December stamps 2025: 10 Efteling fairytale stamps

The 73rd anniversary of the Efteling theme park in Kaatsheuvel, North Brabant (founded by Anton Pieck, among others) has been atmospherically depicted in an exceptionally attractive manner on ten stamps by designer Sander de Bruijn (Manager of Design and Experience at Efteling itself). The shield-shaped stamps are reminiscent of the shields of medieval tournament knights. The shields were not weapons of war, but symbols of recognition for knights with a unique, colorful family crest that symbolized the pride and identity of the armored knight. They are stamps featuring romantic images from long-gone centuries with idealized wonders. Issue details: designer Sander de Bruijn (Manager Design & Experience at Efteling), format sheet with 20 December stamps in 10 different designs with a special December rate of 1,21 euros, print run 2.850.000 sheets, printer Joh. Enschedé BV, Haarlem. 1) A closer look at fairy tale stamps 1) Sleeping Beauty is a princess who is cursed by an evil fairy to prick herself on a spinning wheel on her 16th birthday and consequently fall asleep for 100 years. The kingdom falls asleep at the same time as her. A dense thorn bush grows around the castle. After 100 years, a prince breaks through the hedge and kisses the princess awake, whereupon they marry. 2) Journey of congratulations. This fairy tale was conceived and designed especially for the December stamps, starring a mouse and a squirrel. Together, they leaf through and read a fairy tale book containing the ten fairy tale stories depicted on these December stamps. * On two stamps (Sleeping Beauty & Tom Thumb), envelopes are included as fragments in the image. On the Hansel and Gretel stamp, Hans carries a stack of Christmas packages. Designer De Bruijn applies these three PostNL attributes subtly and with balance. Kudos! * It is worth mentioning that buyers of two December stamp sheets receive this unique booklet with background stories (the PostNL press release does not allocate any space for it!!) and illustrations for free. Instead of the Christmas ornaments that have become almost traditional (from the Dutch-Chinese company Vondels), this richly informative booklet will primarily be 'bought' by stamp collectors for €24,20! * Naturally, I cannot provide you with further details about the fairy tale itself. Which of the blog readers is able (and willing) to post a brief response regarding this information for those with limited financial means? Thank you in advance for your cooperation. 3) Hansel and Gretel They find a little house made of candy in the forest, but are in danger of being eaten by a witch. Gretel devises a plan and pretends she doesn't know how to light an oven. When the witch demonstrates, Gretel pushes her into the oven. Gretel frees Hans, and together they enter the house, where they find chests full of pearls and gemstones, which they take home. 4) The six servants who possess special powers help a prince find a king's daughter and free her from the clutches of the strict and mean queen mother: [1] Longneck stretches out his neck and sees everything. He discovers her on the other side of the country. [2] Putear has extremely good hearing. He hears her crying. [3] Cold-blooded can withstand high temperatures. He stamps out the fire to clear the way to her house. [4] Hillbelly can drink a huge amount. In one gulp, he drinks all the water from a lake. The way to her house has one less obstacle. [5] Bullet-eye can pulverize a stone with his gaze. A rock face obstructing the way home falls apart into dust because of his gaze. [6] Jumpy-legged can bring the king's daughter home with a single flick. All the previous people failed to bring the daughter home, unlike the prince and his helpers. When the prince saw the king's daughter for the first time, the queen mother vanished into thin air in anger. All obstacles were overcome. Not long after, they got married. The servants were guests of honor at the wedding. They lived happily ever after. Long Neck, along with other fairytale characters, appeared on the 50th anniversary Efteling issue in 2002. Throughout the Efteling park, he constantly makes himself heard with the cry: “Paper here!” 5) Wolf and Seven Little GoatsMother Goat lives with her seven little goats in a little house in the forest. Mother goes to the market for groceries, but a fox is lying in wait. After several attempts to get into the house, the fox finally succeeds and eats all the little goats except the youngest. When Mother comes home, she discovers that the little goats have disappeared. The youngest, who comes out of the clock, tells the story of the drama. With scissors, Mother cuts open the belly of the sleeping fox, and the little goats immediately jump out. Then the belly is filled with stones. The belly is sewn shut with needle and thread. When the wolf woke up, he became thirsty and staggered to the well to quench his thirst, but became top-heavy from the stones and falls into the well and drowns. 