Making handmade postcards: lesson ideas

One of the most popular Christmas traditions is sending a letter to Santa. What about sending and receiving holiday postcards? This tradition has declined in the digital era as social media has allowed instantaneous sharing of snaps and messages. Nowadays postcards are just mementoes or souvenirs for the majority of people. But they are more than that, especially handmade ones: they let the recipients know how special they are for the sender.

Let’s revive this fading tradition by making handmade postcards. We have prepared some tasks with step-by-step instructions suitable for Elementary+ students.

Task 1 − Warm-up

Start the lesson with the questions related to the students’ postal experience.

Discuss the questions:

• Do you like writing letters?
• How often do you get/send paper letters?
• Do you think sending a letter is cheap or expensive?
• What do you think of a postman job?
• What delivery services do you know?
• How/Why/When do people send postcards?
• Who makes postcards?
• Where are they sold?
• What do you need to make handmade postcards?

Task 2 – Journey of a Postcard

Pick some postcards with different places on them and prepare a map. There are a few activities you can do:

1. Show the students the postcards and the names of the places. Ask to match them. After that, they try to find the places on a map. This could also be done with groups like a competition to see who finds the places first.
2. Prepare a map where the names of countries can be clearly seen. Give postcards to students and ask to stick them into the correct place. 
3. Give the postcards to the students. Ask them to mark their current location on a map and find the place where the postcard came. Then they describe the journey that the postcard made as it travelled to them.

Task 3 – Lead-in

Look at the picture. What can you see? What is missing? What’s wrong with it?

Key:

• Recipient’s address, the text, and the postage stamp are missing.
• There is no space for the text. It must be on the left side instead of the Christmas tree.

Task 4 – Making handmade postcards

Turn on some Christmas carol background music to create a Christmas atmosphere and start making handmade postcards. Materials that you need:

For making the postcard: a white or coloured cardboard or sturdy paper, scissors, a clear craft sealant, a ruler, a pencil, and a stamp.

For decorating the front: newspaper and magazine clippings, scraps of Christmas wrapping paper, glitter, ribbons, glue, paint, and winter holiday symbols.

Ask the students to make a list of things that are associated with winter holidays. Later they will use them to decorate the postcards. Check the winter holiday vocabulary. After the students make a list, they say what the main symbols of Christmas and New Year are.

Instructions for the students:

• Pick a piece of paper, cut out a postcard so it has the proper proportions. Take a ruler, and draw a straight line which will divide the paper into two sides.
• Draw a straight line down in the centre of the postcard back. On the right side draw three or more horizontal lines. On the top right corner draw a small box for a stamp.
• Use your art supplies to decorate the postcard. You can make a border with the ribbons, make a Christmas tree with scraps of Christmas wrapping paper, draw a Christmas or New Year scene, use newspaper and magazine clippings to write funny wishes, etc.
• Cover the postcard front with a clear craft sealant to protect it from damage while mailing. Don’t cover the back, otherwise, you won’t be able to write on it.
• Stick a postage stamp.

Task 5 – Writing a postcard

Once the postcard is ready, ask the students the following questions:

• Where should we write the address?
• What information should we put in the body of the postcard?
• How do we sign the postcard?

Key:

The recipient’s address goes to the right side below the stamp. This includes their full name, address, area code, state, and country.

As postcards are small, it is difficult to write everything. Students start their message with the date and greeting. Then they write Christmas wishes (see activities below). If they are writing the postcard to their relatives or friends, they can add heartfelt messages, like “Wish you were here”. The postcard can also be used for writing a letter to Santa. At the end of the text, students write their name.

P.S. They can add a return address on the top left of the postcard.

The students flip the postcard over and start writing a message on the left side of the postcard.

Christmas wishes activities

Option 1

Ask students to choose and complete a template:

1. Christmas fills the world with the magic of believing. Wishing you a ___ Christmas and a ___ and ___ New Year 2021!
2. It’s Xmas time! Hoping your holidays are full of ___, ___, ___ and ___ .
3. ___ thoughts and ___ wishes for a cheer filled season and a very ___ and ___ New Year! May your days be ___ and b___.

Possible messages:

Christmas fills the world with the magic of believing. Wishing you a joyous Christmas and a bright and beautiful New Year 2021!

It’s Xmas time! Hoping your holidays are full of warmth, joy, peace and happiness.

Warmest thoughts and best wishes for a cheer filled season and a very happy and healthy New Year! May your days be merry and bright.

Option 2

Show different Christmas cards and ask to choose a category and to personalize them.