Holiday Cheer (U.S. 2025)

Confirmed on June 26th:

Four new designs in this booklet of 20 stamps usher in the holiday season: a trio of amaryllis flowers, a holly wreath, an evergreen branch decorated with fruit, and cardinals perched on mistletoe. The images were created using a collage technique with gouache and acrylic paint on background paper from a vintage gardening book. The shapes for each image were then cut out and pasted onto an archival cotton board. Derry Noyes, an art director for USPS, designed the stamps with original artwork by Denise Fiedler.

These stamps will be issued September 13th in Washington, DC.

Posted November 24, 2024:
Nothing about this issue has been announced or confirmed, but The Virtual Stamp Club will go out on an evergreen limb and say that there will be such an issue and that it will likely be at least four stamps and have the word “holiday” in its name. While no references will be made in the promotional material to “Christmas,” the designs will have symbols associated with that holiday and the word “seasonal” will be used several times.

However, stamps for the Madonna and Child, Hanukkah and Kwanzaa are unlikely, inasmuch as these seem to be on a two-year cycle and stamps for these subjects were issued in 2024.


Updated November 5th:
The Scott catalogue numbers for this issue are:

  • 6033 Amaryllis Flowers
  • 6034 Holly Wreath
  • 6035 Evergreen Branch
  • 6036 Cardinals on Mistletoe
  • 6036a Block of 4
  • 6036b Booklet pane of 20

Updated August 9th:
Here are the first-day postmarks for this issue:The Digital Color Postmark measures 2.59″ x 1.47″ There is no Pictorial Postmark, just the FDOI “killer bars.”

From the Postal Bulletin:

On September 13, 2025, in Washington, DC, the United States Postal Service® will issue the Holiday Cheer stamps (Forever® priced at the First-Class Mail® rate), in four designs, in a pressure-sensitive adhesive (PSA) double-sided booklet of 20 stamps (Item 685600). These stamps will go on sale nationwide September 13, 2025, and must not be sold or canceled before the first-day-of-issue.

Four new designs in this booklet of 20 usher in the holiday season. Each stamp features a collage of either a holly wreath, three amaryllis flowers, cardinals perched on mistletoe, or an evergreen branch decorated with fruit. Art director Derry Noyes designed the stamps with artwork by Denise Fiedler.

Automatic distribution.

How to Order the First-Day-of-Issue Postmark:
Customers have 120 days to obtain the first-day-of-issue postmark by mail. They may purchase new stamps at their local Post Office™ or at The Postal Store® website at usps.com/shop. They must affix the stamps to envelopes of their choice, address the envelopes (to themselves or others), and place them in a larger envelope addressed to:

FDOI – Holiday Cheer Stamps
USPS Stamp Fulfillment Services
8300 NE Underground Drive, Suite 300
Kansas City, MO 64144-9900

After applying the first-day-of-issue postmark, the Postal Service™ will return the envelopes through the mail. There is no charge for the postmark up to a quantity of 50. There is a 5-cent charge for each additional postmark over 50. All orders must be postmarked by January 13, 2026.

Technical Specifications:

Issue: Holiday Cheer Stamps
Item Number: 685600
Denomination & Type of Issue: First-Class Mail Forever
Format: Double-Sided Booklet of 20 (4 designs)
Series: N/A
Issue Date & City: September 13, 2025, Washington, DC 20066
Art Director: Derry Noyes, Washington, DC
Designer: Derry Noyes, Washington, DC
Artist: Denise Fiedler, San Francisco, CA
Modeler: Joseph Sheeran
Manufacturing Process: Offset
Printer: Ashton Potter (USA) Ltd. (APU)
Press Type: Muller A76
Stamps per Booklet: 20
Print Quantity: 500,000,000
Paper Type: Nonphosphored Type III, Block Tag
Colors: Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, Black
Adhesive Type: Pressure-sensitive
Stamp Orientation: Vertical
Image Area (w x h): 0.7700 x 1.0500 in. / 19.5580 x 26.6700 mm.
Stamp Size (w x h): 0.9100 x 1.1900 in. / 23.1140 x 30.2260 mm.
Booklet Size (w x h): 5.7600 x 2.3800 in. / 146.3040 x 60.425 mm.
Plate Size: 880 stamps per revolution
Plate Number: “P” followed by four (4) single digits
Marginal Markings: Header: Holiday Cheer • Twenty First-Class™ Forever® Stamps • © 2025 USPS in peel strip area • Barcode • USPS logo • Promotional text • Plate number in peel strip area

5 thoughts on “Holiday Cheer (U.S. 2025)

  1. Even though the initial printing of 500 million stamps with plate number P1111 was delivered in October, by late November a reprint with plate number P2222 was reported from a post office in Connecticut.

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