Recycling Christmas Cards

As a letter carrier for the U.S. Postal Service, I get a LOT of Christmas cards! I also receive them from friends and family and it seems such a shame to just throw them away … not to mention environmentally unfriendly. For several years now, I have come up with different ways of re-using or recycling them. I even re-use some gift bags, leftover foil wrapping paper, little pieces of ribbon attached to bath/body sets, etc. You can save these items for next year, use the winter months indoors to do something crafty with the kids, or even donate them to a senior center for their use.
Items you will need:
* Christmas cards
* Glue stick
* Glitter
* Small pieces of ribbon, string, yarn
* Paper hole punch
* Scissors
* Construction paper
* Permanent marker
* Gift bags … especially plain ones
* Foil wrapping paper

Here are a few suggestions of what can be done with them:

~~~Christmas or Thank You postcards~~~

For years, I have been donating my cards to an elderly lady on my route that loves to send postcards to everyone on her prayer list. The best cards for this are the ones that have a simple saying on the front, no embossing (makes it difficult to write on the back) and are large enough for the post office to allow as a post card. Just cut the card in half, flip it over and divide the message side from the address side with a line, write your message, put postcard stamp on it … and mail! These make excellent thankyou notes for after the holidays!

~~~Gift tags~~~

Use cutouts from the front of Christmas cards. I use cookie cutters, rectangles, or the whole card if it is small. Punch a hole with the paper punch and feed a small piece of ribbon, yarn or string through it. Use marker to write To: and From:

~~~Gift bags~~~

Whether you are thanking a neighbor with home-made muffins (perhaps for plowing your drive!) or you have a family member with a winter birthday … yo! u can re-use Christmas cards and plain gift bags. Just cut off! the ins ide of the card and glue it on the bag, add tissue paper or leftover curly ribbons.

The green bag shown here … was from a jewelry store.

I covered the store name with the card, added leftover foil wrapping paper (instead of tissue paper) and curly ribbons from a gift I received.

~~~Scrapbooking~~

Christmas cards make wonderful scrapbooking embellishments! You can even use the printed words inside!

~~~Homemade Christmas Cards~~~

Children love to use your cutouts to make their very own homemade cards. Use cookie cutters to make fun shapes or use your own imagination!