Now that Christmas is over and you are putting away the decorations, I have a question? Do you still send Christmas cards? I do. For me I enjoy finding cards that say Merry Christmas with an Arizona twist. Living in Arizona I don’t think I can send cards with snow and pine trees. So, I try to find ones that have cactus and palm trees. I have found some amazing photographers who make cards. I love receiving cards. But that presents a slight problem. They can easily become clutter. What to do with all those cards that are not special?
Do you keep your cards? Do you keep them but some are clutter? Of course some of these cards are special and you want to keep them but others…. Well they are pretty and what to do with them. I have a few suggestions for you.
Are you looking for a great way to pay those cards forward?
Did you know that St. Jude recycles greeting cards? https://www.stjudesranch.org/contribute/recycled-card-program/ More than 30 years ago, wishing to show our donors appreciation for making St. Jude’s Ranch for Children possible, the idea was conceived to turn the previous year’s Christmas cards into “new” cards for the coming season. The recipients were so delighted when they received the unique “thank you,” that they requested to purchase the special cards. The program soon expanded to include all-occasion greeting cards.
Or you can donate them to a daycare or school. Cards are great for little ones to practice their skills with scissors. (Sounds like a good way for grandparents to engage with the grand’s.)
Another thought is to turn them into gift tags or garland. What about using them to embellish gift bags.
What do you do with your greeting cards? Do you think you might do any of this?
Happy New Year’s Eve. Have a wonderful and wonder filled new year.
Pamela
#clutter #cards #greetingcards #recycle #chrismas #stjude #stnicholaseve
I received a card one year that was so funny I sent it back to the sender the next year. We sent it back and forth for years until it finally became lost. That was fun.
I do sometimes save the front of a card to use as a gift tag the next year, but not all cards.
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I don’t send many Christmas cards, just to those who would get offended if I did not, however next year I am upping my eco-dom and will be stopping cards altogether. Why take the time when they end up in the bin? I would rather give gifts of my healing and reading abilities as birthday gifts if required. I lived in one house where my husband and I received a card to the previous owners for year after year – they just did not know these “friends” had moved. Some buddies hey?! 🙂
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True. Did you make friends with the people who sent you a card ever year? That would have been funny.
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No forwarding address! I bet we would have gotten along great.
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Rats. You are right.
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I’ve been recycling my cards for decades, cutting out images to make cards for next time or for tags, the rest are put in the recycling bin for collection. I also use recycled card (as in, bought card that is made from recycled card) for the new homemade cards and recycled (new) envelopes, and sometimes if the old envelope hasn’t been ripped I’ll reuse that too. Sending cards is becoming an issue though because while the actual cards are inexpensive, postage has gone through the roof and we have cut down a great deal, sending animated ecards to those who can receive them and whom we know won’t hold it against us!
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No one will hold it against you. I have cut down on the number of cards that I send as well. Because of the postage. Love that you are so creative and reuse your cards.
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In the UK all the major supermarkets and some stationers have bins for recycling cards after Christmas, plus most of us now have recycling collected from our homes with the other household refuse. I do like to send cards – an email is just not quite the same!
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Perfect. I agree a card is much better than an email. I love that in the UK they make is easy to recycle cards.
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Suan: yes yes! I still do. I enjoy writing and decorating the cards with stickers and all, and penning my thoughts for the festive season. Adds a personal touch!
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Susan I agree. Thanks
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Years ago I learned from my Grandma to repurpose them into new cards. What I have trouble with are the Christmas cards with family photos on them! I usually end up tossing them after a year but for some reason that is hard to do.
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Agreed. Now you can try making gift tags out of some of them.
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I am going to do that! With my children I have never put names on their gifts…only tags with stamped images. They used to open their gifts before Christmas and rewrap them so that is the system I came up with. Once they started getting married I thought I would be able to do “normal” name tags….not so. They like the tradition. It would be easy to stamp my images on the repurposed tags.
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That sounds like a great tradition. Love that.
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I love the idea of recycling cards, sounds like fun and creates better memories 🙂
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Thanks Jacqueline!
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