Do you love A Charlie Brown Christmas? Are you old enough to remember postage stamps? Then you will probably like the A Charlie Brown Christmas postage stamp set now available at your local US post office.
We didn’t even know these Charlie Brown stamps existed until we spotted them at our own local post office this week. Here’s how they look laid out on the kitchen table, ready for use:
It turns out the Charlie Brown Christmas stamps were announced by the USPS way back in September at a ceremony attended by Charles Schulz‘s widow Jean, his son Craig, and by Lee Mendelson, the executive producer who made the Christmas special happen back in 1965.
Let’s take a closer look at some of these babies:
As a stamp user I love the FOREVER utility, but as a stamp lover I really miss the 49¢ mark in the upper corner. The number just looks better. Besides, without the number how are we supposed to look back in 10 years and say “Can you believe postage stamps used to be just 49 cents?!?”
The postal service press release claims that “Art director Antonio Alcalá Alexandria VA, designed the stamps,” and VA is certainly one of the oddest names we’ve seen all season. Those artists! Those Spaniards! (The name is reminiscent of the Peanuts character named V, however.)
One highly admirable thing about these stamps is that Snoopy is returned to his rightful place as a jester and supporting character rather than the star of the show. Charlie Brown should always be foreground for Snoopy’s eccentricities, as seen here.
The last time the US Postal Service ran a Peanuts stamp, back in 2001, Snoopy stood in for the whole gang. Just a single image, and Charlie Brown nowhere to be seen! That’s just wrong. (Can you believe stamps were only 34 cents back in 2001?)
Charlie Brown is the star here, happy and anguished, as he should be. Another noteworthy and praiseworthy point: The Charlie Brown gym dance sequence, which has become just a little too beloved, was left out entirely. Good choice! So props to Antonio Alcalá Alexandria VA for hitting the nail on the head with his designs.
And congratulations again on the 50th anniversary of A Charlie Brown Christmas. Quite happy to use these stamps!