Postcards
 

We recently just started to send postcards again, hadn't done so in a long time, thought it was old fashioned. What surprises us is that the postcards seem to mean so much to people, I mean we get calls and emails thanking us for the postcards! The thing is half the time we're only sending the little postcards you find in the hotel room desk drawer, nothing special. Do yous get the same reaction when you send postcards?

My oldest niece asked me several years ago to send postcards to her young kids because they don't get any mail. I try to buy cards that are appealing to kids although sometimes I've used the ones from the hotel room. They love the cards, and I'm their favorite aunt (for other reasons, too, but this is one). As my other nieces' kids get old enough to appreciate cards, I send them postcards to them too.

I also send postcards to my invalid aunt. It's a quick way to stay in touch, and she loves seeing all the places I get to travel to.

I send them to my grandparents whenever I travel; one would think I sent them a million bucks each time.

Where do you stay? I would like to find postcards in my hotel rooms.

I've also found that many people react very favorably to postcards, and really any such physical mail (e.g., letters, packages).

Just be careful with expanding the group. I now have a few family members and friends who get impatient if they don't receive a postcard from me for a few weeks. If you travel a lot, it can make for a lot of writing (though well worth the effort).

I send postcards, and I echo what others have said about people being grateful - I usually pick out special ones - skyscrapers for a friend who likes those, castles for another friend who is really into history and haunted places, that sort of thing. I hate writing them out, because I never know what to say, but they still appreciate it even if I just say 'Hi, got into XYZ today, really tired, but saw this and thought you would like it...'

I think it means a lot to people to know you took the time out of a trip to think of them.

About 70 per trip
 

I send about 70 postcards from each major trip...perhaps once a year, and otherwise send about 10 or 12 for noteworthy but more minor trips.

The basic reason it is worth it for me is that I get to tell people that I am traveling and they are not.

And, they also like receiving them.

My niece is in kindergarten this year and the teacher asked family members to mail postcards into the class and they will lookup each city and read the postcard to the class. I have sent a postcard to her from every city I have been to including connecting airports. I can't wait to see the stack she brings home from school in about a month. :D

I'll also occasionally send postcards to other family members and friends and they all seem to appreciate it a lot!

I send postcards to a good friend of mine. I'll sit down and give a trip overview over 10 or so postcards. She enjoys seeing the sights on the cards and reading about my trip and I enjoy writing about it. One odd thing that I've noticed over the trips is one universal constant. Cards don't get there at the same time. On a recent trip to Ireland I sent all 10 cards at the same time in the same post box. They arrived over a 4 day span. Always wondered why...I mean a couple of days would be one thing....but 4?

I am a huge fan of postcards, both to receive and to send, and especially if they are sent from an unusual destination with a stamp from that destination.
Sometimes, I may be back home and sharing pictures before the postcards arrive, but everyone who receives the postcards still seems to enjoy them.

Once, a friend receive my postcard from Mexico a month after it was sent; he was completely baffled as neither the date I wrote on the card nor the postmark were easily distinguishable.

I wish more people would send postcards (and old-fashioned letters too).

Some people who receive my postcards claim that they have retained every one and keep them in a special box.

I also tend to select postcards carefully and would never send a hotel postcard except in an emergency. Typically I would consider it inappropriate to send someone a winter scene when I visited an area in the summer, etc. I do try to match up interests whenever possible, so a friend who likes trains might get a postcard on that subject.

I send postcards to my kids in college. They like to see some in the mail beside bills.

I was totally shocked at how many people are asking if we sent them a postcard (unfortunatly, the answer was no). Lots of them were people with kids who are collecting, etc. Next time, postcards to be sure.

Ditto :-) And even with the latest price increase, it's a pretty inexpensive way to brighten their week.

My kids loved postcards when they were little, but mostly ignored them as they hit high school. The one living in a college dorm rolls her eyes and says "Muh-therrrrrr" when she gets them now, but I am pretty sure she likes getting real mail.

When we travel 'for fun' we always send my nieces (and nephew) a postcard or two. They're between ages three and six and love 'getting mail.'