NEW YORK CITY — A new booklet of Forever stamps entitled Holiday Windows was dedicated today, making it clear that the holidays are right around the corner. These festive holiday contemporary stamps represent one of the major issues for the 2016 holiday mailing season.

“These new stamps will help people celebrate the holidays with style – whether applied to letters, cards or packages, they will welcome recipients with greetings and good cheer,” Postal Service Chief Financial Officer and Executive Vice President Joseph Corbett noted. “It’s our hope that these inviting stamps will help customers connect with the festive spirit of the season.”

These new stamps have been printed – and will be sold – only as complete booklets of 20 stamps, priced at $9.40 (the individual stamp price is 47 cents). The booklets feature four designs that each appear five times.

The stamps reflect the simple pleasures of the wintry holiday season and feature a candle, a wreath, a star, and a lighted tree. The stamps show the tranquil calm of a winter evening after the snow has fallen and the sun has set. Whether you enjoy viewing a peaceful scene from a cozy spot indoors or feeling a chill on your face outside, these brief moments make this time of year special.

Two designs show views from the inside looking out: a single burning candle sits on a window sill, and a simple star ornament hangs in a window. Two other designs show views from the outside looking in: a brightly lit indoor Christmas tree contrasts with the snowy shrubs outside, and a snow-covered wreath hangs in front of a frosted window. Art director Ethel Kessler of Bethesda, MD, designed the stamps with original artwork by William Low of Huntington, NY.

Featuring snowy winter nights, these stamps demonstrate how windows everywhere play a role in the celebration of the holidays. We can delight in the snow when we’re inside and can share our warmth and happiness with the outside world through simple panes of glass. Conveying both the joyful and the reverent spirit of the holiday season, these elegant stamps show the ways we observe traditions and spread cheer. Each stamp is sure to add some winter joy to letters and cards during the year’s coldest months, especially in regions farther north.

With four warms, and inviting illustrations of winter scenes featuring windows, the Holiday Windows stamps rejoice in the simple pleasures of the season. Two stamp designs show views from the inside looking out: a single burning candle sits on a sill and a simple star ornament hangs from a hook attached to the window sash, out of sight. Two other stamp designs show views from the outside looking in: a brightly lit Christmas tree contrasts with the snowy shrubs on the other side of the glass and a snow-covered wreath hangs in front of frosted windowpanes.

The Holiday Windows stamps are being issued as Forever stamps. These Forever stamps will always be equal in value to the current First-Class Mail 1-ounce price.