2025 Gift Guide

Stamp of approval from the Kendall County Chamber of Commerce

Hi everyone!

Last week my roommate and I had a nice giggle at my declaration that “there are a lot of different stamps!” (My year of realizing things is evergreen)

Obviously I knew this, I know this, I have known this. Stamp collectors are the punchline of a joke in American culture for a reason. There really are so many stamps! So many in fact that this post is too long for email. Open this in a browser to read the whole thing.

I like stamps as a gift because they’re niche, they aren’t junk, and they’re tied to a public institution. They’re also unexpected! I didn’t realize how many truly beautifully designed stamp sheets were out there until I started to dig into this post. You can use them to send mail, frame them, scrapbook with them, pin them on a bulletin board, write a note on the back, start a collection of your own… lots of options. Not all of these are forever stamps, which means that not all of them hold the value necessary to mail a 1-ounce letter, but all of them are interesting and beautiful. I am so charmed, genuinely, by the thought of every one of these sheets being thoughtfully designed by someone working for the postal service.

All that to say… here’s my 2025 gift guide! Enjoy 💌

A selection of mostly-apolitical, easy-to-get-along-with stamp sheets

Made In America: Building a Nation; Pets; National Marine Sanctuaries; Legendary Baseball Fields; American Gardens; Alex Trebek (Jeopardy); Garden Delights

Surely everyone reading this blog has some kind of connection to the South

Cherry Blossom Centennial: Washington Monument; Longleaf Pine Forest; Equality: March on Washington; Mighty Mississippi; John Lewis; The Appalachian Trail

Obsessed with all of these because who on Earth told the designers to go so hard!

Deep Sea Creatures; Insects and Spiders; Life Magnified; Pluto—Explored!; Winter Sports; Views of Our Planets; Bioluminescent Life; Night Friends: American Bats

I’m getting my Earthscapes + Cloudscapes combo framed for Christmas :)

Earthscapes; Cloudscapes; Rare and Vibrant Leaves; Wild and Scenic Rivers; National Parks; Go Green

Each of these was selected based on an actual cool girl I know… tag yourself

Goodnight Moon; Tropical Fruit Strip; Ursula K. Le Guin; American Ballet; Horses; Quilts of Gee’s Bend

Why is this the best section in the gift guide 😭

Keith Haring LOVE; American Filmmaking: Behind the Scenes; Charles + Ray Eames; Ansel Adams; Charles M Schulz (Peanuts); American Muscle Cars; James Baldwin

Currently soliciting gifts of any sheets from this section… my birthday is in January…

Masterworks of Modern Architecture; Isamu Noguchi; Shaker Design; Pioneers of American Industrial Design; Modern Art in America; Ellsworth Kelly

All of this got started because I thrifted a sheet of dinosaur stamps a year ago

American Motorcycles; Delivering Mail; Have a Ball; Favorite Children’s Books Animals; Prehistoric Animals

Let me know which stamp sheet makes the best gift! Personally I think the very first one (Made In America: Building a Nation as a gift for a dad) tops the list. Thanks for reading and please write in if you use any of these as gifts this holiday season!

TTYL,

Kendall