Families spend lots of money and precious time designing holiday greeting cards designed to give friends and relatives a glimpse into their lives. Most people recycle or throw the cards out without giving them much thought.
What if you recycled the cards into something special or something useful? Here are some ideas.
Useful Creations
Placemats can be made by gluing pictures and cards onto posterboard and then laminating or covering with contact paper. A unique placemat like this is great for a toddler who loves to look at pictures of other children.
Try using decoupage to craft boxes, trays or even tables with holiday greeting cards. How fun would it be to store decorations in boxes decorated with old greetings. You can look at old cards when you pull the decorations out of the attic each year.
How about decorating boxes to use as gift boxes? Wouldn't it be fun to present a gift to a friend with all of their family's old greeting cards as the wrapping?
How about making a serving tray for someone using their old holiday photo cards? What a personal gift that would make.
Think outside the box. Cover a folding table in old holiday photo cards to use for holiday gatherings. The table will make a great conversation piece and a it's a beautiful way to preserve all of those special memories.
Decorations
Laminate and string cards and photos together as a garland. Tie up with a pretty red ribbon and hang from banisters or around windows and doors. Store in giant zipper bags or bins until next year.
Make a wreath from the many cards and photos received.
The decorations you can design with holiday cards are endless when you use your imagination.
Recycle/Donate
Recycling is always an option. Luckily, most people have access to scanners so special cards can be saved to view on the computer. So, before you dump them in the recycle bin, scan them first.
Many churches, charities, hospitals and non-profit organizations accept donations of old greeting cards to make into new ones. You many want to search online for information regarding this.
The holiday card has become much more than a simple greeting to send happy holiday wishes. It has become a snippet into the lives of those sending them meant to encompass a whole year's worth of accomplishments and events.
Don't just throw them in the trash.
Janet Tumelty - A freelance writer from New Jersey, Janet is the Mom Around Town and Frugal Family Contributor for her local Patch website. Janet has a ...
