Collecting Postage Stamps

Collecting postage stamps: a hobby for every age

Do you remember taking up a hobby as a child? Do you still enjoy that activity? Some kids collect dolls or make model airplanes, but as the years pass, interest wanes and you move on to something else. There's one hobby that is ageless, as captivating to a child as a person well on in years. Collecting postage stamps is this fascinating and highly portable hobby.

Children love pictures. Postage stamps are decorated with intricate pictures of people, animals, flowers and events from around the world. Every country has its own distinctive stamps, changing from year to year. Most are quite small and a magnifying glass reveals the detail and artistry of the designer. Just one envelope of inexpensive assorted stamps provides hours of entertainment to a curious child. They can serve as an introduction to art and composition. They can be sorted by country or subject and organized in stamp books, to be shown off to friends. Postage stamp collecting provides a great rainy day activity and opportunities for trading stamps with other kids.

Collecting postage stamps is a great educational tool. You can inspire kids to learn more about other countries and all of the world around them. Where do Bengal tigers live? What is that strange looking, tall three-wheeled bicycle? Who is Nelson Mandela? What language is printed on that stamp?

Starting kids off with a few envelopes of stamps and a book in which to store them can bring lifelong pleasure with this interesting hobby. Many kids revel in coming to readily recognize the origins of each. Collecting postage stamps is a natural teaching tool, well hidden by all the fun it affords in playtime.

As kids get older, they become more discriminating in locating and choosing new occupants for their stamp books. Soon they're searching out rare stamps in catalogs, even saving their money to acquire a certain treasured stamp. Stamp catalogs start showing up in the mailbox. They may spend hours online, haunting their favorite stamp collector's site, all for the love of collecting postage stamps.

However, this hobby is just as entertaining for older people. If you know someone who's older, retired and with perhaps too much time on their hands, the same gift you bestowed on your child can bring the same amount of pleasure to this Grandma or Great Uncle. Collecting postage stamps is much more stimulating and exciting than a game of solitaire!

For a unique gift that lasts far beyond the birthday or bout of illness, try giving a stamp book and a couple of well-chosen beautiful stamps. Collecting postage stamps is a terrific hobby that keeps on giving!