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it's world postcard day -- so a little #Penpalooza pop-up. i'll open my DMs for the next 30. if you send an address i'll have someone send you a postcard and give you someone to send one to.
the last time we did this about 400 people sent postcards! i am a postcard booster and this makes me so glad to see
i know its later on a friday so i will leave them open for a bit longer...
lots of new #penpalooza members (I think post NYT shout out) which means lots of new questions, so here are some answers! but you can also find answers at penpalooza.com (we have a FAQ section!)
1) you sign up for your initial pen pal match here: elfster.com/gift-exchanges…
1) you sign up for your initial pen pal match here: elfster.com/gift-exchanges…
2) it is going to look like a secret santa exchange! it is not! we are just using secret santa software! this leads to some confusion, as in, when you get a match it says you have a gift to send. what that means in this case is you have a letter to send!
3) it looks like it is closed or the deadline to sign up past! this is an elfster glitch! the exchange is very much open (indefinitely at this point!).
4) you get one match in an email (check spam) within 3 days of signing up. this is the person you write to first.
4) you get one match in an email (check spam) within 3 days of signing up. this is the person you write to first.
Limited time #penpalooza special: if you want an additional person or two to write to, DM me your name/address today! This is if you’ve already signed up and want extra pen pals...
If you have not yet signed up, you do that here:
also if you dm me your address, I’ll try to also get someone else to write you! Surprise mail!!! 💌💌💌
a friday night FAQ about #penpalooza because I've had some questions this week! here we go:
1) what is it? it is a pen pal exchange that started in early summer during what we thought (lol) might be a short quar that has stretched into ????? mail is more intimate than ever now.
1) what is it? it is a pen pal exchange that started in early summer during what we thought (lol) might be a short quar that has stretched into ????? mail is more intimate than ever now.
2) Can i still join? YEP. Still open. Until....well until the pandemic is over? So for a while. You can sign up for a pen pal here: elfster.com/gift-exchanges…
3) How does this work? Because this is secret santa software (LOL) you get 2 pen pals technically: one you sed to first, and one who writes to you. your address is totally private except to that one person. it says "gift" (because again, secret santa) but gift here means LETTER
come on down to #penpalooza
(sign up here: elfster.com/gift-exchanges…)
if 100 more people sign up we will be at 5000 people! it's insane! it's great! we are buying so many stamps!!!
if 100 more people sign up we will be at 5000 people! it's insane! it's great! we are buying so many stamps!!!
it says the cutoff is august 29 but that is a lie! it is open as long as I leave it open, which will be as long as....all this goes on....so maybe another year???? anyways you can still sign up.
it’s the weekend, which means extra #penpalooza match time: if you’ve already signed up but want an extra person to write to DM me your address, I’ll hook you up
Otherwise staying off this site and wishing you all well; it’s cider and leather jacket weather in nyc
still making fresh matches in the DMs. also, if you sign up for #penpalooza sometimes i dip into the database and send a random postcard myself to someone who signed up. it's like an even more chaotic willy wonka
seratonin is hard to come by these days so why not, i will delete later as is 
i'm gonna block the guy who used this as a chance to say i have nice tits on here but before i do i will say: sir, correct, and goodbye
was gonna delete this but i will just quietly mute it and tuck it away for a very rainy day of the mind when i feel like crawling back into bed and not getting out; thx all; now back to writing #penpalooza letters....
Hi all! If you are a member of #penpalooza and want an additional person to write to, DM me your address today. I can’t promise international matches, but I can pair you with someone who really wants mail!
If you haven’t joined yet, you can do so here: elfster.com/gift-exchanges…
If you’re confused, #penpalooza is a lil project I started using secret Santa software (lol) that matches ppl up with pandemic pen pals all over. Your address isn’t public to anyone but your match.
If you’re confused, #penpalooza is a lil project I started using secret Santa software (lol) that matches ppl up with pandemic pen pals all over. Your address isn’t public to anyone but your match.
Follow #penpalooza to see people’s letters/get stationary tips/etc. I promise to stop tweeting about this so much but ppl have been asking so wanted to put it all in one place. We have 5k ppl. Come on down.
hey #penpalooza gang -- i have a few europeans looking for pen pals -- first people to request in my DMs get the matches
(i love how europeans have become hot pen pal currency in these parts)
lol i got like 100 DMs you all really want european mail (meanwhile if you are in europe and can take extras pls DM me the people want to write to you)
i counted and i've received....130 letters since march....so that's a whole thing #penpalooza
and i write back to every one! if i owe you a letter...it's coming. i promise!
also sometimes i will send a random postcard/letter to someone signed up for #penpalooza as a thank you/surprise. it could happen to you. ANYTIME.
