Here's why – and how – to send memorable postcards from your travels

If you’re taking a vacation, why not take along a few pens, a sheet of 56-cent stamps and an address book and send some postcards during your travels?

Postcards – like the ones your grandparents gave you – are still being sent, cherished and collected, even in this hyper-exhaustive age of text messages and Instagram posts.

“Someone once described a postcard as ‘a hug sent through the mail,’” Ana Campos, community manager of Postcrossing.com, told Paste BN. “Who wouldn't want to receive one?”

Though Americans overall are mailing far fewer cards than they used to, enthusiasts are keeping the practice alive and encouraging you to give postcards a try.

Whether you're two states away or straddling the international date line, writing a postcard is like a journal entry, one that makes you focus on where you are and what you're doing. It helps you remember and share a moment.

Some people freeze up when starting a postcard. You don't have to be a Dostoevsky or Hemingway − just keep your message short, friendly and personal. Here are a few suggestions:

Postcrossing is an international organization of more than 800,000 postcard enthusiasts in 208 countries who send cards around the world. The site opened on July 14, 2005.

Campos, 42, of Tavira, Portugal, says the group has helped lead a renaissance in cards over the past 20 years, including starting World Postcard Day in 2020.

Postcrossers send cards to other Postcrossing members, who are randomly selected to receive them. "The more cards one sends, the more they'll receive back from other members," Campos says.

For immediacy, nothing beats tweeting or texting. But postcards have the advantages of a personal touch, a direct connection, a shared moment.

You're not just pressing buttons; you're making an effort and showing someone you're genuinely thinking of them.

"There’s something special about receiving a physical piece of mail that someone has taken the time to choose, write and send," Campos says. "A lot of people tell us they like sending a postcard even more than receiving one."

It's a small gesture of doing something unexpected to brighten someone's day, she says. "It gives the sender a little jolt of pleasure and anticipation."

Travelers, individuals and organizations can be postcard enthusiasts. Families can, too.

The aptly named Postcard Club is a family group whose eight members send one another messages on handmade postcards every month. It's a way of keeping in contact and sharing their unique artwork.

"Most of my family is back in the Midwest," says James Hartman, 74, of Burlingame, California, a founding member. "This is a great way for me to send something to somebody that I may not see for the year. So we have a way to touch base."

"We have several artists in the family," Hartman says. With that artistic inspiration, family members paint, sketch or create images on the backs of blank postcards and mail them off. "Over the years we've had postcard exchanges with themes," he says.

Club members have exchanged more than 200 handmade postcards over the past 18 months, Hartman says.

"The reason we're so into it is my mother collected postcards," Hartman says. "She started a postcard club in St. Louis. They would collect the old turn-of-the-century postcards with writing on the back. I inherited her whole collection."

You'll need a 56-cent stamp for a standard-sized postcard. However, oversized postcards need letter stamps, which start at 73 cents, the Postal Service says.

Enthusiasts say it's worth it.

Postcards are everywhere and "used as reminders, advertisements, and casual correspondence," writes Mimosa Shah in the essay "Wish You Were Here: The Power of Postcards." "They mark travel and movement and are shared with colleagues and loved ones alike."

"Overall, we see a lot of postcards being sent from countries like Germany, the Netherlands, Russia or the USA," Campos says. "These are countries with long traditions of letter and postcard writing."

Which country is sending fewer postcards these days?

"I'd have to go with Denmark," Campos says. "Sending a postcard abroad costs an astonishing 50 krones, or about $7.30."

Mysterious Postcard Delivered 121 Years Late to Office

A postcard originally sent 121 years ago found its way to the head office of a building society in Wales, arriving in the regular mail on Friday, August 16. Swansea Building Society, who described the discovery as “a mystery that may never be solved”, said the postcard was dated 3 August 1903 and was adorned with a King Edward VII stamp, fitting perfectly with the 1903 postmark. The postcard was addressed to Miss Lydia Davies, who the building society believes likely resided in their head office in Craddock Street in Swansea. The postcard appears to have been sent from Fishguard in Pembrokeshire with the front of the postcard featuring a wintry scene depicting a stag standing over a frozen tree stump, with snowy mountains and a starry sky in the background. It contains a cryptic message that reads: “Dear L. I could not, it was impossible to get the pair of these. I am so sorry, but I hope you are enjoying yourself at home. I have got now about 10 [unreadable] pocket money not counting the train fare so I’m doing alright.” The note ends with a request to “Remember me to Miss Gilbert + John with love to all from [unreadable].” The postcard

Where do I find postcards and how do I choose them?

You can usually find postcards just about anywhere. Grocery stores, pharmacies, gift shops, museums, souvenir shops, bookstores, and larger gas stations generally have them.

However, it may take some work, depending on location.

“It’s almost impossible to find postcards these days," Ashley Glennon, a reader near Seattle, told Paste BN. "I just returned from Arizona this past weekend and had to hunt hard – even at the airports and at touristy gift shops – to find postcards.”

The choice of the image on the back is up to you. Some folks like the standard "here we are" type of photo while others go for more artistic views. Or, like the Postcard Club, you can get a blank card and create your own artwork.

Postcard photos: Getty Images

Source: Paste BN Network reporting and research; Reuters; U.S. Postal Service; Postcrossing.com