Royal Mail Christmas stamps 2019: the new designs and when you can buy them

And, luckily for those who are getting organised with their Christmas cards, the Royal Mail has just unveiled its new festive stamp designs for 2019.

The nativity story

Six special stamps have been issued by the Royal Mail for Christmas this year, with the designs taking inspiration from the biblical nativity story.

Each of the stamps depict various scenes from the story, including the birth of Jesus Christ, the journey of the wise men and Jesus in the stable.

The stamps have been designed by paper-cut artists Hari & Deepti, who used layers of intricate paper-art and light boxes to create three dimensional scenes that bring the each part of the story to life.

When do the stamps go on sale?

The Christmas stamps are available to purchase from today (5 Nov).

To ensure all of your letters and parcels arrive in time for Christmas, Royal Mail recommends posting by the following dates:

Wednesday 18 December - 2nd Class and 2nd Class Signed For Friday 20 December - 1st Class and 1st Class Signed For and Royal Mail Tracked 48 Saturday 21 December - Royal Mail Tracked 24 Monday 23 December - Special Delivery Guaranteed

Possible strike action

While the stamps are sure to be popular over the festive season, disruption could be expected to the Christmas post after Royal Mail workers voted overwhelmingly in favour of national strike action last month.

The strike was backed by a massive 97 per cent of members of the Communication Workers Union (CWU), with 110,000 members balloted.

The decision for action comes as a result of a dispute over job security, terms and conditions of employment, pay and bullying.

Dates of the strike have yet to be announced, but union workers could choose to target the festive season, bringing major disruption to the Christmas post.

An agreement reached with management last year to increase pay and reform pensions in not being honoured, according to the CWU.

Union bosses fear the company is trying to scrap rules which require it to deliver to every address in the UK six days per week for a set price. Although Royal Mail has denied any plans to drop this to a five day week, which could result in 20,000 job losses.