Going to keep this pinned for a while because people keep asking how to get into #penpalooza. This is how! Open through 2020! Over 4500 people in 50 countries! Send letters! Why not?
ps: if you sign up you should get a match within 2 days. If not, the email telling you where to send a letter may have gone to spam/you may have entered the wrong email! If you haven’t heard who you got, let me know!
Also it says last day to sign up is August 29....ignore that! This is open all year.
every now and then someone signs up for the #penpalooza exchange who lives on like...a remote island off the coast of france or in rural greenland...and i'm like WELCOME and how in the world did you find us
we have several people in singapore (who knew how we got a singapore contingent but it has happened!) and a bunch in the philippines and...one who....seems to live in an actual castle in spain????
also by far the countries with the most to sign up outside of the US (and the UK and Canada...) are Sweden, Ireland, and Japan and I am grateful for whatever word of mouth is happening out there
so #penpalooza just hit 4000 ppl! just a little note about what it is/how to join for those who are wondering...
in early summer i asked if anyone would like to start writing snail mail to strangers; people seemed into it so i set up this exchange:
elfster.com/gift-exchanges…
in early summer i asked if anyone would like to start writing snail mail to strangers; people seemed into it so i set up this exchange:
elfster.com/gift-exchanges…
it's done through secret santa software (lol) because that is the only/best way to do such things at scale; so the way it works when you sign up is you get one person to write to first, and another person gets you...so two pen pals for one sign-up (more bang for your zero bucks)
the site says "you are giving a gift to" once you are matched but the gift is really just a letter....unless you want to send chocolates or cheeses or wildflower seeds or whatever other big gestures some people had made. but really a postcard is enough!
i am never going to stop RTing your #PenPalPalooza letters bc it brings me such joy in this garbage time
if you want to join, here's the rundown
and if you are clicking over and seeing the site is down....welcome to the wonderful (and i mean that seriously, the site is great) world of elfster, that we overwhelm each time i post this link. check back in a few hours. it will work! we added 300 people in the last 2 days.
it is! elfster.com/gift-exchanges…
again - we are using secret santa software and are the biggest exhange they've EVER had (lol) so the site goes in and out. but never fear, you WILL get in if you try throughout the day. 200 people signed up yesterday alone.
again - we are using secret santa software and are the biggest exhange they've EVER had (lol) so the site goes in and out. but never fear, you WILL get in if you try throughout the day. 200 people signed up yesterday alone.
also bc i get FAQ:
1) you get two penpals -- one you write first, one who writes to you first. that way there is no waiting to get going.
2) you send letters, not "gifts" (unless of course you want to be extra). the gifts thing is just bc this is a secret santa site!
1) you get two penpals -- one you write first, one who writes to you first. that way there is no waiting to get going.
2) you send letters, not "gifts" (unless of course you want to be extra). the gifts thing is just bc this is a secret santa site!
3) it helps to mark your "gift" as sent when you mail your first letter so your PP knows something is on the way, with the mail as mercurial as it has been -- that way if they get ghosted and ask me about it I can connect you two directly
4) people from any country welcome!
4) people from any country welcome!
i know this is googlable but i've had a few people ask: you can use US stamps to send international letters! you don't have to have "global forever" stamps, those are just the right amount already. But if you put $1.20 of postage on the envelope it can go anywhere in the world!
just a lil #penpalooza tip from me 2 u
and to make it even easier...if you have regular old forever stamps...it takes three to send a letter global :)
I love seeing #penpalooza posts at the end of the week (especially such a rough week for usps). Keep ‘em coming! And if you’ve been ghosted by your PP, DM me and I’ll get you another ASAP!
and if you want to sign up for the first time... https://t.co/geSVTqbQuo
Oh! And I want to clear up something confusing about #penpalooza: if you sign up/signed up via Elfster, you write to the person you were assigned first. Someone ELSE got your name to write to first (so you technically have 2 pen pals)...so you can get writing right away!
to clarify: this is still open. i'm officially leaving it open for all of 2020. you can sign up and i'll draw new matches 1x a week for the rest of the year. because we could all use a little joy in the mail right now.
faster link (with the knowledge that bc this is secret santa software and we are the largest exchange elfster has ever had, the site breaks often. but it comes back up in a few hours if you check back...): elfster.com/gift-exchanges…
also some resources for you if you are getting started
on writing letters:
on writing letters:
