Announced by the USPS on June 29th
Since 1962, contemporary Christmas stamps have added cheer to holiday cards and letters. This year’s issuance celebrates a favorite holiday pastime: baking and decorating Christmas cookies. Featuring four sugar cookies, each with distinct decorations, the stamps were designed by Kyrie Johnson — who also baked the cookies — and Greg Breeding, a USPS art director. Sarah Cramer Shields was the photographer.
These stamps will be issued September 19 in Washington, DC.
(Earlier (February 18): The Virtual Stamp Club has learned that this year’s contemporary Christmas stamps will depict some holiday treats and be issued in September. We’ll post details when they become available.)
The latest information will appear below the line, with the most recent at the top.
Updated August 27th:
From the Postal Bulletin:
On September 19, 2026, in Washington, DC, the United States Postal Service® will issue the Christmas Cookies 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 686100). These stamps will go on sale nationwide September 19, 2026, and must not be sold or canceled before the first-day-of-issue.
Four new designs in this booklet of 20 stamps celebrate the Christmas season. Each stamp features a colorful, decorated sugar cookie in the shape of either a Christmas tree, a stocking, a wrapped present, or Santa’s face. Art director Greg Breeding designed the stamps with cookie baker and decorator Kyrie Johnson. Sarah Cramer Shields photographed the cookies.
Automatic distribution.
How to Order the First-Day-of-Issue Postmark:
The first-day-of-issue postmark is a postmark notating the day a stamp is first authorized for use by the Postal Service™. Customers have 120 days to obtain the first-day-of-issue postmark by mail. All requests for first-day-of-issue postmarks (Traditional or Digital Color Postmark) must be sent to the following address with the choice of Traditional or Digital Color Postmark identified. All orders must be postmarked by January 19, 2027.
FDOI – Christmas Cookies Stamps
USPS Stamp Fulfillment Services
8300 NE Underground Drive, Suite 300
Kansas City, MO 64144-9900
Technical Specifications:
Issue: Christmas Cookies Stamps
Item Number: 686100
Denomination & Type of Issue: First-Class Mail Forever
Format: Double-sided Booklet of 20 (4 designs)
Series: N/A
Issue Date & City: September 19, 2026, Washington, DC 20066
Art Director: Greg Breeding, Charlottesville, VA
Designer: Greg Breeding, Charlottesville, VA
Designer: Kyrie Johnson, Norfolk, VA
Photographer: Sarah Cramer Shields, Charlottesville, VA
Modeler: Sandra Lane / Michelle Finn
Manufacturing Process: Offset
Printer: Banknote Corporation of America
Press Type: Alprinta 74
Stamps per Booklet: 20
Print Quantity: 450,000,000 stamps
Paper Type: Phosphor, 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): 5.7430 x 2.3750 in. / 145.8720 x 60.3250 mm.
Plate Size: 800 stamps per revolution
Plate Number: “B” followed by four (4) single digits
Marginal Markings: Header: Christmas Cookies • Twenty First-Class™ Forever® Stamps • © 2026 USPS in peel strip area • Barcode • USPS logo • Promotional text • Plate number in peel strip area
Updated August 20th:
Here are the first-day postmarks for this issue:
The Digital Color Postmark measures 3.11″ x 1.48″ 
There is not a Pictorial Postmark for this issue, just the FDOI “Killer Bars.”
Updated August 4th:
[ceremony details] [click on any of the pictures for larger versions]
Christmas Cookie Stamp Designs for the Holidays
What: Sweet, sugar-frosted stamps will be available for holiday greetings this year.
This booklet of 20 Christmas Cookies Forever stamps includes images of four frosted sugar cookies appearing on alternating red and blue backgrounds.
Greg Breeding, art director and designer for USPS; designer Kyrie Johnson; and artist Sarah Cramer Shields created the booklet from photographs of sugar cookies baked by Johnson.
The Christmas Cookies Forever stamps will be part of a free, public, family-friendly celebration at the Smithsonian National Postal Museum. Retail sales and first-day-of-issue postmarks will be available. News of the stamps is being shared with the hashtag #ChristmasCookiesStamps.
When: Saturday, Sept. 19, 11 a.m. ET
Where:
Smithsonian National Postal Museum
2 Massachusetts Ave. NE
Washington, DC 20002
RSVP: Attendees are encouraged to RSVP at usps.com/christmascookiesstamps.
Background: Baked goods are synonymous with holiday celebrations, and these stamps capture the sweet tradition beautifully. The four separate images depict a Christmas tree, a stocking, a wrapped present, and Santa’s face. These stamps are part of a history of contemporary Christmas designs issued by the Postal Service since 1962. Christmas cookies have previously appeared on stamps in 2005 and 2017.
Postal Products: Customers may purchase stamps and other philatelic products through The Postal Store at usps.com/shopstamps, by calling 844-737-7826, by mail through USA Philatelic or at Post Office locations nationwide. For officially licensed stamp products, shop the USPS Officially Licensed Collection on Amazon. Additional information on stamps, first-day-of-issue ceremonies and stamp-inspired products can be found at stampsforever.com.
