I’m going to be totally honest here. I’m a complete, old-school nerd and live for all things handwritten. From my laughable daily to-do lists to a paper 12-month diary (Moleskine always, just to treat myself) and visiting second-hand bookstores are just a few of the paper-fuelled habits that I can’t kick. As much as I would love a Kindle or E-Reader, I just can’t bring myself to do it. Note: all of the above use recyclable paper where possible because I’m not a total environmental monster.
But, all my nerdiness aside, there’s one type of seemingly outdated form of communication that I used to love, but now I always neglect it – postcards.
Do people still send postcards?
I used to pride myself on spending my time to craft the perfect, hand-written postcard while travelling. I would send these to my grandparents, family, friends and everyone else in between. The best part was finding the most wildly inappropriate postcode – mostly from Europe – and sending it to my best friends family home or workplace (it’s the small thrills in life, isn’t it?).
Then what happened, I hear you ask? It’s really simple. I got lazy. Wholeheartedly, unashamedly lazy. Today, we’re spoilt with Instagram and every other social media network under the sun to update my family and friends within seconds. Both of my grandparents who are well and truly living their best life and over 80 years old are both on Facebook – even they both skip the family email updates and go straight to Facebook.
The final straw for my postcard habits was during a group tour in Egypt with Topdeck back in 2015 when I’d just moved from Australia to London, and thought it would be fun to send my family a postcard each to update everyone on my travels. So, I bought the postcards. I poured my heart into writing thoughtful updates to my family. Did I ever send the postcards? No. I still have these beautiful papyrus postcards on my bedside table that were never sent. Lazy, lazy millennial.
The next batch of failed postcards was intended to be sent over Christmas that same year from Belgium. Cute, right? What better way to say, “I miss you, Merry Christmas and sorry for having the time of my life at the festive markets in Belgium without you all.” I bet you can guess where those postcards are now. You guess it – unstamped. Never sent, and still sitting in my room.
What does the postcard look like in 2018?
Fast forward to 2018, and now I’m wondering if everyone else travelling around the world is as lazy as I am? If the answer is yes, then admittedly, we should all probably pick up our game. Let’s not forget how excited we used to get as children when our BFFs would send us a postcard. It is something we all used to look forward to getting from anyone who was travelling.
But in the meantime, because now we’re all inherently lazy and #millenial, these are a few apps that we should incorporate into our travels. Some of these apps have been around for years, but sometimes we just need a reminder to be a nice human and send some postcard love.
1. Touchnote
If you’re anything like me, opening the mailbox terrifies me – as it’s only filled with bills and unfriendly bank summaries that tell me how broke I might be. You can change that for someone else and brighten their day. Boasting both iOS and Android versions, the best part about Touchnote is that you can order a postcard or greeting card from your desktop if you’re lucky enough to be travelling with one.
2. Postagram
Merging my two favourite things, postcards and the ‘Gram, Postagram is inspired by the traditional Instagram square layout. It literally takes just a few seconds for you to win brownie points with your family and friends by sending a paper postcard.
3. My Postcard
Take a look at My Postcard, another postcard app where you can send a unique and personal design with a few clicks. With a few quick clicks, you can zoom in, crop the images and add a beautiful, personal note on the back and send a printed card to your nearest and dearest. It’s easy, spontaneous and super thoughtful.
4. Postsnap
Like many other postcard apps, there are dozens of funky templates for you to choose from while adding your own images straight from Instagram or Facebook. There’s no excuse not to send a friendly travel update now.
5. Snapshot Postcard
Like we said, the power to brighten someone’s day via a personalised, modern postcard is in your hands. Take a look at Snapshot Postcards that can be downloaded on your iOS device and off you go!
Do you still send postcards? Start the discussion below with our community of travellers.
