What to do with your Christmas Cards now that Christmas is over…

This year we chose not to do Christmas cards. But I’ve already decided that next year I’m going to go back to doing Christmas cards.

Here’s why…

One of my reasons for not doing them was because I always felt guilty throwing them away after Christmas had come and gone. But one of my readers (Brooke) left a comment on this post, saying that her family kept their old Christmas cards in a basket by their kitchen table and chose one family to pray for each day. What an amazing idea!

So last night I gathered all of our cards and put them in a pile close to our kitchen table. And we began the tradition of praying for one of the families at dinner. Sure, we could do this without the card in our hands, but it serves as a tangible reminder of the amazing friends and family God has blessed us with. And, of course, this was an excellent way for both of the boys to have a picture of the people they were praying for!

Thank you, Brooke, for your wonderful idea!

14 Comments

  1. That’s a really good idea. For the last 3 years I have cut the pictures off of the cards we get and use them as name tags for Christmas gifts the next year. Some cards you can get 2 or 3 tags out of just depending on whats on tthe cards.

  2. What a nice idea. Like Shannon, I reuse the fronts of non-photo Christmas cards as gift tags for the following year. Our old photo cards live in a basket and get revisited each Christmas season. The kids and I have lots of fun matching up families and seeing how they’ve changed and grown year after year.

  3. I used to cut out the pictures and place in a photo album. I do this with birth announcement, birthday pics, etc, that we get throughout the year. I think I will still do that, but place it on the kitchen table and pray as well. What a great idea!!!

  4. What a great idea! Thanks for sharing! I was thinking about using them for craft projects or to make homemade Christmas cards next year, but this will be perfect to do until next season!

  5. Hey Janae,
    I’m a friend of crystal’s and live on the east side…another thing that people can do is give their christmas cards to our school! Every year our art teacher does a project with the 4th/5th graders where they make polyhedrons and some other 3 dimensional shape out of recycled Christmas cards. They are really neat and teach the kids a lot of different things! She said it gets harder each year to do the project with people going to photo-cards or e-cards…. so anyone locally that wants to donate their good old-fashioned Christmas cards, we’d be happy to take them!

  6. For many years I saved old Christmas cards and recycled them by either cutting off the signature page or covering it with a label. Then my yung sons and their cousins would go with me to the local nursing home and we would deliver one to each resident. A simple message was written in that said we are thinking of you and wishing you a Merry Christmas. My kids have never forgotten this act of kindness.

  7. what wonderful idea for reuse.. I run a daycare so our cards and donated cards get used in crafts.. the children love to create new cards for family members special days or just because cards..

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