December stamps 2020: From a dachshund wearing a Santa hat to a PostNL envelope with glitter
The Hague, 16 November 2020 – A dachshund wearing a Santa hat, a golden shoe with high heels and an envelope especially created for PostNL: this year, PostNL worked with Vondels to design the December stamps. The result? Colourful, festive December stamps with a story. The stamps are available at a special rate from 16 November.
Resi Becker, Director Mail Nederland: “PostNL delivers special moments throughout the year, but especially at Christmas. A card connects – lets you know that you’re thinking about each other. During the coronavirus crisis, we see more than ever how important it is to look out for each other. That personal connection and the special moments during the festive season are central to the December stamps.”
Each of the ten unique stamps symbolises an important moment in the month of December and tells a story. For example, eating together plays a big role in December – so there's a stamp with a doughnut, gingerbread house and marshmallow. The song Driving Home for Christmas is also a theme: this stamp features a car, a Christmas bauble and a cottage.
From pink doughnut to tiger in a box
Vondels has become well-known for the festive decorations it has designed. Co-owner Loesje Donner-Raedts is responsible for the design of the December stamps. Together with PostNL, she chose the 20 Christmas baubles that are featured on the December stamps out of more than 750 unique decorations.
The Christmas baubles were hand-blown and painted, before being photographed. The techniques are still the same as were used when the very first bauble was made around 200 years ago. The baubles featured on the December stamps are: a gold pocket watch, golden shoe with high heels, golden camera, fuchsia-pink flamingo, gingerbread man in box, pink doughnut, gingerbread house, marshmallow, dachshund wearing a Santa hat, red heart on a bow, red car with a Christmas tree, canal house, red bauble with gold stars, classic nutcracker doll with candy canes, tiger in a box, and a PostNL envelope featuring a gold, green and white hummingbird.
Gift
When you buy two books of December stamps, you’ll receive a special PostNL ornament in a pretty giftbox. This giving feeling extends to the book of stamps itself: both front and back are adorned with a gold bow. The finishing touch, according to Donner-Raedts from Vondels: “Of course people buy December stamps to stick them on a card. But they’re also beautiful to look at and fun to collect. They’re a gift in and of themselves.”
Decorate the tree, send a card
PostNL is ready and waiting for the festive season: we’ve made various preparations so we can deliver many more cards and parcels in November and December. We’re pulling out all the stops, and we also advise our customers to send their mail in good time – preferably the weekend before Christmas, so that cards arrive on time.
Availability
The 2020 December stamps will be available from 16 November at all PostNL outlets in the Netherlands and via www.postnl.nl/webshop. A book of 20 December stamps will cost €17.20 this year. The stamps can also be ordered by telephone from Collect Club customer service on 088 – 868 99 00.
The December stamps can be used to send mail weighing up to 50 grams and with a minimum envelope size of 14 x 6 cm, within the Netherlands between 16 November 2020 and 6 January 2021. After the Christmas period, the stamps can still be used so long as the additional postage is paid up to the applicable rate. To send mail up to 50 grams abroad, two December stamps are required. Small gifts that weigh up to 50 grams can also be sent using the special-rate December stamps.