Welcome to Pass the Parcel (An International Traveling Postcard Series). This is a weekly swap. This is Week #1. This is an INTERNATIONAL swap.

The goal is to send out a parcel (postcard and a small thoughtful bonus), and eventually have your postcard return to you.

YOUR FIRST ROUND: Select a postcard. Address the card to yourself. DO NOT ADD POSTAGE. At the top of the message section, write the swap name and week number (Pass the Parcel #X), your swap-bot username and date. Some people like to add a question to be answered by the signers. Select a small “bonus” for your partner, based on their profile. This could be an extra postcard, sticker sheet, or anything thoughtful you’d like to give to them. THIS IS PART OF THE SWAP REQUIREMENT. Send both items together with a note, so your partner knows who to rate.

WHEN YOU RECEIVE A SWAP: Set aside for the next round. Once the next round is assigned, add the swap week number, your username, location (city, state, country), date and a short note to the message side of the card. You can include as many postcards in your parcel as you’d like, however DO NOT send a postcard to someone who has already signed it (this will require you to look over the postcard signers). If this situation occurs, hold on to the card until you get paired with someone who hasn’t signed the postcard yet.

IF YOU HAVN’T RECEIVED A SWAP YET: Since this is an international swap, it is inevitable that there will be many weeks when you don’t receive a swap. If you haven’t received a swap from the last round, start a new card(s) for the current week. Please mail by the deadline of the swap round, even if you have to do all new cards.

WHEN A POSTCARD IS FULL: If you are the last one to write on the postcard, send it home! ADD THE CORRECT AMOUNT OF POSTAGE, based on the cards current location and where it will be traveling to. Drop it in the mail naked (no envelope).

DO NOT: send partially-filled cards home or send a card to someone who has already signed it.

To have the most cards circulating, plan to participate every week. If that’s too quick for you, aim for every other week. It’s fun to have multiple cards traveling all over the world, and coming back to you quickly. With multiple partners and fast rounds, they are more likely to return full and in good condition.

If you no longer wish to participate but you have cards from previous rounds, please send them to me, and I’ll get them back in rotation. PM for my address.

If you have any questions or need help, please message me. This is my first time hosting a swap, so I welcome any feedback on how I can improve or make the instructions clearer. Do not post in the comments section below, as I may not see it. Thank you!