6) Little Red Riding Hood She has received a little red cap from Grandmother. In return, her mother tells her to bring something tasty to her sick Grandmother, who lives in the forest. On the way, she picks flowers and meets the wicked wolf there, who tells her that there are even more beautiful flowers further along. Meanwhile, the wolf goes to the cottage and tells Grandmother that he is Little Red Riding Hood, and immediately afterwards he eats her up. When Little Red Riding Hood arrives at Grandmother's with flowers, he swallows her up too. The hunter passing the cottage hears the fox snoring in Grandmother's bed. He cuts open the belly, and Little Red Riding Hood and Grandmother jump out. The belly is stuffed with stones and sewn shut. The thirsty fox wakes up and goes to the well. When the fox bends over, the stones roll forward. The fox loses his balance and falls into the well and drowns. The 1964 and 1997 Children's stamps, in combination with the 2019 Beleef de Natuur stamp (nvph 3713), relate to this fairy tale. It is not the hunter, but painter, photographer, and designer Teun Hocks himself who stands next to the bed containing the loudly snoring fox with a bulging belly, into which Grandmother and Little Red Riding Hood have ended up. The little red cap hangs from the chair. 7) The Princess and the Pea. A prince hopes to one day marry a real princess. When a princess from a faraway land knocks at the palace on a rainy day, she must undergo the pea test. A pea is hidden under a large pile of mattresses. Only a real princess would be so sensitive that she would feel the pea and be unable to sleep at all as a result. The next morning, the princess indeed complains: “There is something hard under the mattress. I haven't been able to sleep all night.” The king and queen are convinced that she is a real princess, and the prince marries her, and then they live happily ever after. 8) Frog King. A spoiled little princess drops her golden play ball into a deep pond. The ball is retrieved by a frog. In gratitude, the princess promises that the frog may eat from her golden plate and sleep in her bed. The princess refuses to keep the promise. The king forces her to keep her word. Reluctantly, they both eat from the plate, but she refuses to have him, a dirty and wet animal, in her bed. She slams the animal hard against the wall. Thereupon, the frog, who turns out to have been enchanted by a witch, transforms into an attractive prince. A day later, she travels by carriage to his kingdom, where they eventually marry. 9) Tom Thumb He is a little man who, despite his size, helps his family through cleverness and courage. When his parents abandon him and his brothers in the forest due to poverty, he finds his way back home using stones he leaves behind. During a second attempt to get rid of the children, they end up with a giant. In a clever way, Tom Thumb manages to get hold of the giant's boots. With these, he can easily return home with his brothers and brings back the giant's treasures, ensuring his family never has to go hungry again. Tom Thumb has appeared on the children's stamps of 1968 and 1997 before. It is not Tom Thumb, but painter, designer, and photographer Teun Hocks himself who marks the way home with loaves of bread (instead of crumbs). Alone (without children), he walks barefoot (instead of seven-league boots) across a plain (instead of the forest) on his back towards home with a bag filled with gold and money. 10) Rapunzel, the name of a girl, is locked up by a witch in a tall tower without windows or doors. The witch can go up and down by climbing up a braided plait and carefully sliding down. Eventually, after several attempts, a prince manages to free her. * A children's stamp from 1968 shows an image of a witch 2) Analysis of details of fairy tale stamps 1) With a restrained, atmospheric, warm, and romantic use of color on this stamp sheet, an atmosphere with strong expressive power is created. Designer De Bruijn started from the basic colors in a muted version of the typical Pieck red, Pieck yellow, and Pieck blue-green to derive airy colors from them. In doing so, you cross a boundary and thus enter a different kind of world, a world full of wonders, fairy tales, and stories. 2) The illustrations on the fairy tale stamps correspond to the character and appearance of medieval miniatures, which romantically and idealistically glorify the past with coats of arms derived from heraldry in oval, rounded, and flattened shapes. 3) A gold-colored border has been applied around all illustrations, entirely in keeping with the rich ornamentation of medieval miniatures, but also fitting particularly well with the Christmas attributes in the average Christmas tree. 4) Various visual elements such as snow, stars, holly branches, and forest scenes are traditionally found on most stamps, sometimes pronounced and other times very subtle. 3) Avoidance behavior with illusion and hope? Is it intentional or pure coincidence that the 2025 December stamps feature illustrations from the world of fairy tales? It is not without reason that I ask this question, given * uncertain and unpredictable political circumstances involving war, * unimaginable climatically changing conditions, * chaotic and ever-shifting economic circumstances, * the population's lack of steadfast mental health. Every day, the press and television devote extensive attention, in text and images, to these problematic subjects. It is not without reason that people are afraid and apprehensive about what the future may yet bring. An unrealistic solution to escape this is not only 'de-worrying,' but also an escape into a world of illusion, namely that of the fairy tale world, where everything ends positively. Gnomes play an important role in many fairy tales, such as on the 1968 children's stamp and the 2008 gnome stamps. There is no place for gnomes on the 2025 December stamps. Click here to order the “December Stamps 2025” stamp sheet from PostBeeld.