6 ways to use Christmas Cards after Christmas

If you are looking for ways to use Christmas Cards after Christmas, here are 6 ideas that you and your kids will have a blast making!   These Christmas card ideas are going to keep you busy…

Our kids LOVE to use old cards to make new things!  This year, I have a few ideas in store for our old cards…
The holiday season is here, and our homes are being filled with beautiful greeting cards. Displaying your favorites on the fridge or storing them in a drawer may be the norm, but there are better ways to make use of them. From paper ornaments to door frame embellishments, here are six creative ideas for breathing new life into your old cards.

1. Puppets:

photo credit

Use your old Christmas cards to make puppets by cutting out people/characters from the cards and gluing them onto popsicle sticks.  This is so easy and the kids will love it!

2. Gift Tags

Recycled Gift Tags. Photo by Jen Lutz

Christmas cards have jolly holiday messages and Christmas patterns printed on them, so they can easily replace fancy store-bought gift tags. Make a rectangular or circular cut-out of holiday messages, like “Merry Christmas” or “Joy,” and punch out a hole at the top. Use leftover yarn or jute to tie your homemade gift tags to the presents.

3. Paper Ornaments

Recycled Paper Ornaments. Photo credit.

Use your cheery and colorful cards to create low-cost ornaments to complement your other décor. Snip outlines of snowflakes, reindeer, and other holiday images from any part of the card, and hang them on your tree. Gather the family together and encourage them to write holiday messages on the blank side of the card. These 3D Christmas tree ornaments using recycled Christmas cards require a bit of crafting, but they look lovely on the tree.

4. Paper Garlands and Banners

Christmas Card Garland. Photo credit.

Utilize snowflakes, reindeer, and other holiday illustrations found on every Christmas card by creating paper banners and garlands. Simply trace the different illustrations with a craft knife and string them together on a piece of twine or ribbon to create a paper garland. You can also use the holiday messages on your Christmas cards to create a banner. These simple Christmas decorations are perfect for hanging on your living room wall, mantel, or Christmas tree.  I would also let the kids make their own.  Help them to string the yarn or twine through the banner and let them hang it in their room.

(Or cut them smaller and use them to decorate a card….  just sew or glue them onto a blank card to make them more beautiful!)
                                                        photo credit

5. Gift Wrap Embellishments

Recycled gift wrap embellished with recycled paper and cards. Photo Credit.

Old holiday cards make great embellishment for DIY gift wrap. Cut out shapes (ovals can be glued together to make a beautiful flower) like poinsettias or pine trees, and glue them onto plain craft paper. There’s no need to limit yourself to Christmas themed shapes; monogram letters or musical notes can make for unique accents. These colorful embellishments are sure to add holiday cheer to otherwise basic wrapping paper.

6. Puzzle out of cards.

Puzzle. Photo Credit.

This is so easy!  Just take your card, cut it up (straight lines) and use mod-podge to glue it to the popsicle sticks or tongue depressors.  Put another layer of mod-podge on top.  That’s all there is to it!

When all else fails, just toss them into your DIY Creativity Kit and be done with it!  

Do you want more Christmas Ideas?

 Or are you ready to get rid of paper clutter all together: 

Thanks for these ideas from Jennifer Lutz – the home décor expert at Christmas Tree Market.  Jennifer has an abundance of clever ideas on the blog, including the stylish Scandinavian tree.