A delightful addition to your holiday cards

It’s always fun to focus on stamps of yore and use them to glean stories from the past. But often, we forget that many of those stamps have held their stories since the day they were issued—or, at least, since shortly thereafter. So for the holidays this year, I thought I’d take a look at one of our more recent Christmas stamps. Like me, you may also be adding them to fresh holiday cards you’re sending this season.

Here are a couple things you may not know about the Holiday Delights Forever stamps of 2020.

But first:

What’s on the Holiday Delights stamps?

Inspired by Scandinavian folk art but with a modern graphic vibe, these four stamps make much of their traditional palette of red, green, and white. The four designs are listed as follows:

• An ornament tied with a bow and ready to hang,
• A decorated tree topped with a star,
• A stocking holding a teddy bear and a sprig of holly,
• And a prancing reindeer with antlers and a bow.

“With these stamps, the Postal Service is capturing the vintage spirit of Christmas in hopes they will convey the joy of the season and bring to mind happy memories of Christmases past,” said Secretary of the Board of Governors Michael J. Elston, the dedicating official for the Postal Service. Not a bad idea for a stamp issued during a pandemic year during which many weren’t able to travel to see family and friends…. 

The designs are at once very crisp and modern in their graphic nature, while still inspiring whimsy and charm. I have enjoyed using them on both my professional and personal holiday mail. And the pop of red makes the stamp stand out so well on the corner of a white envelope.

On with the fun facts!

1. You may have seen this illustrator’s other art.

Illustrator Kirsten Ulve channeled her love of Christmas and mid-century vintage art for these digital illustrations. But it’s likely you’ve seen some of her other works on products and magazine covers around the world. This Manhattan-based designer has worked for clients ranging from The New Yorker to the Guggenheim to Vogue Japan. I couldn’t find evidence that Ulve has created other illustrations for the USPS (yet). But in 2011, she created the animated characters and figurines for Hasbro’s Littlest Pet Shop. And in May 2020, Ulve was asked to create Game of Thrones characters in Skyrim’s character creator for Ars Technica.

Just glancing through her holiday illustrations portfolio on her website, I spotted a “12 Days of Pringles” Advent box, Slinky ad, Kleenex box design, and many other unbranded illustrations and animations. And some of her art is available for purchase as prints or on merch. If you’re looking for a holiday gift for the vintage design-lover in your life, you may want to check out her Two Turtledoves Tea Towel Set.

2. There’s a reason why these stamps were dedicated in Frankenmuth.

I always love looking at which towns and cities are chosen for stamp dedications. Some of them make sense right away, like Pittsburgh, PA for the recent August Wilson commemorative stamps. Or Toast, NC for this year’s Happy Birthday design. But others leave me wondering. (Kansas City, MO for the global poinsettia stamps and not Charleston, SC? Perhaps that’s a story to explore another day.)

Frankenmuth, Michigan markets itself as the state’s “Little Bavaria, the place where you will find Holiday wonder around every corner.” TIME named the town one of the “9 Most Christmassy Towns in America”. And it’s no wonder! It’s the home of the world’s largest Christmas store, Bronner’s CHRISTmas Wonderland. But that’s not all. Visitors can take a horse-drawn carriage ride through the city’s holiday light displays. Or skate a lap around their ice rink before visiting the “Spectacular Christmas Tree” for one of its seven-minute music and light shows. 

It sounds like the next best thing to visiting the North Pole—or living inside a snow globe! 

3. You may still be able to find some!

The USPS website no longer lists the Holiday Delights stamps as available for order (but you can purchase the totes). However, you may still be able to find some to use this year. I spotted them available at two of my local post offices recently. And, of course, your favorite online resellers or stamp shops may have them for sale. But buyer beware! Make sure you know and trust your stamp source and you’re never buying discount stamps—they could be fraudulent!

If you do find Holiday Delights stamps for sale, or you just have some left over from last year, send me a note. These are among my favorite recent holiday stamp designs, and I would love to hear from you.

Sarah G. ℅ Armchair Philately

P.O. Box 18653

Asheville, NC 28814

What do you think? Do you find these stamps as delightful as I do? What’s your favorite holiday design—Christmas or otherwise? Let me know your thoughts!