Friendship books and swappers: penpal hobbies explained

Spotted “FBs”, “decos” or “journal swaps” on a profile and wondered what they mean? Here’s a guide to the postal hobbies many of our members enjoy — plus the abbreviations you’ll find in them.

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What is a friendship book?

A friendship book (FB for short) is a small, often handmade book that travels by post like a guestbook. Each person who receives it signs a page — usually their name and address, and sometimes their birthday, hobbies and interests — then posts it on to someone else. FBs are often made as a thank-you gift for someone, and just as often for fun. There are FBs by email too.

There are no rules about how an FB looks: any size, shape, design or colour. Swappers decorate them with stickers, stamps and prints, and tidy, well-kept books are called “Nice and Neat” FBs.

🌎 Travel Rings: the modern friendship book

Love the idea of a book or journal travelling the world? A Travel Ring is exactly that, made easy. A small group of penpals from different countries posts treasures — journals, friendship books, letters, postcards — around the ring, and every member adds something before sending it on.

Round robinEveryone’s treasure travels at once, and each one comes home to its owner full of pages from the whole ring.
RelayOne treasure is passed on like a baton and each member posts just once — a gentle first ring.
One address, shared safelyWhen the ring launches you get one address to post to, and it never changes — no swapping addresses in messages.
Watch it travelA live map shows where every treasure is and how many kilometres your ring has covered.

Any Premium member can start a ring and invite friends or open it to others.

How Travel Rings work →

How friendship book swapping works

  1. 1Sign it, or pass. Add your details to the next free page. Don’t want to sign? Just write that you’re passing.
  2. 2Send it on quickly. FBs travel all over the world. Try not to keep one longer than two weeks, so it gets home to its owner sooner — and be patient with your own, as it can take a long time to come back.
  3. 3When it’s full, send it home. A full book goes back to the person it was made for — it’s then a “homer” or “home run”. Time may have passed, so check their address with them on Global Penfriends first.
  4. 4Enjoy your homer. Read all the comments, see where it travelled, send thank-you slips to everyone who signed, and look for new penpals among the signers.

Other kinds of friendship books

CramsA shorter version of an FB — just your name and address, with no other details.
DecosDecorated FBs. You get a whole page to decorate — magazine cut-outs and your own touches — and sign your name.
Sticker slamsAlso called sticker FBs — like decos, but decorated with stickers instead of cut-outs.
SlamsA small booklet that often travels with an FB. Sign your name on the first page, then answer questions like “What’s your favourite book?”
Symbol slamsPick a symbol (@, $, &) and put it next to your name, then beside every statement that fits you — like “Would you like more penpals?”

Journal swaps

In a journal swap, a notebook or journal travels between penpals. Each person adds a page or two — writing, drawings, photos, stickers or small keepsakes — before posting it on. Some swappers make “junk journals” from scraps like tickets and wrappers. When it’s full, the journal comes home to its owner, packed with pages from around the world.

On Global Penfriends, a Travel Ring does this for you — the ring is organised, addresses are shared safely and you can follow the journal on a live map.

Mail art and pocket letters

Mail artPost where the presentation matters as much as the message. Decorated envelopes, postcards — anything that can travel by post. There are no rules: make it look fantastic.
Pocket lettersA 9-pocket trading-card sleeve with a little treat in each pocket — a tea bag, stickers, washi tape samples, photos — and your letter in one of them. Folded up, it fits a standard long envelope.

Swaps

Candy swapsExchanging sweets by post. Candy is small and travels well, and many countries have sweets you can’t find anywhere else.
Postcard swapsSending postcards of your town or country, often collected by theme.
Stamp swapsCollectors swap used or new stamps from their country.

Check what’s allowed in the post first — many countries restrict food, seeds and liquids. Help your letters arrive.

Friendship book abbreviations

The ones you’ll still see most often on profiles and in swaps:

AddyAddress
B/DBirthday
EnvieEnvelope
L/LLong Letters
LLPLong Letter Pals (wanting pals who write long letters)
N&N FBsNice and Neat Friendship Books
NPWNew Penpals Wanted
PCPostcards
SASESelf-Addressed, Stamped Envelope
SNNPSorry No New Penpals
SWASwap With All
W/WWorldwide
Older abbreviations (20)
A/AAnswer All
A/MAnswer Most
A/OAnswer Only
A/SAnswer Some
AVFAnswer Very Few
DOBDate of Birth
F/FFriends Forever
ICRI Can Return the book to its owner
N/N/PNo New Pals
N/N/SNo New Swappers
N/P/WNew Penpals Wanted
NNSNo New Swappers
NSWNew Swappers Wanted
SAHMStay at Home Mum
T/CTake Care
V/CView Cards
WAWedding Anniversary
W/BWrite Back
W/B/SWrite Back Soon
W/SWrite Soon

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