That's My Bix!

Every holiday season I coordinate a long-distance holiday card exchange with folks who love getting and sending holiday cards.

Several participants asked for some additional joy. They miss the delight of opening the mailbox — and let’s face it, with nowhere to go, it’s a nice little delight to punctuate the day. So here it is, friends — a rare That’s My Bix! Non-Holiday Card Exchange!

I’m calling it the Dearest Confinement Friend Exchange but really the name isn’t important. What matters is that you are not alone and now you’re going to help others feel not alone as well.

Here’s how it works: You will sign up to receive and send either 20 or Fewer pieces of mail, or More than 20 pieces of mail (this number depends on how many people want to do this, but I expect that it will be between 20 and 40 — and I’ll absolutely shut it down or give people the option to go higher if we have some kind of barnstorming response — but let’s face it, this page isn’t nearly as popular as it was in the heady days of the early Aughts, so I doubt this will happen). You’ll need to sign up by April 26th — and I’ll mail it out by April 27th to all of the participants.

Then when you get your list, it’s Go Time. You’ll address and send mail to however many people are on your list, and those people are going to send mail to you. Let’s aim to complete this by May 15th, although if you don’t get it in the mail by then and hit it later, no one is going to be upset. Things happen. It’s a pandemic out there. We understand that sometimes things don’t work out like we hoped. This is supposed to be a joyful project filled with hope and friendship, so don’t sweat the small stuff.

That’s it. Sign up. Get mail. Be happy.

What can you send? Anything. Postcards from your home town. A bundle of Post-It notes of encouragement. Stickers. A drawing by your child. A photo of your cat being a goofball. A washi tape collage. A temporary Wonder Woman tattoo. A recipe for your amazing chicken soup. Some of your sourdough starter. A sample of eye serum you got from Sephora. THIS IS UP TO YOU. Have fun with it. Aim for delight. Anything you can send through the mail is fair game.

Ready? Go!