The Wonderful World of Postcrossing Meetups

Postcrossing meetups, a snail mail enthusiast’s wonderland. They offer an exciting experience and an opportunity to meet fellow postcrossers. Yet, if you’ve never been to one or are just finding out about them, all the back-and-forth discussions surrounding them may seem a bit overwhelming. You probably still have a lot of questions before you venture out to one, but don’t worry, we’ll help break it all down and get you on your way.

For the purpose of this article, we will break down the two main types of meetups organized by the Postmark Posse. This doesn’t mean there aren’t other folks organizing events in different formats or that this writeup is intended to serve as a rubric on how meetups should be run. Rather, it’s a summary of observations from past events intended to help demystify them. Let’s dig in!

Themed Meetups

Themed meetups were the first type of meetups I came across through the Postcrossing forums. Most official Postcrossing meetups are announced through the Postcrossing Community forums, where organizers post event details and attendees can express interest. Local groups may also share information through social media or messaging platforms.

I refer to these as themed meetups because they tend to revolve around a special theme or occasion – this could include an anniversary, a destination, some postal event, a special collaboration, or even a local attraction.

The Postcard 

Another characteristic of themed meetups is that they usually have a commemorative card. The design typically relates to the theme of the meetup and may include information that marks the special occasion such as the date, location, or title of the event. When the meetup is first announced, attendees can sign up to attend the event and reserve a certain quantity of cards.

It’s important to note, however, that attendees aren’t required to purchase any meetup cards to attend. While these cards are great items to commemorate the event, the most important part of meetups is the people behind the cards – the Postcrossing community. This is a great opportunity to meet and share with fellow postcrossers.

What to Expect

So you’ve signed up, ordered cards, and are ready to go; what next? When you arrive the day of the meetup, the first person you’ll probably look for is the host. Meetup hosts are really good at spotting out attendees on arrival and first-timers, so rest assured that finding them shouldn’t be that hard – they’ll also usually be the ones handing out reserved cards or card orders, so that should be easy to spot.

Once you find the host and pick up your cards, they’ll usually explain how the meetup will run. This usually depends on the host. However, for most meetups, once you get your cards, you can find a spot to sit and you may start circulating your cards to get signed or stamped by fellow postcrossers while subsequently signing or stamping other members’ cards.

In short, that’s really the heart of most themed meetups!

What to Bring

Now that we know it’s a tradition of meetups to sign each other’s postcards, you may want to bring something to sign with. Regular attendees often create custom rubber stamps with their username handles or an image they identify with to sign the cards. But don’t worry, a simple pen will do just fine.

Crafty folks will also bring along some of their favorite decorating materials. From washi tape and stickers to calligraphy pens and special stamp inks, there are no limitations to what you can bring along to give your cards some special flair.

With that said, it’s not uncommon for attendees to start addressing their cards once they’ve been signed and stamped by everyone, so bringing postage will come in handy if you plan to mail out that day. There may even be folks volunteering to do mail drop-offs after the meetup, so keep your ears peeled just in case.

Activities

In order to help break the ice, some meetup hosts also set up activities, such as raffles or games – something light to get us moving around and get comfortable with each other, though, these tend to happen closer to the end of the meetups.

It’s even more common for there to be giveaway or freebie tables at these meetups as well. These are areas where folks can leave items to share with other attendees – this can range from postcards, stationery, supplies and even snacks or goodies. It’s not required to leave or take any items, but it always seems to spark some nice conversations.

Informal Meetups

With all of that said, next we introduce another type of meetup, informal meetups.

Having gone to a few themed meetups, I realized that sometimes I didn’t get to talk to many people. Either I was caught up in stamping cards, or just deep in conversation with a few people. Also, having hosted a meetup, I realized the amount of work and effort it took to organize them with greater frequency.

We wanted to find a way to have more meetups, but also allow a greater opportunity to connect with people. Some of the longer-term connections that I made with fellow postcrossers happened after meetups. Either continuing a conversation once everything had settled down, or even sharing a meal afterwards. These were times when we got to exchange our snail mail adventures and build a deeper sense of camaraderie.

Coffee with the Posse

In an effort to replicate that setting, we established Coffee with the Posse. An informal meetup where we simplified everything. There was no postcard to be designed. No cards that had to be stamped. And since potential attendance would be smaller, the venues were much more flexible – like a coffee shop!

No expectations, just open-ended meetups to get together and catch up on anything. Whether it was postcards you needed to write, to going on stationery runs together, the possibilities were endless. Each host picks a venue, and maybe adds a few details on what could take place as an activity. 

So whether you want to dive right into a themed meetup, or prefer the smaller scale of an informal meetup, I hope that this summary at least helps demystify postcrossing meetups enough to encourage you to attend one and not feel overwhelmed. In any case, always feel free to ask any questions. I promise, postcrossers are a welcoming community always eager to help. This extended Postcrossing family has always treated me well, and I hope it does the same for you. We hope to see you at a meetup soon!