I have just about got all the Christmas decorations boxed up and put away (well, the kids almost have it all done). But every year I cringe at the thought of throwing out all the wonderful cards we receive from friends and family. I know a lot of thought and love went into creating the cards and mailing them out, and they are just too pretty to pitch. So, with that in mind, here are some great ideas for ways to enjoy your Christmas cards all through the year….
1. Take a photo of the cards and assign them to your phone contacts. I absolutely adore this idea and have started on updating all the contacts in my own phone. How great is it to see a “face” pop up when a new call call comes in?
2. Use ring clips to create a book of all the cards. Of course you can get as creative as you want with this. Pack them up with the rest of your decorations to bring back out every Christmas. How fun will it be to go through them year after year and see how kids have grown and people have changed through time! It’s also a great ice breaker at get togethers. Your guests will love to peruse through past cards and reminisce.
3. Create a Prayer Basket or add the photo cards to your Bible or daily devotional book. Each day, pull a card and add that family to your prayer list for the day. This would would be an excellent idea for kids to do at bedtime as well.
4. Create a “WHO LOVES ME?” booklet for children. The book can help younger children learn names and all of them feel connected to a bigger group of family and friends who care about them.
I’d love to hear your tradition for your family and friends holiday cards. Of course there are a ton of ideas on pinterest and craft website and blogs. If you receive a lot of non-photo cards there are even more ideas for recycling these. Just one more thing to add to your after-holiday clean up list.
