Postage by Virginia Kraljevic - click image to view more
Once upon a time, if you wanted to get in touch with someone, you sent a letter.
It’s no big secret that postal services are hurting. The advent of the internet and email gave us e-cards and online banking. Recessions gave us less money in our pockets for mailing and shipping. Environmental issues have us curbing the amount of paper we use. Technology is making us flat-out less personal with one another. We’re lucky if we even send out real Christmas cards anymore. Facebook, Twitter, and every other social media outlet has us convinced that we can still connect with our fellow man by just skimming our way through their life story.
Letters still exist. Letters say you care. A good chunk of the younger population out there has probably never even received an honest-to-goodness letter from someone. Sure, they take time out of our supposed busy schedules, but remember how it felt when you opened a letter knowing someone was thinking about YOU? And ONLY you? While you still have the chance, pick up a pen and a piece of paper. Sit down and write a letter to someone. SEND IT. No email, tweet, or status post will mean as much to a person as the time they know you took to focus on just them. They can hold your letter in their hand… see the emotion in your writing… have a little piece of you arrive at their door. A little piece of happiness.
Don’t we all still want that?
Here are some small ways you can keep the nostalgia alive and your mailbox happy:
- Leafcutter Designs — Teeny, tiny, personalized mail that you can actually send to someone for everyday correspondence or special occasions. This is what you get with the World’s Smallest Post Service, or WSPS for short. Each letter comes with a tiny magnifying glass so your eyes don’t go all buggy trying to make out the message. Bonus: WSPS is just one of many creative ideas spawned from the noggin of Lea Richmond at Leafcutter Designs.
- Postcrossing— The idea of a pen pal is fading right along with snail mail, but you can still make a connection abroad with the handwritten word. Postcrossing allows you to send and receive postcards to and from countries around the world with their automated address list. I joined a little while ago and was excited to send my first cards off to Russia, Finland, China, Ukraine, and the Netherlands. Bonus: Take your communication further by participating in forums or opt in to receive mail directly.
- Telegram Stop— When telegrams were a main method of communication, punctuation cost extra when composing your message. The word “stop” was inserted at the end of a sentence instead. Revive this classic piece of history with Telegram Stop. Based in Australia, Telegram Stop sends an authentic-looking message, complete with stops, to anywhere in the world. Bonus: One rate covers anywhere on the globe!
- Postcarden— If you live inside the European Union, you have the good fortune of being able to send someone there a PostCarden. As a recipient, you can get one of five postcard-styled boxes that open up in 3-D form, allowing you to plant the enclosed seeds and grow your own miniature garden. Bonus: You can eat it, too. The greenery. Not the paper, crazy.
- bARTer Sauce— Brought to you by Rosalie Gale of Unanimous Craft and Ugly Baby Shower Art, bARTer Sauce is an experiment in trading for art and odd objects with a story behind them that you provide… real or not. Sign up now and you could be a foster home for goods like a house hat, transvestite robot, or a paint-by-number sailing ship!
- The Post Culture— A celebration of the art of snail mail. “Lovers of fine paper, good penmanship, beautiful stamp design, and the hint of perfume on an envelope from another time and place.” Follow along on Twitter (@PostCulture) and postculture.posterous.com
Beside bills, what kind of snail mail do you still send?
Tina Jett is an artist, writer, photographer, and world-explorer. Her husband describes her with the phrase, “It’s like she lives in a coloring book.” See how that vision influences the work on her 
Not only is it nice to receive a letter, but taking the time to write to someone is a chance to pause and to spend time with them for a bit, even if they are far away.
That is an awesome statement. The end.
I love sending and receiving real letters!
Keeping the joy alive through fun, sewn cards that I sell on etsy:
lelabela.etsy.com
Nice cards, Lela! I like the collage feel to them.
i adore mail – sending and receiving!
but don’t forget the letter writers alliance: http://16sparrows.typepad.com/letterwritersalliance/
That is an awesome site!! Thank you so much for sharing. I just added it to my reader.
I LOVE postcrossing! I’ve been an active user of postcrossing for 5 years or more and it’s sooo cool to receive postcards from all over the world!
It’s fun to check the mail, everyday, in case there’s a postcard from a total stranger waiting for me!
I love seeing all the different stamps and postmarks. There are some really beautiful designs out there.
i create cards and love to write .. short notes .. i have a friend who is confined to the hospital for the last few weeks of her pregnancy ..i have been sending cards to her..
That’s a great gesture! Something she could save to show her child some day, too.
I have been a great letter writer in the past, but as internet has taken over, admit to not being as good in times. However, every Christmas – it’s a family ritual – the Christmas card list comes out (inevitably, these days, it can be a little shorter) and a card and “round-robbin” letter is sent to all friends and family – anywhere. We’re still in touch with Canadian friends made between 1975-1987, as well as folks we’ve got to know since returning to the UK. So, if time is a factor, once a year is a great way to catch up (sometimes it can be embarassing if addressed to folks who are no longer with us), and it’s a real part of our Family Christmas. I’d recommend it, despite the pitfalls.
I’ve slacked off in sending actual cards the last few years, but it’s definitely something I’d like to pick up again. I like your round robin tradition!
Thanks for the great suggestions!
Just looked into the first 2 and love it!
I still adore snail mail from my little niece and nephew…and enjoy mailing them snail mail, too!! It’s great to be able to hold a little package of love from them or for them.
They’d probably really like the World’s Smallest Post Service. It’s almost like a secret message until you break out the little magnifying glass.
Thanks for the fantastic links-I’ll definitely be checking those out. I do still write actual letters to my sister-it’s a great excuse to buy fancy cards and stationary (which I love to do of course).
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I still send letters to some of my friends abroad. It’s a great way to keep in touch, and the process is slow enough for us always having some interesting news to report in each letter.
If we were to send the same via e-mail, the pace would be so fast that we would get tired of it and stop commmunication altogether.
I have 5 penpals that I write to. Hand written letters (on stationary I made myself) and put inside envelopes I make myself. It is a really relaxing, grounding activity and it makes my day when I get a letter in return
When I was little I remember having a very long list of penpals. As I got older many of them stopped replying but I still have a few friends I keep in contact with primarily through real letters and am always on the lookout for more! I love writing so letter writing has always been natural for me and now that I’m stuck at home I love nothing better than receiving handwritten post in the morning (especially if it’s a surprise!)