Photo: Nora Carol Photography / Moment / Getty Images
Here are 12 ways you can reuse your holiday cards!
1. New Year's Eve decorations
Turn them into stylish New Year's Eve decorations. Cut them up, paint them and stick pieces together to make decorative garlands and bunting.
2. Place settings
If you have an intimate dinner party planned for New Year's Day, or any other time of the year for that matter, you could upcycle your cards into lovely table place tags. Cut squares, rectangles or a shape of your choice from your festive cards. The white back section is particularly useful, as you can paint or ink your guest's names onto this.
3. Make a puzzle
This fuss-free idea allows you to transform old cards into a fun puzzle for little ones. All you need are a couple of cards and some lolly sticks. Cut each of the cards into strips the same width as the sticks and use some adhesive to glue the strips on. Then you can mix up the pieces and see who can complete the puzzle and put the sticks in order the quickest.
4. Next year's Christmas decorations
If you are guilty of being a bit of a sentimental hoarder, then this one is perfect for you. It means that you can hold onto your greeting cards from loved ones for another year. By the time next Christmas comes around you'll be ready to upcycle them into some amazing Christmas decorations. Put the most beautiful ones in a frame.
5. Gift boxes
Holiday cards can also be turned into effective gift boxes. Cut the original cards into pieces and sew them together for adorable little boxes.
6. Gift tags
In keeping with the holiday theme, old greeting cards also make great upcycled gift tags. Cut out the central motifs from the cards, then write your message on the back.
7. Wine gift labels
Instead of having to worry about buying a specific gift bag for a bottle of wine or bubbly, cut a rectangle from a larger holiday card and score the card a few inches from the top. This will create a crease. Then cut out a hole large enough to fit over the top of a bottle in the smaller section. In the larger section you can add a smaller rectangle from another holiday card and hang it on the bottle as a gift label to jazz it up for the festive season.
8. Bookmarks
Are you always losing or running out of bookmarks? Why not use your old holiday cards to make a selection of new ones, so you'll always have one at hand to pop inside the next book you read.
9. DIY advent calendar
Make next year’s advent calendar more personal by cutting up squares of holiday cards and applying some numbers to them. Use the blank side of the card to write some special activities or treats and then hang them up with some string. Or you could even hide some sweet treats behind each door.
10. Plant them!
Plantable cards are rising in popularity and we are on board. They are not only made from a sustainable material and are adornment-free, but they act as a gift too. The recipient can plant them after they have enjoyed their sentiment by simply burying them under some soil and giving them a water. You must make sure that the card is definitely plantable and made out of seed paper before doing this though.
11. Use them for craft projects
Looking for clever ways to keep children entertained over the holidays? Why not use old cards for fun craft projects? You could either cut them up to make new cards or string them together to create a festive garland to hang along your fireplace.
12. Postcards
Postcards can be sent any time of year, not only when you're away on holiday. Have you ever sent a holiday postcard? Simply cut a holiday card to size – 148mm x 105mm – and on the blank side draw a line down the middle, with you adding your message or greeting to the left and an address on the right hand side. This should also save you some money when it comes to the postage, compared to sending a thicker card.
Source: Country Living