Gift Giving Guy

The Postal Store at the U.S. Postal Service has released its festive stamps to mark the holiday season. To get the best selections before they sell out, buy your postage stamps now for mailing greeting cards and sending gift packages. You can buy holiday stamps online or at your local post office or The UPS Store. My favorite is the Christmas stamp (pictured right) based on the The Madonna of the Carnation by Italian Renaissance painter Bernardino Luini. You’ll also find Hanukkah and Kwanzaa stamps available.

For a more creative take, make your own Christmas stamps. Yes, these are real stamps; your cards and packages will not arrive postage due. PhotoStamps from Stamps.com will turn your favorite digital photo into postage stamps. A sheet of 20 first-class postage stamps costs $18.99 plus delivery. The price drops $2 per sheet when you buy two or more sheets.

These personalized stamps could make a great Christmas mini-present. For example, I’ve got plenty of great shots of my nieces and nephews. I could make these pictures into PhotoStamps and give them to their parents for use throughout the year.