Getting Postcards (and Stamps) for a Classroom Postcard Exchange

Amazon affiliate links used.

A common question I get asked is about where to get 50 postcards for this project. Most years, I assigned it for homework and asked each student to bring in two stamped postcards. This was pretty simple for us since we were in the heart of San Francisco - a major tourist destination. But I realize postcards aren't as easy to find everywhere.

One year, I designed and printed my own postcards for the kids to color. This is a really fun option, especially for the younger grades who might not be writing their own letters. (This was for a kindergarten class.) I also printed the letter directly on the postcard. I designed them in PowerPoint and printed them from my printer at home on these blank postcards I found on Amazon. I love the quality and think they turned out great!

designed in PowerPoint and
printed at home on these blank postcards (set of 50)

A teacher who also prints her own shared with me how her class designs their postcard together:

"I have the kids brainstorm ideas of what we want to talk about in our letter. Then they search pictures and save them to a shared Google Doc. I take their pictures that represent Ohio and put them in a Google Slide. This becomes the front of our card. As a class we brainstorm and write our letter together. I then go to Avery.com and using their postcard template I can add our letter and front of card and print 4 postcards on a page of index paper. It is really inexpensive but takes a little time. I saved my template last year so this year it was much quicker!"

designed in Google Slides and printed through Avery.com

I asked other teachers involved in this project where they get their postcards and stamps. One teacher shared: "I got all my supplies by posting a Donors Choose project! It was quick and easy and got funded pretty quickly!" Other teachers received donations from parents, PTO, student council, local Chamber of Commerce, State Tourism Department, and Secretary of State's Office (state level).

Here are some other ideas:

Stamps
When it comes to stamps, it sounds like parents often donate stamps. Or the school will pay for them. I typically had each student bring in two stamps, but I did pay out of pocket one year. If you do this, be sure to go to the post office to buy postcard stamps! Postcard stamps cost less than regular stamps.

Postcards
Amazon
Many teachers purchased postcards off of Amazon. I've linked some options at the bottom of this post. One teacher wrote: "I put postcards on my Amazon wish list. I create a wish list of items for my classroom. I post the wish list to my Facebook page. I write a description for why I need each item, and the postcards are always one of the first items purchased!"

Canva, Snapfish, Vistaprint, Zazzle
Several teachers said they designed their own postcards and ordered the prints from these online services. One year my class received a postcard where the postcard was a class picture - my kids loved it! One teacher said she included a picture of their classroom and school.

Here are links to some postcard options on Amazon. I like these postcards because they include key facts about the state on the front of the postcard.

Alabama Option 1 / Alabama Option 2
Alaska Option 1 / Alaska Option 2
Arizona Option 1 / Arizona Option 2
Arkansas Option 1 / Arkansas Option 2
California Option 1 / California Option 2
Colorado Option 1 / Colorado Option 2
Connecticut Option 1 / Connecticut Option 2
Delaware Option 1 / Delaware Option 2
Florida Option 1 / Florida Option 2
Georgia Option 1 / Georgia Option 2
Hawaii Option 1 / Hawaii Option 2
Idaho Option 1 / Idaho Option 2
Illinois Option 1 / Illinois Option 2
Indiana Option 1 / Indiana Option 2
Iowa Option 1 / Iowa Option 2
Kansas Option 1 / Kansas Option 2
Kentucky Option 1 / Kentucky Option 2
Louisiana Option 1 / Louisiana Option 2
Maine Option 1 / Maine Option 2
Maryland Option 1 / Maryland Option 2
Massachusetts Option 1 / Massachusetts Option 2
Michigan Option 1 / Michigan Option 2
Minnesota Option 1 / Minnesota Option 2
Mississippi Option 1 / Mississippi Option 2
Missouri Option 1 / Missouri Option 2
Montana Option 1 / Montana Option 2
Nebraska Option 1 / Nebraska Option 2
Nevada Option 1 / Nevada Option 2
New Hampshire Option 1 / New Hampshire Option 2
New Jersey Option 1 / New Jersey Option 2
New Mexico Option 1 / New Mexico Option 2
New York Option 1 / New York Option 2
North Carolina Option 1 / North Carolina Option 2
North Dakota Option 1 / North Dakota Option 2
Ohio Option 1 / Ohio Option 2
Oklahoma Option 1 / Oklahoma Option 2
Oregon Option 1 / Oregon Option 2
Pennsylvania Option 1 / Pennsylvania Option 2
Rhode Island Option 1 / Rhode Island Option 2
South Carolina Option 1 / South Carolina Option 2
South Dakota Option 1 / South Dakota Option 2
Tennessee Option 1 / Tennessee Option 2
Texas Option 1 / Texas Option 2
Utah Option 1 / Utah Option 2
Vermont Option 1 / Vermont Option 2
Virginia Option 1 / Virginia Option 2
Washington Option 1 / Washington Option 2
West Virginia Option 1 / West Virginia Option 2
Wisconsin Option 1 / Wisconsin Option 2 / Wisconsin Option 3
Wyoming Option 1 / Wyoming Option 2