A guest post by Karrie Hadfield:
Christmas is Over, What do I do with these Cards?
I love Christmas. I love the parties, the handmade gifts from neighbors, and the smell of cinnamon and evergreen that seems to be everywhere. One of my favorite parts of the Christmas season is awaiting the arrival of the Christmas cards from our family and close friends. We receive 20-30 of these cards each year, and the kids love decorating the house with them. Some years, they are on the refrigerator, others the front door. This year, I think we may string a piece of twine in the living room and create a Christmas card garland of sorts.
We enjoy looking at these cards throughout the season, but come January, we aren’t really sure what to do with them. I am ashamed to admit that they generally end up in the recycle bin at some point. I always feel a little guilty when I look down to see the faces from the photo cards smiling back at me. This year, I am determined to do something different with the cards. Here are a few ideas I thought I’d share:
Keep photo cards as photos. Just trim off the card part and leave the photo part. Stick it in a frame or on a bulletin board or wherever it can be enjoyed throughout the coming year. When the cards come next year, replace the photos.
Scrapbook them. This sounded a little overwhelming to me at first, but I think I can handle a super simplified version. I don’t have time to embellish and glitter, but I can easily attach the cards to 8.5 x 11 sheets of paper and slide them in page protectors that are housed in a fun 3-ring binder. This is a kind of instant scrapbook that could become a fun family tradition.
Make a brag book. This is even less work than the scrapbook, and kids love it. Young children love looking at pictures of people they know, so simply stapling the pictures together into a book for the kids to pack around would be an absolute hit.
Make thank-you notes. Traditionally styled Christmas cards can be cut in half to remove the front. This can be folded in half to make a smaller card or used postcard-style for children to use as thank-you notes.
Make Gift tags for next year. In the same vein as the thank-you cards, trim Christmas card fronts to gift tag shape and save them to label packages next year.
Keep them for special intentions. Keep the cards in a basket on the dining room table. Each night at dinner, draw a card from the basket and remember that person or family in your prayer as you offer thanks.
If all else fails, recycle. And don’t feel guilty about it. Paper and clutter take over our lives. If you have to discard the cards at the end of the season, just do it and move on.
Great ideas, Karrie, thanks!
