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By the author of Be Ready for Anything and the online course Bloom Where You’re Planted
Every year, we end up with a pile of Christmas cards that looked very festive before the holiday but are starting to look at little untidy afterward as we head into the New Year.
Every year, we throw away mountains of trash, too. If you’re like me, you have to pay for the garbage you throw out, so finding alternative ways to reuse items is budget-friendly in more ways than one.
You don’t have to throw those cards right into the trash, though. Here are a few ideas to get your creative juices flowing.
- Make use of the heavy card stock to make stencils for quilting or painting.
- Cut the designs from the cards, an ornament or a snowman, for example, then punch a single hole in the top to get started on your gift tags for next year.
- Take a card with an especially beautiful holiday picture to put in a simple frame and bring out next Christmas.
- Make disposable jigsaw puzzles for younger children. Just cut the whole front of the cards into interesting shapes and let them put the picture back together.
- The verses often printed on the front of cards make great place cards for festive dinner parties. Alternatively, little images also look very attractive. Just cut the bottom edge an inch longer than the picture and make a fold with a sharp crease so it stands up. Store for next year.
- Cut them into strips of the same size, store with your Christmas decorations, and the kiddos are good to go for next year’s paper chains.
- Cut colorful cards into small squares, grab a glue stick, and let the kids make mosaic pictures on a rainy day.
- Two strips of card glued back-to-back can make a bright and cheery bookmark. If you’re really feeling crafty, you can add a tassel made from yarn or embroidery thread.
- Tear little strips from used cards and mix with melted candle stubs. Pour into egg cartons to top up your fire starter store. Remember to leave a little sticking up to take the flame when you light the fire.
- Cut small detail pieces and group them by shape or colors. These can be used to decorate homemade cards for next year.
If you don’t want to reuse the cards or don’t have children to entertain, greeting cards can work as fuel for the fireplace, assuming you heat with wood.
What do you do with old holiday cards? Share your ideas in the comments below.
You can also donate old cards to hospitals and nursing homes, where residents and volunteers use them to make ornaments, place-cards, or other decorations.
I make gift tags from them. I have a stamp pad and a to and from stamp. I use a card cutter and cut the best parts of the cards. I also use the back or inside of the cards for grocery lists or other notes. Then I recycle them.
We recycle Christmas cards.
Every year on a Sunday afternoon in December, members of our church sing Christmas carols to the people at the local nursing home. The kids make homemade Christmas cards and pass them out to the residents as we sing Christmas carols in the halls.
Many families save their Christmas cards from work and/or home. I cut off the front page and the greeting inside the cards. The children make homemade cards using card stock. Some use the recycled covers and greetings. Older kids often draw their own pictures and add heart warming messages inside.
Love the jigsaw puzzle idea! I’ve always struggled with what to do and my boys are happy the cards found a purpose this year!
Because friends and family are starting to get up there in age, I save my cards each year with my Christmas decorations. The following holiday, when I bring out the decorations, I go over the cards and pull out the ones that were sent by someone who passed away during the year. I save that card and mark it with the info that it was the last card received from them. I put that precious card in a special keepsake box. I then recycle the other cards in various ways.
That is a truly beautiful tradition.