Postcrossing.com - a great way to make international friends

If, like me you enjoy communicating with people, travelling - virtually via postcards in this case - and maybe collecting stamps and postcards, postcrossing.com is a great thing to join!  You can send as many or as few cards as suits you. I have had to cut down recently due to the increased postage costs, but  you are guaranteed to receive as many as you send.  You may establish friendships through mutual interests or indeed diverse lifestyles across the world, and who knows if one day you may meet your new friends. Children and adults alike are involved, and some school groups also participate.
  The above is a selection of cards I have received over the years, from places including Macedonia, Poland, Russia, Hungary, Japan, Latvia  and Germany.  I've learned about traditions, crafts, artists and beautiful places I'll probably never visit, but can through Postcrossing.com .  Many people are keen to swap stamps, small collectable items or just stories! 

Brighten up your post! A little slower than e mail but it's lovely to receive a real letter or postcard.

Having joined in the wonderful activity of  Postcrossing.com a few years ago, which anyone can join for free,  instead of just boring brown envelopes,  I now frequently  receive  mail like this from all parts of the world and have gained some lovely regular penfriends :

I decided to get started with writing some letters to many of my overseas friends before the Christmas rush starts, and chose some pretty stamps and decorations to add to the envelopes, so my pile of post looked like this:

You don't have to stick (excuse the pun!) to the small definitive stamps to put on your letters, ask at the post office for Commemoratives (the ones with a picture of an event or historical reference.  which will always make your post look far more interesting! Zoom in on this image to see the latest stamps issued including the toys and children's story books, windmills etc.  And you can pick up interesting cards anywhere you go, and can often also find them very cheaply in Charity shops.