siblinghood of the traveling greeting card
posted on by Lee Cattarin
welcome to the siblinghood of the traveling greeting card.
originated on the fediverse - see the #siblinghoodOfTheTravelingGreetingCard hashtag - with original idea thanks to noctiluca@scholar.social
table of contents
objective
send a greeting card around the world. maybe more than one. we’ll see.
outline
from a group of participants, a random list will be formed. every person is given the address of the next person in the list (the last person receives the first person’s address). first person picks a greeting card, signs it, and sends it to their designated recipient; that person receives, signs, sends on, etc.
this continues on to the last person, who finally signs and sends back to the first, closing the loop and ending the adventure. the first person gets to keep the card they originally sent out.
if we want to, this can be easily re-run - add folks who want to be added, drop folks who want to be dropped, scramble the list, and start again.
timeline
accepting new applications for this first round until December 15th, 2025. After the 15th, you may still put in for future rounds, but be aware future rounds are not confirmed yet and will not be confirmed for at least 6 months most likely.
your marching orders (recipient address, order in loop) will arrive by email no later than January 1st, 2026.
participants
any number, but in the case of signups reaching 26 or greater people, the cohort will be split. Why 26? I’d like this to not run significantly longer than a year, and I’m very loosely estimating that each person will add 2 weeks to the timeline.
update: we are currently at 27 participants and will be running two loops! Don’t worry, that doesn’t change what you as participants do.
on randomization
I will edit the list as needed to accommodate any mailing restrictions. I will also re-roll if I am placed first on the list.
card guidelines
4x6 inches/10x15 centimeters minimum size recommended so there is space for everyone to sign. please nothing wildly vulgar, I guess?
you are allowed to include stickers or similar flat items for future recipients if you so desire. Please ensure your package meets weight guidelines for flat mail (in the US, forever/international stamped mail must be under 1oz; outside of the US please look into local guidelines - if you’re struggling to be sure let me know and I’ll do my best to help).
address privacy
the only people who will see your address are:
- me
- the person who is sending directly to you
- if you put a return address (which I really would recommend), your recipient
what I’ll need from participants
signing the card
Sign in any way you find meaningful. Please don’t hog the card space - remember that as many as ~2 dozen people will be signing it!
IMPORTANT! Only put a name, nickname, doodle, fedi handle, etc. on the card that you are comfortable having displayed publicly. In any posts that I make, it will not be directly connected to you. However, as this likely has a small cohort, please be aware that how you sign could be tied back to your fedi account.
mailing it back out
This will require a fresh envelope and stamp(s) as needed for postage.
status checks
this is, at the end of the day, pretty flexible, but what I would really, really like is:
- 2 emails, one on receipt and one on re-sending. This allows me to check in on progress and ensure the card doesn’t get too stalled, or lost.
- more optionally, but fun for seeing how things are going: a picture of the card (not the envelope!)
what I’ll send participants
guidelines
all guidelines (which you can always find here!) will be repeated over email so you have a local copy. They may additionally be ported over to a standalone site if we find we want somewhere not-on-this-website for pictures and travel deets (don’t worry, no addresses. Nothing more specific than country or state).
recipient and loop order assignment
each participant will be sent the name and address of the next person in the loop. They will also be sent their place in the loop, numbered from 1.
reminders
I’ll be doing my level best to track the card’s movement, so as it is sent around (assuming I get check-ins from y’all! please help me out here!) I will send out reminders to folks to either check their mail or make sure the card gets sent out again. Some folks have specifically asked for this support and I don’t want to let them down, so more communication is always better.
I want in!
read all that? too long, didn’t bother? either way.
sign up for the siblinghood of the traveling greeting card
(if airtable is for any reason inaccessible to you, please reach out directly)