We here at MLP headquarters are taking off for vacations near and far, so will be back in 2008 with lots more interviews, stationery reviews, and all the letter-writing news, projects, and information we can cover. We're so glad to be able to run this project and excited for our upcoming 1-year mark in March 2008. We've gone from 60 participants in 3 countries to over 215 participants in 12 countries in just 9 short months. Happy New Year and cheers to a great letter-writing '08!

Reports from the Universal Postal Union tallied in more letters to Santa (Father Christmas) this year than ever before, topping 2006s count of approximately 6 million letters. The majority of letters are addressed "To Santa, North Pole," where assistants in the North Pole (Alaska) help answer his mail and deliver return notes and cards to those who have written him.

Reuters noted, "Text messages, e-mails and social networking are challenging traditional mail but Santa Claus at least is receiving more and more old-fashioned letters, according to the world's postmen." We're glad to know technology isn't deterring kids from contacting Santa the old fashioned way.

Read the full article here.

Flurry of Doves designed by Robert Sabuda, Penguins by Aimee Hucek.

As you saw in our Holiday Card Guide, this time of year inspires great design in stationery. For a last minute selection of great cards, one of my favorite places to shop for holiday cards is the gift shop at the Museum of Modern Art, which offers an array of pop-up, die-cut, 3-D, and foil-embossed cards. Designer Robert Sabuda is known for creating pop-up books and offers online tutorials on how to make your own pop-up tree or snowflake. Stop by if you live in SF or NYC!

A thoughtful letter is always the greatest gift between two pen pals, but that doesn't mean the letter-writer doesn't want to ring in the holidays by unwrapping some great letter-writing schwag. Here are a few of our gifts for the letter-writer in your life:

Sonrisa vintage metal desks, price varies: We are drooooling over these gorgeous desks, but have no room in our teeny apartments in which to put a beautiful writing desk, so we’re going to suggest that you big spenders out there pick up one of these desks on our behalf. Made of vintage steel, whose paint has been removed to reveal its original mid-century design, these pieces are durable--and did we mention gorgeous? We promise: this is a desk that’ll have you writing letters all day long. Gift it to a (very) loved one, or maybe just claim it for yourself.

Vintage typewriters on ebay, price varies: Typewriters are part of the great nostalgia of letter-writing, and a great gift for your writer-friends. (And now you’ve got that desk above, don’t you need a typewriter too?) There are gems all over ebay, like this fiery red Olivetti with bright white keys. Search ebay for more, and bid away for the gratifying gift of click clack click.

The Card Society from port2port press, $140: This is the gift that’ll keep on giving all year long. The lucky recipient gets two cards a month for an entire year of completely original and limited run designs. If you haven’t seen Maria’s work before, take a peak at some of her past card society editions, holiday and new year cards. This is definitely on my holiday wishlist!

Letter-writing books: These are two of our favorite letter-writing books: Post Secret: A Lifetime of Secrets, and Letters of the Century: America 1900 – 1999 (above, left). Post Secret is the product of the Frank Warren project we all known and love of the same name—strangers send postcards revealing their deep dark secrets, and greatest joys to Warren, on customized postcards of their own design. Letters of the Century is a collection of some of the most notable letters written between politicians, novelists, musicians, and other emblems of America.

Notecards and Postcards from Screech Owl Designs, $15 for a box of 12 postcards, card prices vary (above, right): Just when we thought we were getting sick of birds and owls, this Brooklyn-based designer came along with gorgeous box sets of intricately drawn animals in household situations--sitting on Eames chairs, pecking at the typewriter, perched by a piano. These drawings are full of whimsy, incredible detail, and an air of sophistication. Box sets come in a delightful blue box with owl logo printed on it that is half the gift in itself. Contact gs@screechowldesigns.com for more details (currently unavailable online).

Postcards on Moo.com: Send the gift of personalized postcards to the stationery aficionado who is in love with your photography. Add images (up to 20), crop as you like, and an order of twenty will be on its way to your good friend’s mailbox.

Cardstock, Every Card You Need This Year, $60: The one thing that always catches us in a bind, is that right when you need that wedding-birthday-new baby-fill in the blank card, you just don’t have anything appropriate. You make a mad dash to the nearest pharmacy, but all they have is glittery cards with cheesy sayings. Save one of your friends from this same sad card-giving fate and gift them with Cardstock’s forty-card box of “every card you need this year” is just the solution you’ve been looking for. With simple drawings—of owls, bridges, pine cones, teeth, and birds, there is a card for every occasion all year long.

Happy giving, and happy holidays!

[This will be our last post before a little turkey-and-cranberry sauce filled holiday break. We hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving, wherever you are. We're so thankful for everyone participating in the Modern Letter Project thus far--you've made it so fun for us and we look forward to the months to come! We'll be back next Monday with more posts and lots of holiday letter-writing fun.]

