FB Swappers - Friendship Books, Slams, and Crams

Friendship books (fb's for short) are small booklets that are mailed person to person, almost like a chain letter (but this is legal and fun!) FB swappers enjoy finding new friend via postal mail and the funny little books are fun to receive too!

FB's range from simple, stapled scrap paper booklets to more elaborate designs using fancy paper and decorated with stickers, rubber stamps, etc. They are tiny books – so several can be included with a letter for no additional postage.

You then write your name and address in it, or use a stick-on label, and usually add other information, such as age, interests, hobbies, etc., the same way you would in a pen friend ad. Some swappers are seeking pen friends, others are interested in trading or collecting. You can also simply send the Friendship Book on it's way by mailing to someone else... don't keep a FB, pass it along! Set it free!

When the Friendship Book is full it should be mailed back to the person who created it (and sometimes it’s created as a gift to another pen friend and you send it to them when completed). In some cases, this can take years! But it is fascinating to see how far a full FB has been - often it has gone overseas and come home again.

Please, FB Swappers need their Friendship Books back.. pass them along, enjoy them, then send them Home!

FB Abbreviations listed here!

Slams work in a similar way to FB's. There is a 'sign-in page' with numbers, by which you write your name & address or stick your label. Inside, each page has a question, such as: "Are you a collector? If so, what?" or "Do you want new pen pals?" You then add your answer next to your number. Then, as with FB’s, you pass the slam to another pal inside your letter.

Crams are basically miniature FB's. The idea is to cram as many addresses or address labels as possible on a small piece of paper, and there is no room for information on hobbies or interests, etc. Just interesting to see where how far it has traveled!