grabbed my eye — there’s a fairytale waiting to be told here, I think!
Öne (aka Radieschen)'s collages caught my attention right away as well: so much texture and colour!
We always really love to see unusual postcards decorated with different kinds of crafts, and here’s a lovely one decorated with batik fabric and crochet! It was made by Giffen (aka cutetaiki), from Indonesia. I do crochet myself, and can just imagine how interesting this is to the touch as well.
Since I just mentioned a card that should be interesting to the touch as well, this one’s something that engages other senses too: Tamara (aka tamara84) created a postcard by creating a sticker from a cross-stitched image, and then added a little lavender oil so that the card is scented as well!
Olga (aka OlgaMartik)'s beautiful embroidery sailboat had me wondering where exactly it’s going, and I really liked those wave effects!
Since we’re speaking of embroidery, here are some that really made the team smile. Ksenia (aka Xute) took up the needle… but found it less relaxing than hoped.
Inspired by Ksenia’s example, Ana (aka meiadeleite) has given it a try as well!
Turning to other crafts, Hanna (aka _Hawkwind_) invited everyone to guess about the owner of this striking silhouette… I think I know, do you?
Tatyana (aka Tatyana-Levina) has done some lovely (and personal) drawings for postcards, which I just couldn’t resist sharing as well.
I loved the idea of using maps to make postcards, so Christa (aka Chrizzie)'s globes are a favourite. It’s a really effective look!
And that’s a lovely note to end on… so let’s let all our adventures begin! And if you make your own postcards, we’d all love to see them.
