Teach the Power of the Postmark this Valentine's Day

Valentine's day is coming. Teach kids the power of the post, by having your family's valentines stamped with love-themed postmarks. It's easy. And all it costs is a stamp.

The U.S. Postal Service wants you to know that there's plenty of affection to go around. There are more than a dozen "loved-themed" post offices across America willing to officially ink warm thoughts for loved ones and friends.

Loveland, Colorado, wins the prize for popularity – the post office receives more than 200,000 valentines a year from every state and more than 100 countries. Senior citizen volunteers stamp a cupid cachet and love verse on about 55,000 valentines a day during the first two weeks of February. In Valentine, Texas, students from grades 7 through 12 compete to see whose artwork will be used for the year's cancellation stamp, and Postmaster Maria Carrasco stamps each letter by hand.

Kids can go with the simple "With Love on Valentine's Day" from Valentine, Nebraska, or go all out with Loving, New Mexico's two birds sitting on a heart-inscribed "Valentine's Day Station." A box of chocolate goes perfectly with a stamp from Sugar City, Colorado. And a valentine from mom and dad is extra special when stamped from Loveville, Maryland.

For adults, there's Bliss, New York, or Fidelity, Illinois. Shakespeare fans shouldn't forget Romeo (Michigan) and Juliette (Georgia). Not exactly right? How about Romance, Arizona?

"The whole art of letter writing is not as strong as it was when I was a child," says David Failor, Executive Director of Stamp Services for the U.S. Postal Service. "But it's a powerful thing to get a personal letter in the mailbox. It says something – that someone took the time to sit down and handwrite a personal note. Over the years, this whole valentines thing has grown to be really big, with special pictorial postmarks. But mostly kids should know, it's just plain fun."

To get a postmark, simply enclose a pre-stamped, pre-addressed envelope and mail it in a large stamped envelope to:

Postmaster
(Town Name) Valentine Re-mailing
City, State ZIP Code

Whatever you choose, get those letters in, pronto. Valentine's Day is coming up quick!

Here are some popular choices:

Bliss, NY 14024
Heart Butte, MT 59448
Juliette, GA 31046
Loveland, CO 80538
Loveville, MD 20656
Loving, NM 88256
Romance, AR 72136
Romeo, MI 48065
Sugar City, CO 81076
Valentine, NE 69201
Valentine, TX 79854
Valentines, VA 23887