13 Creative Ways to Reuse Christmas Cards

If you’re dreaming of a greener holiday season, here are 13 ways to reuse Christmas cards.

‘Tis the season to send and receive Christmas and holiday cards. Instead of tossing the cards or throwing them in the recycling bin, here are some creative ways to repurpose them. Many of these ideas will also work for reusing birthday cards and other greeting cards.

Whether you’re looking for ways to upcycle old Christmas cards or want to reduce your environmental impact during the holiday season, you’ll enjoy these eco friendly ideas. Be sure to check out eco friendly unwrapping tips, too, and the wall decoration we made from toilet paper tubes!

Here are 13 ways to upcycle your Christmas cards:

1. Ornaments

Make holiday ornaments from the cards. Little kids may prefer to simply cut out pictures from cards, decorate them a bit and hang them on the tree. 

Pro Crafting Tip: When you’re cutting out holiday designs, cookie cutters make nifty templates. Just trace around the cutter lightly with a pencil and cut away.

2. Gift Bags

Save money by making your own holiday gift bags; simply glue colorful holiday card cut-outs on paper bags.

3. Holiday Cards

Create new Christmas cards by gluing the fronts of used cards onto plain paper or card stock.

4. Mosaic

Make a seasonal mosaic to hang on the wall by arranging card pieces in a pleasing arrangement and gluing on cardboard or construction paper.

5. Placemats

Make Christmas placemats by gluing the card fronts on colorful paper. You can ‘laminate’ the finished mat with clear contact paper if you wish.

6. Gift Tags

Create gift tags for holiday packages like we did in the photo below. Use pinking shears or scrapbooking scissors to cut fancy edges, sprinkle with a little glue and glitter if you wish, or simply cut a simple tag from a pretty part of the design.

Pro Crafting Tip: A hole punch is handy for stringing ribbon or yarn through the card.

7. Holiday Magnets

Here’s a craft idea that young children can do:  make holiday magnets by gluing cut outs from cards on flat magnets. Sometimes you can find unused magnets stuck in the ‘yellow’ phone books.

You can also buy clear, flat glass “pebbles” at a craft store, and trace around them on old greeting cards. Cut out and glue to the back of the glass pebbles with clear glue. Then glue a small magnet on the back.

8. Paper Chain Garlands

Cut the cards into strips and make old-fashioned paper chains by gluing the strips into circles and interconnecting them. Hang the garlands on the tree or wrap them around a staircase railing.

9. Christmas Bookmarks

Another kids’ craft: make a holiday bookmark by gluing a vertical strip cut from a card onto a pretty ribbon.

10. Placecards for the Table

Make place cards for each seat at the holiday dinner. Sometimes you can utilize the plain back of a card cut into a rectangle for the placecard, which can then be decorated with a small cutout or sticker. Write each guest’s name on a card and everyone will know exactly where to sit.

11. Scrapbooking Page Art

Scrapbookers can use holiday card cutouts to decorate pages. These are perfect for scrapbook pages about family Christmas celebrations and holiday gatherings.

12. Holiday Napkin Rings

Make napkin rings by cutting 1-inch pieces from a paper towel tube or toilet paper tube and gluing pretty cut-outs on it.

13. Make a Donation

If you’ve ever wondered “Where can I send used Christmas cards?” you’re in luck. At the end of the season, you can mail unwanted holiday cards to St. Jude’s Card Recycling, 100 St. Jude Street, P.O. Box 60100, Boulder City, NV 89006.

How about you? Do you upcycle Christmas cards? If you have any additional ideas to share, drop a comment below!

P.S. You might also enjoy “One Family’s Real Simple Christmas.”

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