Well, it’s January and most of the Christmas decorations are packed and stored away. I’ve been putting off doing the tree {my least favorite part to take down} but I think today is the day. Then the house needs a good deep clean and it will be ready for the new year!
I’m always sad to say goodbye to the Christmas decor. I love the holidays and hate that they come and go so quickly! And, I don’t know about you but my house looks empty now. I am thinking our mantle definitely needs some sprucing up and our entry way table could use a little help too! Home Goods, here I come!
One of the things I don’t like to take down are the many Christmas cards we get from our friends and family. I absolutely love checking the mail every day in December and seeing everyone’s different cards, and I just can’t bear the thought of throwing them away every year after Christmas. I know that our friends and family spent time taking pictures and picking out the perfect design, and it seems like such a waste if they just hang on our wall for a few weeks and then get tossed in the trash.
For example, here is our card from this Christmas…
See what I mean? Who would want to throw that away?!
Enter my college roommate and her brilliant idea. Last year she shared with me what her family does with the Christmas cards they receive and we started doing the same thing in January of 2011.
I put the cards in a basket and we let the kids pull one out every week. Then, each night at dinner that week, we say a prayer or good wish for that family. Throughout the week we also spend time taking about that family- where they live, the names of each family member, how we know them, etc. Chloe, our three-year old, loves this! Every night she begs to draw a new card. It helps her learn all about our friends and family, especially the ones we don’t get to see that often. This is a great way to hang onto those cards all year long!
What do you do with your Christmas cards every year? Toss or keep them?
Are there any other ideas out there for recycling/keeping old cards?
We’d love to hear!
What a great idea to pray for the families! Love it! I keep ours, and thanks to Pintrest, I have made a cute little two ringed binder book with them. I just punched holes in them and put them on some round, metal clips. Then I’ll set them out for next year in a basket as a display and part of our Christmas decor.
Love the idea of a two ringed binder! Something I can easily do after we’re done praying for each family. And how fun to look at them years later to see how much everyone has changed! Thanks for sharing!
I love this idea! I actually turn mine into place mats: http://www.thankfullythrifty.com/2011/01/turn-your-christmas-cards-into-place-mats/
I hadn’t heard of the idea to pray for these families till recently (though I guess it would be “no, duh” haha :), so I think this year we may start doing that with our place mats!
Oh my word those place mats are too cute! I love your idea. Also I know laminating can be so expensive- I wanted to laminate 30 place mats for my son’s birthday party and it was going to cost a fortune! I went to Mardel {Teacher Bookstore} in Plano and they have a do-it-yourself machine that is only 25 cents per foot! I got all of the place mats done for $8. There are other locations around DFW too.
Thanks so much for sharing!
I scan mine and turn them into a collage for a photo print or table cloth (Spoonflower.com) for next year!
I always recycle our cards by cutting out scenes/characters from them and use as gift tags for next year. I save special ones (from my husband, kids, my Mum) and hide them away in my bookcase in between my favourite gardening books. I then have a surprise when I’m choosing a book later in the new year, and the card falls out. Always nice to see a card that’s a few years old, especially the ones my boys made when they were little. I have a Christmas dinosaur card my youngest did when he was about 5, and a hand-written list to Santa from my eldest when he was 6. Precious memories!
Another idea is to use a shredder for all the bits that are left and use for animal bedding – rabbits, guinea pigs. We have 3 rabbits and shredded paper is great for keeping them warm. Unfortunately our kids broke our shredder when they were playing with it, so we’ll need to buy another one!
I keep all of the photo cards and cards with photos and letters. I have a photo box with a file tab for each last name. I love looking over them each year when I file the new cards to see how all of our friends and families have changed over time. It is a little family history treasure box of our loved ones.
My cousin linked me to your blog post and suggested I share my Christmas Card project with you. She was visiting recently and so it was fun to show them where they reside on our Christmas tree! I display all the cards around the house for the current season, but once it is time to take it down for this year I take all the photo cards we have received, and individual photos received inside Christmas cards, and I trim them to 3.5 x 2.5 inches (or nearest to this size to accommodate photos). I use decorative seasonal papers on the back side, or a second photo of the family. I then laminate them myself (so it is not too expensive). I punch small holes in each end and link them with jewelry jump rings to make a garland. I make a card displaying the year and then add the cards from this year to the garland. I then put the garland on our tree next year. It is so fun to see families, throughout the years, wrapped around our tree. I true symbol of how our lives are connected and the love that “wraps” around us from those we love. I love this project not only for the visible “wrap” around the tree, but it also takes up very little space once I remove it from the tree and fold it up.
I have also cut up cards that do not include photos and use the beautiful images for gift tags the next year. There is very little that gets thrown away around here!
Love the prayer idea! I cut off the holiday part of the card and keep the pictures up on our fridge year-round :).
We put all the cards on a small metal ring and leave it on the coffee table as a “book” of sorts. The kids love looking at it and it helps them get to know friends and family they don’t see often.