Christmas Stamps

The Christmas Post

Christmas stamps are what keep the postal services of many countries busy and alive today. This is because Christmas is the time of year that most people will communicate with each other. The postal service in many countries has found that there is a diminishing number of items for delivery with the upsurge of the internet and email. This is the problem facing Post Offices throughout the world today but in particular the ‘USPS’ and the ‘Royal Mail’ (who issue Great Britain stamps) both of whom are huge providers of Xmas stamps. We can help by encouraging the sending of cards for the holiday period, starting with Christmas 2012 stamps. On the upside, it is possible to buy Christmas stamps online from your national stamp provider, USPS, Canada Post, Australia Post, Royal Mail etc.

Enlist your friends to help you start a stamp collection

Get your friends to send you a card at Christmas time and enjoy the beautifully newly issued stamps depicting snow, serenity, Santa Claus or religious themes. Stamps issued at Xmas time are quite beautiful and most countries of the world will have a special issue for the occasion.

Many will carry a religious theme featuring Christ’s birth and Bethlehem but others are non-denominational. Stamps and their designs are copyrighted by the postal service and also by the designing artist and the stamps are themselves miniature works of art. Rare stamps are older and generally not copyrighted.

Christmas post stylized stamps

Children will often feature on a Christmas stamp as the occasion is particularly suited to the young at heart. Sometimes painting and drawings by children will be featured as a unique Xmas stamp as part of a national competition run in conjunction with the local or national schools and the national postal service of the respective country. Other forms of stylized stamps are becoming available including photos of individual family members included on stamps. You simple choose the Christmas stamp you wish to purchase and include a digital photograph or print image which you wish to have co-joined to the ‘official’ stamp. A choice of denomination is also available. The resultant combined stamp can be purchased in sheet form, usually a minimum of 10 stamps need to be bought. Most of the major postal services of the world supply this opportunity to enhance your Christmas stamp.

2012 Christmas stamps

Other ways to indulge your philately wishes for Christmas 2012 is to avail of the many subscription services available from the USPS, Canada Post, Australia Post and Royal Mail (many other countries too provide these services) including ‘Mint Stamps’ and Special Issues / First Day Covers as well as Presentation Packs. These will be treasured for a lifetime whether you buy them for yourself or for others as a gift. Disney stamps enlighten the Yuletide festivities and are usually very colorful and collectable.

USPS custom postage at Christmas

Santa with Sack of Toys Custom Postage Stamp 2011

This USPS Santa Stamp with his Toy Sack is sure to please. Customizing of Christmas postage stamps. This facility from USPS allows you to coordinate your Christmas postage stamps greetings with unique designs such as a sheet of 20 x 44–cent Christmas stamps. Philatelists will be delighted to receive these custom stamps in their post.

USPS Traditional Christmas Stamp 2011

Custom USPS postage for 2011

Make 2011 Christmas postage stamps memorable by availing of this offer online from USPS Christmas Stamps 2011.

When will 2012 Christmas stamps be available at the post office?

Most countries have already released details of their 2012 christmas stamps but mid October is the traditional time for the release of these seasonal stamps. Several months forward planning is required by postal authorities prior to issuing new collections. So, you can start your Xmas preparation by buying up older 2011 Christmas postal stamps now, but make sure that they are forever stamps (or 'Permanent' in Canada's case) so that they will not be affected by price increases in 2012.

Past and Present Christmas stamps

Australia is believed to have been the first country to issue Christmas stamps as long ago as 1898. Hopefully the Christmas stamp will survive the ‘email’ curse and not suffer the same fate as the ‘Pony Express’ which changed letter delivery for ever in America.

Basic philately tools

A Magnifying glass is sometimes used to see the fine detail on a stamp which might be only 1 inch square in size and may contain a replicated work of art in all its detail. Other stamp collecting tools which are useful are gloves, tweezers, scissors, gum and the essential stamp album and none of these items are expensive and the album itself can be any blank notebook which you may already own and have not yet thought of a use for.