My dad’s 80th birthday was approaching and we wanted a milestone birthday idea that was memorable and fun. And what’s better than a mailbox stuffed with personalized postcards sending well wishes from your family and friends?

I designed these 80th birthday postcards in four colors with super cute matching custom stamps from Zazzle. The postcards and stamps printed up perfectly.

Then we gathered addresses for friends and family and mailed them each one a blank pre-addressed, pre-stamped postcard inside an envelope that also contained a little note explaining that it was dad’s birthday and that we’d like them to write memories or best wishes onto the blank stamped postcard and drop it in the mail to arrive during his birthday week.

And what a flood it was! My dad was so thrilled and touched to hear from all the important people in his life. Some stories were funny, some were heartfelt, and all were very meaningful to my dad. And all in all, milestone birthday postcards from friends was a pretty inexpensive birthday idea.

I was inspired by my friend Susan who made milestone birthday postcards for her dad’s 70th birthday, and also by my friend Cristin (who you know from the free Giving Tree Wedding Announcements template and dog blanket pattern) who made milestone birthday postcards for her mom’s 65th birthday. I used two awesome free fonts: Lavenderia from the Lost Type Co-op and Chunk Five from the League of Moveable Type. My friend Renee also pointed me to some super lovely 70th birthday postcards with a well-designed postcard back and really great wording that we used for the instructions enclosure:

I’m giving you my free birthday postcard template for you to customize for your own milestone birthday. You’ve got a few options: either download and do it yourself either by printing yourself or at an online service like Overnight Prints or Vistaprint …or just go to my Zazzle store to customize the birthday postcards and custom stamps and Zazzle will print them for you. Keep reading for more details.

I’ve provided templates for an 80th birthday celebration. Need a different milestone year, like 75th, 70th, 65th or 60th? Just contact me and I can help. And there you go: a heartfelt, fantastic birthday idea fit for any milestone birthday.

WANNA MAKE IT? Free printable template, step-by-step tutorial instructions and supply list for making birthday postcards for milestone birthdays –>

Supplies for making birthday postcards for milestone birthdays – 80th, 75th, 70th, 65th, 60th:

• Personalized birthday postcards – self-addressed and pre-stamped (see options below)
• Paper for printing enclosure notes
• A6 size envelopes (for mailing blank postcards to friends and family with the instructions)
• Paper trimmer or paper scissors for cutting instructions enclosures
• Stamps (I made custom stamps at Zazzle for the postcards and used regular stamps for the A6 envelopes we sent to friends and family with the postcards and instructions. Remember that postcard stamps are cheaper than letter stamps.)
• Computer and printer

How to make birthday postcards for milestone birthdays:

I’m providing the templates below for an 80th birthday celebration. Need a different milestone year, like 75th, 70th, 65th or 60th? Just contact me and I can help.

Step 1: Make the personalized postcards. There are several ways you can go about making birthday postcards – please contact me with any questions:

(Option 1: Slightly different font than what you see in my photos) Visit my Zazzle store to personalize and print your birthday postcards and coordinating stamps. Zazzle lets you easily customize the name on the postcard front and the return address on the back. The font is slightly different because Zazzle offers different fonts than what I used in these photos. Again, I’ve made templates for an 80th birthday – contact me if you need other years.

80th birthday postcards at Zazzle:
Blue 80th birthday postcards
Green 80th birthday postcards (COMING SOON – need it now? ask me!)
Orange 80th birthday postcards (COMING SOON – need it now? ask me!)
Purple 80th birthday postcards (COMING SOON – need it now? ask me!)

80th birthday stamps at Zazzle: I think that Zazzle is the best place to buy custom stamps and it really completes the look. You can personalize the text on these stamps so the font matches the birthday postcards in my Zazzle store.
Blue 80th birthday stamps – customizable
Green 80th birthday stamps – customizable
Orange 80th birthday stamps – customizable
Purple 80th birthday stamps – customizable

(Option 2: Exact same font as what you see in the photos) Download my free 80th birthday postcard templates that use the same font, Lavenderia and Chunk Five, that you see in the photos above. Contact me if you need other years. Open the PDFs in Adobe Reader. Type your text into the fields provided to customize, and then upload the front and back of the postcards to a online printing service like Vistaprint, Overnight Prints or Zazzle.

Orange 80th birthday postcard front template (PDF) | Orange back template (PDF)
Blue 80th birthday postcard front template (PDF) | Blue back template (PDF)
Green 80th birthday postcard front template (PDF) | Green back template (PDF)
Purple 80th birthday postcard front template (PDF) | Purple back template (PDF)

Need custom stamps that match these exactly? Please let me know.

(Option 3: Outsource) Contact me if you’d like my help making custom postcards or stamps for a nominal design fee. I can even help place your order at Zazzle, Vistaprint or Overnight Prints.

Step 2: Type up and print out the instructions enclosure. You can cut several instructions out of one piece of paper like we did.

Step 3: Place one blank self-addressed, pre-stamped postcards and instructions note inside an envelope. Send to friends and family and be sure to let them know when to drop them into the mail.

Step 4: Watch the flood of birthday well-wishes come in!

Did you make it? Please post a comment and let me know how this craft idea works for you. And share your own photos at the MerrimentDesign.com Facebook page, “I made it!” flickr photo gallery or tweet a picture to @merrimentdesign. Craft and pass it on!

COPYRIGHT NOTE: You’re more than welcome to use free pattern and how to step-by-step tutorial for your own personal use. Contact me for any commercial use – this includes etsy sellers.

Comments (4)  | Permalink  | By Kathy on 4/30/2012