Decorative Ways to Recycle Christmas Cards

Depending on how many relatives and friends you have, you might just own quite the abundant collection of Christmas cards. What do you do with them?

Storing them for a few years is a standard procedure, but at one point they get too many and what happens when you actually need that small space in the cupboard for something more practical than sentimental pieces of paper?

Waste clearance crosses the mind, yes, but don’t be so hasty as to do the rubbish disposal before you covered all the options. Christmas cards might not seem to have practical value, but that only depends on what kind of décor you are fond of. Below you can find a few ways to use them in a more practical and ornamental manner rather than in a keeping-them-safe-from-the-bin one.

#1 – Collages

What is the best way to show guests for Christmas that you are about their Christmas cards? Why, combine them in collages and hang them near the Christmas tree or the fireplace as a special décor during dinner. Collages make great replacements for paintings, especially if you are creative enough to make them appear like one, and all the sentimentality just might bring the givers to tears. Don’t send Christmas cards to the waste removal bin yet!

#2 – Mosaics

If you have the free time, why not sit down and use the scissors and shape the cards into more…manageable pieces. Then combine them in a mosaic of all the cards you have and make it into a semblance of a painting. Again, place it somewhere on the walls and you will have a decoration, a memory, and a gift to all those who come for Christmas dinner. And it is still technically a de-cluttering as you still have pieces that will go for waste disposal, so freeing up space is mandatory.

#3 – Games

Turn the cards into a part of a game! First, make a box and cut the greeting from the card to place it inside that box. Then take the photo or picture side of the card and put it into a collection, such as an album, or, again, such as a painting-style set. And when the guests arrive, you can make it all into a little guessing game. Have one person draw a greeting and then try to match the greeting with the picture on the card. It’s a game of memory and a game that will show who can make the better psychological profile of a card giver. And almost no part of the card goes for waste clearance!

#4 – Gift Boxes

A more wasteful, but just as practical way to use the Christmas cards would be if you turn them into gift boxes. Imagine the face of the receiver of the gift when he or she realizes that you are handing over a gift wrapping made entirely out of the Christmas cards he or she had sent you the previous years. Priceless, yes?

When carrying out a house clearance, leave the Christmas cards behind and don’t throw them away just yet. Think about imaginative ways to use them or pick any of the options above, and only then proceed to wonder whether waste disposal is the way to go.

You can turn just about anything into a useful decoration, so why not a colorful card with some sentimental value?