[from press materials] [click on any of the pictures for larger versions]
December Stamps 2025
(Decemberzegels 2025)

Issue date: 10 November 2025
Appearance: Sheet of 20 stamps in 10 different designs, with special December rate for destinations within the Netherlands
Item number: 451061
Design and illustrations: Sander de Bruijn, Efteling, Kaatsheuvel

Each year, PostNL issues new December stamps allowing consumers and businesses to send Christmas and New Year cards at a reduced rate. The special December rate of €1.21 [about US$1.41] per stamp is valid through 3 January 2026. A sheet of 20 December stamps costs € 24.20. When purchasing two sheets of December stamps in-store, each customer receives a unique fairy tale book as a gift, featuring the ten fairy tales illustrated on the stamp sheet. The illustrations were created by designer Sander de Bruijn from Efteling, who also designed the accompanying book.

Efteling began in 1952 as a modest fairy tale park in Kaatsheuvel, North Brabant, featuring ten fairy tales designed by Anton Pieck. In its first year, the park welcomed 222,000 visitors. Today, Efteling is an international theme park with more than 62 attractions, including eight rollercoasters and four dark rides. The Fairy Tale Forest remains the green heart of the park, now featuring 31 fairy tales. Each year, the park attracts over five million visitors. In 2024, the iconic Haunted Castle was replaced by the dynamic dark ride Danse Macabre. In 2025, the Efteling Grand Hotel and the fairy tale The Princess and the Pea opened their doors, while the existing Efteling Hotel was transformed into the Efteling Wonder Hotel.

Each of the 10 stamps 2025 features a scene from a well-known fairy tale, illustrated in muted tones based on the typical red, yellow, and green-blue colours used by Anton Pieck for Efteling. The stamps depict fairy tales shown in Efteling, plus a newly created tale, Journey of the Well-Wish. The other nine fairy tales are Sleeping Beauty, Hansel and Gretel, Frog King, Tom Thumb, The Princess and the Pea, Rapunzel, Little Red Riding Hood, The Wolf and the Seven Young Goats, and The Six Servants. The stamps have unique free-form shapes inspired by heraldry, such as oval shields, rounded-top shields, and flatiron-shaped shields. Each illustration is designed as a medieval miniature with a gold-coloured frame. The festive December atmosphere is enhanced with snowflakes, holly branches, Christmas trees, and envelopes containing December cards. The reverse side of the stamp sheet includes mailing recommendations for December post, illustrated with a medieval miniature and an enlarged initial letter. At the bottom is a detail from the Journey of the Well-Wish stamp, showing a mouse and a squirrel reading the fairy tale book gifted with the purchase of two stamp sheets.

The December stamps 2025 were designed by Sander de Bruijn, Manager of Design & Experience at Efteling. He first visited Efteling at the age of four, an experience that deeply influenced his life and career. “As a child, you accept that magical world as a given,” he says. “But my father explained that the park was created based on designs by the legendary illustrator Anton Pieck. That’s when my love for drawing and illustration began.”

In his proposal to PostNL, De Bruijn introduced the concept of the stamp as a romantic journey, like in a fairy tale. “The stamp crowns the long journey between sender and recipient, with the act of sending as an expression of affection. The stamp itself had to be an adventure – a sheet that makes you feel like a child in a sweet shop. That’s how the unusual shapes came about, to evoke a sense of another world. A world full of wonders, fairy tales, and stories.”

The stamps will remain valid indefinitely, but will need additional postage after 3 January 2026. A sheet of 20 December stamps costs €24.20 [currently US$28.20].

Technical Data:
Stamp size: 29.63 x 25.20 mm, 22.73 x 32.91 mm, 22.60 x 34.22 mm, 22.76 x 36.02 mm, 23.85 x 31.49 mm, 21.65 x 39.90 mm, 22.49 x 31.10 mm, 22.95 x 34.17 mm, 22.49 x 31.10 mm, and 26.06 x 31.46 mm
Sheet size: 144 x 180 mm
Paper: standard with phosphor suppression (red)
Gumming: self-adhesive
Printing technique: offset
Colours: cyan, magenta, yellow, black, and gold
Print run: 2,850,000 sheets
Format: Sheet of 20 stamps in 10 different designs
Design and illustrations: Sander de Bruijn, Efteling, Kaatsheuvel
Printer: Koninklijke Joh. Enschedé B.V., Haarlem
Item number: 451061

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.