Post by Maggie Terryn of Mom Colored Glasses

If you’re anything like me, you have a difficult time throwing your stack of Christmas cards away at the end of the month.  I mean, people took time to send you a picture of their family–and many of them–are beautiful; Christmas cards aren’t cheap!  So it’s no wonder that I have four gallon-sized Ziploc bags in my basement all housing the last four years worth of Christmas cards.  And every year I shuffle through those bags and think, “I should really get rid of these…..or do something with them…because this is just silly.”

So I have  three simple old Christmas card DIY projects you could do with your Christmas cards this year instead of throwing them in a Ziploc bag or, gasp, the trash.  One is for the younger kiddos (think 2-4 years old) and on a difficulty scale of 1-10 is about a negative five, one is for you or to gift to someone special and is a little more difficult than the first one and the final idea is to use next Christmas or the rest of this year depending on which cards you select to use for the project.

So, gather your stack and let’s get started.

Project #1:  Christmas Card Puzzles

(Figure out which Christmas cards you’ll want to use for Project #2 before commencing with project #1.)

Remember, this is for the younger set so you don’t want to make your pieces too intricate.  Shuffle them all and lay the pieces picture side up on the floor and have your toddler work on putting them together.  Many times your kids will recognize some of the people in the pictures and they’ll think it’s fun to put their faces together.  It’s also a great activity to get them thinking about categorizing things.  They’ll have to look for similar patterns, colors, texture, and finish when they’re finding the pieces for each puzzle.

Project #2:  Christmas Card Ornaments

My mom made one of these for me last year and I loved it!  I thought it was genius and made sure to tuck the idea away for this year.  It will require a little more time on your part, and of course glitter……but that’s always a good thing in my book.

Project #3:  Christmas Card Gift Tags

Theoretically, these could be use on any gift all year long.  However, they’ll probably end up looking a bit “Christmas-y” as you’ll be using Christmas card scraps.  So really……it’s up to you how festive you make them!  I know I plan on saving mine specifically for Christmas gifts next year as I’m always lacking in the gift tag department when it comes to wrapping night and I end up just writing the recipients name on the back of the package in Sharpie!

Washi Tape:  You can buy them from Amazon if you don’t have any and you really want some….no one would blame you!

When you have a nice stack throw them in your box with all of your Christmas ornaments!  That way you’ll be sure to come across them next year when you need them!

Have fun crafting with your cards!  Make sure to get the kiddos in on the action too!

Post by Maggie Terryn of Mom Colored Glasses