One Christmas long ago I couldn’t think of a gift to give my Grandmother and her sister, my beloved Aunt Lydia. They were very tough to buy gifts for as they were the kind of women that would much rather you call them frequently and/or spend time with them than buy them things.
I was a youngster living far away immersed in working long hours advertising agency world with very frequent last minute work travel.
In a bit of last-minute creative desperation, I bought two little blue plastic pencil boxes, and two books of postcard stamps. I stuck handwritten stickers on each box, labeling them the Postcard of the Week Club. When they opened their gifts, I explained that I would be using the stamps to send them a postcard each week from my travels, and they could store the cards they received in the boxes.
I’m not sure how well the blue plastic boxes were initially received, but once the postcards started arriving, the gift was a hit. I’d often buy postcards in the airport, and scrawl a quick hello on them while on a flight, and then mail them the next time I saw a post office box.
It was the gift that could never stop. When my initial supply of stamps ran out, books of more postcard stamps magically appeared in my mail. This “club” continued from January, 1989 through 1997, when my grandmother turned 100, and most everyone in my small hometown turned out for the party.
Needless to say, I felt that I had to up my game, so I gave Grandma “B” the Postcard of the Day Club, reserved only for special people who are 100 years or older. My grandmother might have been 100, but she was sharp. If I every sent her the same postcard twice, she let me know. Needless to say, I got into the habit of buying postcards where ever I went. I loved hotels that had free cards in the room. Those racks of advertising postcards in bars and restaurants were my friends. The tourist folding strip of cards. The bound booklets of tear-out cards. I have them all.
Grandma B died when she was just four months short of her 102nd birthday. Over the years, I extended shorter term subscriptions to the Postcard of the Week Club – to my grandfather when he was in the hospital, to a friend on bed-rest with twins, to another friend struggling through the rigors of graduate school, to two beloved aunts.
I have never lost the habit of buying postcards everywhere I go, and I have a huge collection.
However, I have found a better way to send postcards when I travel.
I subscribe to Postcardly — a service turns pictures and text that you email into real-life postcards, delivered by U.S. Mail.
There is also a Postcardly app, which I use on my iPhone to send postcards.
When we are traveling in foreign countries, I know longer spend tons of time tracking down postcards, stamps, and writing and mailing the cards. I simply choose my favorite photos on my phone, and address and send them in a few minutes through the Postcardly app. Or, I email them when I have wi-fi.
Postcardly prints my postcards and mails them to my family, friends and clients through U.S. Mail. Sometimes the cards arrive while I’m still traveling. I also like to send photos of family events to family members that attended. Folks who are not on Facebook especially love them, but everyone seems to enjoy getting postcards in the mail, especially if they are featured in the photo.
If you want to try Postcardly, the company offers a free trial. Click here to sign up for three free postcards, and see how this works for you.
You will make someone’s day.
Do you send postcards when you travel? Where’s the most memorable place that you’ve sent a postcard from? Please share in comments below.
Check out these other Travel Tip posts:
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Our #1 Strategy for Staying Healthy When Traveling
Flying Internationally from the U.S. with Diabetic Medications and Supplies
3 Tips to Avoid Forgetting Something When You Travel
How to Get Your Preferred Dining Seating on a Cruise
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