As the cost of sending a letter continues to climb, a little-known loophole involving festive stamps is offering a welcome reprieve for Britons posting their Christmas cards. While the price of a standard first-class stamp rose to £1.70 in April 2025, with second-class reaching 87p, one type of stamp remains immune to these increases: traditional Christmas stamps.
The Non-Barcoded Stamp Advantage
The key to this financial benefit lies in the absence of a barcode. Special pictorial stamps and Christmas stamps that do not feature a barcode remain valid for postage indefinitely. This means that any Christmas stamps purchased in previous years, before the latest round of price hikes, can still be used today at their original value.
Royal Mail has confirmed this policy on its official website. "Special Stamps with pictures on and Christmas Stamps without a barcode will continue to be valid and don't need to be swapped out," the postal service states. This exemption is a significant deviation from the broader 'Swap Out' scheme for standard barcoded stamps.
Savvy Shoppers and Royal Mail's Stance
The loophole has not gone unnoticed by astute consumers. In a popular online forum, one Reddit user shared how they capitalised on the situation. "I made out well on this as a charity shop was selling books of special stamps cheap since they didn’t know they could be used for postage, so I got 60 first class stamps at 50p each," the user revealed.
Royal Mail has formally removed Christmas stamps from its Swap Out scheme following customer feedback. The company explained, "These stamps are mostly kept by customers to send their Christmas cards and we anticipate that the vast majority will have been used by the end of this year." While new Christmas stamps now include barcodes, the old non-barcoded versions remain perfectly valid for use.
Time Running Out for 2025 Christmas Stamps
With the festive season fast approaching, Royal Mail has taken to social media to urge customers to order their 2025 Christmas stamps before time runs out. The latest collection, available to order online, features Nativity scenes exclusively designed by award-winning illustrator Paula Doherty.
The designs depict Mary and Joseph, Mary with the baby Jesus, the three wise men, shepherds, and an angel. Royal Mail collaborated with leading theology professors from King’s College London and the University of Oxford on this special issue.
For those looking to purchase, a Christmas 2025 book of four second-class stamps costs £3.48, while a full sheet of 50 first-class stamps is priced at £170. As the postal service highlights, the window to secure these festive stamps for this year's card sending is rapidly closing.
