Hello you wonderful, sustainable, creative soul. Firstly, thank you for looking into how best to reuse and recycle last year’s Christmas cards. I know it can be easy to just chuck and get gone, but the fact you’re looking for a more sustainable and creative alternative to this is WONDERFUL.
As the owner of a sustainable greeting card business, Jess A Little Creative, I know all too well that Christmas-time can lead to lots of paper waste from Christmas cards, which we don’t want.
So I’ve come up with 8 easy and creative ways to reuse and recycle last year’s Christmas cards, so we can all enjoy some crafting, and feel good that we’re giving our old Christmas cards a new lease of life. Read on and get your creative juices flowing…
1. Make some beautiful handmade Christmas gift tags
Firstly, who doesn’t love a bit of cutting and sticking? As adults we rarely get to do these fun things, so unleash your inner child’s imagination and give your old Christmas cards a new lease of life by turning them into gorgeous Christmas gift tags.
I have put together a super easy tutorial with all the information you need to know so please check it out if this idea tickles your fancy: How To Create Beautiful Handmade Christmas Gift Tags From Your Old Christmas Cards.
2. Create some gorgeous handmade Christmas cards
More cutting and sticking! If you were inspired by making your own Christmas gift tags, take it to the next level and make some handmade Christmas cards at the same time. With some coloured card, a pair of scissors and a trusty glue stick, you can make some beautiful and personal Christmas cards.
A great activity to get the kids involved with, it really is Christmas crafting fun for the whole family. And your friends and family will love and treasure a handmade card from you.
This activity saves pennies, reuses last year’s Christmas cards, and gives you a great craft activity to do together as a family.
3. Frame old Christmas cards to create some beautiful Christmas wall art
With so many incredible independent greeting card businesses, artists, and illustrators designing greeting cards these days, we are all spoilt for choice with the most beautiful Christmas card designs. What a joy - how wonderful it is to be surrounded by such creativity, imagination and beautiful artwork.
So isn’t it such a shame that they then get thrown away or recycled? Help fill your home with all those cosy festive vibes, by framing your favourite Christmas cards, so you can enjoy them year after year. For advice about how to frame your greeting cards, please check out this blog: How To Frame Your Greeting Cards And Postcards And Turn Them Into Unique Wall Art.
This is a great way to save some money in the lead up to Christmas because a) old Christmas cards make incredibly affordable Christmas wall art (i.e. FREE!), and b) there are so many super affordable frames in lots of high street stores, it won’t cost you an arm and a leg to get them framed and looking *chef’s kiss*.
4. Create handmade Christmas garlands or bunting to help decorate the house
Making your home all cosy and festive is one of the best things about this time of year. But it can add up, buying lots of decorations and bits and bobs to bring those festive vibes. So why not create your own?
Take some festive twine or ribbon, cut up your Christmas cards into triangles, or stick them onto coloured card cut into triangles, and stitch or staple them to the twine for some gorgeous one-of-a-kind Christmas garlands or bunting that can come out year after year.
And how lovely that you can look back at some of your special old Christmas cards, and have them on display year after year for the whole family to enjoy.
Bonus tip: You could also use old Christmas wrapping paper to make some garlands, bunting or paper chains too. There are so many gorgeous wrapping paper designs these days it’s a shame for it to go to waste!
5. Make some handmade Christmas decorations for the tree
Similar to making bunting, why not pick some of your favourite Christmas cards, and turn them into Christmas decorations for your tree. You can stick them on coloured card to reinforce them, make a hole with a hole punch, thread through some festive twine or ribbon, and voila! You instantly have some extra decorations for your tree, which will remind you of loved ones.
You could even cut out the message they wrote in the Christmas card and stick it on the back, for an extra special personal memory that can be hung on your tree year after year. Aww.
6. Create a Christmas scrapbook of special cards
For the more sentimental among you, I know some Christmas cards will hold a really special meaning, and the thought of cutting them up to turn them into bunting might not feel appropriate. But instead of just keeping them in a drawer somewhere gathering dust, why not make a Christmas scrapbook?
You could label the pages by year, so you can see children’s handwriting developing, and families growing, it can become a bit of a family timeline. You can pair it with some gorgeous photos from your festive celebrations, and bring it out every year to reminisce over Christmas’ past.
Maybe it’ll even get passed down to the next generation, and start a whole family scrapbooking tradition. The possibilities are endless with this, and it really is a beautifully thoughtful and special way to reuse your old Christmas cards.
7. Keep hold of old Christmas cards for future craft projects
For all you crafty types who are always in need of bits and pieces for all the projects you have on the go, I would recommend holding on to your nicest Christmas cards as I bet you will find them useful for a craft project in the future!
It’ll save you buying Christmas themed bits and pieces further down the line.
8. Raise money for charity by dropping your Christmas cards off at a supermarket recycling point
Many supermarkets have Christmas card recycling points after Christmas, and these often help raise money for charity.
So if you still have some old Christmas cards left after exhausting all the creative ideas in this blog, take them down to your local supermarket and help raise some money for charity, rather than just popping them in your own recycling bin at home.
For more advice and tips about how to recycle your Christmas cards, please check out this blog: 4 Quick Tips To Make Recycling Your Old Christmas Cards Even Easier.
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I really hope you’ve enjoyed reading my 8 easy and creative ways to reuse and recycle last year’s Christmas cards. Whether it’s given you some inspiration to get Christmas crafting with the family, start a Christmas scrapbook, make your own handmade Christmas gift tags, or just given you some more information about the best ways to recycle your old Christmas cards, I hope it’s been useful.
My own greeting card business, Jess A Little Creative, based in Cheltenham, puts sustainability at its heart and wants to encourage everyone to get as much life out of their greeting cards as they can, before they get recycled.
If you’re looking for some unique greeting cards to send to your loved ones, please check out my shop. Or if you have any other suggestions about how to reuse your old Christmas cards, please contact me and I’ll get them added to this blog!
Have a wonderful Christmas and thanks for reading, Jess x