By this point it should come as no surprise that we're total suckers for holiday cards. We love buying those pretty pretty cards with the pop-out ornaments, and the delicately hand letter-pressed gems that have become must-buys during the holiday season. We feel if there's one time a year to go nuts with snail mail, it's definitely the holidays. Here are twelve of our favorite holiday card picks to kick off this chilly season:

(Left: City Sidewalks (1); Right: Pancake & Franks (2))

1. City Sidewalks Greeting Card from Peculiar Pair Press: These gorgeous ivory cards are perfect for us city-dwellers sending our urban cheer out into the world. Letterpressed in red and pewter on ivory cards, cards are $4.00 each and available at Luxe Paperie.

2. Pancake & Franks holiday collection: As much as we love print and pattern, we also love the simplicity of clean lines. Pancake & Franks’ holiday cards offer a strong, modern pop of color – through the sparseness of antlers, winter fruits, peppermint candies, or outlines of holly. Their cards are printed on 100% recycled paper, prices vary.

(Top left: Lisa Congdon (3); Top right: Eggpress (4); Bottom left: Alice Stevenson (5); Bottom right: port2port (6))

3. Lisa Congdon’s work has long been a favorite of ours and it’s no surprise that we love her limited edition holiday cards with original drawings on vintage papers. These “happy holidays” inscribed cards come in a set of 8 for $16.00.

4. Eggpress's 2007 Holiday Collection is full of color and whimsy--another longtime favorite. This year the collection includes offset printed holiday cards screaming “joy,” “noel,” and “peace and love,” with icy blues and cheery reds and strong use of patterns. Their letterpress cards—we love the “cheersplosion!” and “candycane crosscut joy” which use cutouts to invite you right inside the card.

5. Alice Stevenson’s floral cards are great for the holidays—or really—any time of year. Intricate layers of flowers create an explosion of color that we just adore. Her cards are printed on recycled board and sold via Art Angels, a Norwich-based publisher of greeting cards featuring artwork by contemporary British artists.

6. port2port holiday cards: What can we say about Maria’s cards that haven’t already been said? We’ll quote her new collection, celebrate her pine letterpress printed card set and let it speak for itself. “On my mind this season is the daydream of slowing down time during the holidays … noticing a simple snowfall or a few branches of frosted pine while bustling about … just lingering … breathing it all in. It’s merrymaking time. Salute!” $28.00 for a set of 8 cards. [see our interview with port2port]

(Left two: Two Trick Pony (7); Right: Night Owl (8))

7. Two Trick Pony: Hand screenprinted, co-modern stationery that is just gor-geous. We’re loving the clean lines, modern fonts, and bright colors.

8. Night Owl Paper Goods: In clear reusable packaging and packed along with chartreuse envelopes, lines and motion take over these “holiday cards,” inscribed with that distinction on their fronts.

(Left two: Carrot & Stick (9); Right: Lizard Press (10))

9. Carrot & Stick Press: Dare to dream in prints and patterns. With repeating patterns of everything from candy canes and polka dots to lobsters and flamingos, Carrot & Stick Press is a perfect bit of cheer for the holidays or any other occasion. $16 for a pack of 8 cards.

10. Lizard Press, Notes to Grow On: Possibly our favorite cards this holiday season (or for any season), these “Notes to Grow on,” with peppermint seeds enclosed, perfectly blend form and function. The reds and greens scream of holidays, and a small packet of seeds (also with letterpressed packaging) are enclosed in the card featuring illustrations from Albert Schramm’s “Der Bilderschmuck der Fruhdrucke.” Available for $4.50 apiece.

(Left two: Moontree Letterpress (11); Right: Palindrome Press (12))

11. Moontree Letterpress' Brooklyn Cards are one of our favorites this year--especially if you live in this beloved borough like many of our project participants do. With the soft silhouette of the Brooklyn Bridge to behold in these hand letter-pressed cards, recipients will be reminded of a winter city skyline these holidays. $9.00 for a pack of 6 cards. [See our interview with Rebecca of Moontree Letterpress]

12. Palindrome's Holiday Card set pops with the color of bright red cardinals on a wintry day. We saw this collection and just fell in love with those birch trees. A must have! $18.00 for a pack of 6 cards.

With Thanksgiving next week, and the holidays just around the corner, seasonal stationery is on the forefront of our letter-writing minds. We're SO excited that some of our favorite letterpresses' holiday shops are opening (a long list of our favorites coming soon), including today's new collections at the port2port holiday shop. Maria's new collections are even better than we could have expected--of course featuring her new creations with the loveliest photography-- including all sorts of beautiful new holiday-related images and colors like pine-needles letterpress cards and snow-frosted window picture postcards. We've already snagged ourselves a 2008 calendar (top 2 images), a set of her photo postcards (The Freeze, bottom right), and a set of her pine letterpress set (bottom left) -- and highly recommend you fill up your cart because these will sell out fast and there are no reprints!

+ See our recent interview with Maria of port2port press