[press release] [click on any of the pictures for larger versions]
Jan van Haasteren designs Children’s Stamps 2025 and brings playing together to life
More than 100,000 children from grades 7 and 8 started going door-to-door on September 24.
Renowned cartoonist Jan van Haasteren has designed the 2025 Children’s Stamps. For the first time in years, Van Haasteren has designed them himself, making this stamp sheet extra special. This year’s Children’s Stamp campaign focuses on “Together Against Loneliness,” and the colorful illustration of a sandbox full of playing children powerfully brings the message of playing together and being connected to life. The 2025 Children’s Stamp campaign officially launched September 24.
Cheerful design with hidden jokes
The stamp sheet is designed in the recognizable Van Haasteren style:
colorful, friendly, and accessible, with humor that sometimes veers towards the absurd. 
The sheet consists of five stamps depicting twelve children playing, reading, and having fun together. Unexpected animals appear among them, from an octopus and a snake to a turtle, a snail, and a dog. As always with Van Haasteren, countless humorous details are hidden. Van Haasteren himself calls it special that his artwork is now featured on stamps: “I’ve been blessed with some of the greatest artists: Dick Bruna, Marten Toonder, Jan Kruis, and Joost Swarte, for example. I’m honored to be included in this list.”
Together against loneliness
The theme of the 2025 Children’s Stamp Campaign is “Together against loneliness.” In the Netherlands, 1 in 10 children feels lonely every day. This means that in every classroom, an average of 2 to 3 children often or always experience loneliness. Kinderpostzegels is committed to helping these children find a safe place, access to sports and play, and the support of a buddy to share their stories with.
Availability
The Kinderpostzegels were sold door-to-door from September 24th to October 1st, 2025, by over one hundred thousand children in grades 7 and 8. Starting October 6th, 2025, the stamps are also available, while supplies last, at Bruna, through the PostNL website, and on the Kinderpostzegels website. They can also be ordered by phone through Collect Club customer service: 088 – 868 99 00. A sheet of five stamps costs €9.80.
Since 1924, PostNL has been issuing children’s stamps to support the Children’s Stamps mission: promoting equal development opportunities for children, both in the Netherlands and internationally. Proceeds from the annual Children’s Stamps campaign help fund projects that strengthen children’s resilience.
Note: PostNL does not sell directly to collectors in North America. Its website refers to a company called Nordfirm, which says it sells Dutch new issues at face value. The Virtual Stamp Club has no connection to this company.
Collectors may also wish to contact the U.S. firm Bombay Stamps, which can also obtain first day covers upon request, with lower shipping fees. The email is sales@bombaystamps.com Again, The Virtual Stamp Club has no connection to this company.
