Christmas Card Madness!

Hello friends! Hope you are all enjoying the New Year and relaxing after the rush of the holidays. I imagine most of you have already taken down the decorations, or are in the process of doing so. Me? I'm waiting till the end of January. It only just started snowing here, and I want to make that wintery cheer last as long as possible!

I've been thinking about what to do with all those Christmas cards decorating our kitchen entryway after I take them down...as usual, most of the photo cards will get put on the fridge. But what about the rest of them? I think I've come up with some ideas you might enjoy!

1) Thank You postcards. I've personally always been of the mind that Thank You cards, while a great way to express gratitude, are a bit wasteful...how many of us actually hang on to thank you cards? I'll be honest, usually I read them, say "oh how sweet," and chuck them right in the recycling bin. Much like Christmas cards after the season is over. But wait! If you simply open a Christmas card and cut it in half, taking the message portion off, what do you have? A perfectly reusable picture postcard. Perfect for sending those Thank You notes, without the guilt of wasting extra paper from buying new cards and envelopes! And it'll save you a little on postage too, since postcard stamps are so much cheaper! If you yourself have gotten Thank You cards from friends and family, you can turn those into postcards too!

2) Christmas postcards for next year. We usually send out photo cards for Christmas, since those are more likely to be kept all year and less likely to be thrown in the bin. However, if you go the generic storebought route instead, why not just save the cards you received this year and turn them into postcards to send next year?

3) Gift tags. I cut up one exceptionally unique card we received and turned it into exceptionally unique tags for my hubby's presents. I now plan to do this every year!

4) Ornament crafting. Great craft project with the kiddos. Cut out pictures you like from the card, punch a hole at the top and use some of that Christmas ribbon you salvaged from the wrapping paper heap at Grandma's house to tie a loop. Or, you can use them for something more like these ball ornaments. Creative, right? This idea would work so well with colorful Christmas cards!

5) Scrapbooking! I have never scrapbooked in my life, but I imagine those of you who do could find numerous uses for pretty, colorful Christmas cards, no?

6) Collage projects: picture frames, wall hangings, book covers, even new Christmas cards using cutouts from the old ones. Let your creative side hang out!

7) Bookmarks...cut those cards into strips and stick 'em between the pages of Like Water for Chocolate. Or, you know, whatever you happen to be reading...

8) Photo books: This one is for those photo cards. It's usually the same families every year who send photo cards instead of storebought cards. Why not hang onto those cards every year, and once they reach an important milestone - say, the youngest child graduates from high school, or the couple celebrates their 25th wedding anniversary - give all those cards back to them in a pretty scrapbook or photo album? I guarantee you it will mean a lot to them that you saved them and took the time to keepsake their Christmas memories.

Do you have any great ideas for reusing Christmas cards? If so, please share!