Challenge Day Six: The $5 Postcard Blitz

I’m not a very good traveler, but I do love going places so I can send the postcards to my friends. It’s a little wonky, I admit, but… hey, it makes me happy.

For today’s challenge you don’t even have to go anywhere. The postcard blitz is fun for several reasons. First of all, the postage is a lot cheaper for a postcard, only 27 cents! Second, you have a very small space to write in so it’s quick and easy to jot a note and send it off right away. Third, many people like to collect postcards from many different places so your note will probably end up being saved, or at the least will stay on someone’s fridge ’til it’s manhandled by greasy chicken fingers.

At the place I buy postcards, I pay about 20 cents per card, then 27 cents for postage. I can do ten cards (domestically) for under five bucks. Think about it… that’s TEN FRIENDS you can surprise for less than five dollars. What else can you do for ten friends for that little money?

Even in that small space, some might feel intimidated about what to write. I hear this excuse a lot, “My life is so boring, I have nothing to say that’s interesting.” Wait, I’ve used that excuse myself! No worries, if you feel uninspired today and nothing new is going on, how about an inspirational quote? Pick a quote (you can find many on the Internet via search engines) that you think will inspire, delight, amuse or intrigue your friend. Jot it on the card, attribute the source and send it off.

The point is to communicate, build relationships and make something interesting happen for your friend.

Here are other fun things to do with postcards:

1) Make your own if you’re creative in that way
2) Alter a ready made card by putting a silly caption on the picture or adding cutouts from a magazine or drawing something in on top of the picture
3) Draw a silly cartoon or stick figures on the back
4) Doodle around the edges of your message or quote
5) Send two postcards with a riddle. Send the riddle the first day and send the answer a couple days later. (Please don’t tell anyone I am responsible for you being so aggravating.)
6) Try a rhyming note or haiku
7) Write your note backwards so they have to hold it up to the mirror to read it (again, see non-disclosure request in #6)

Just play… ’cause some days life is tough and troublesome. Experience some wonder through letter writing. Brighten someone’s day. I always feel better when I do something for others and I bet you do, too.

P.S. If for some reason you’d like to send postcards to strangers or guarantee you’ll get postcards back for your effort, try postcrossing.com.

Tags: challenge, cheap, frugal, letter writing, letters, Postcards