Repurposing Christmas Cards as Gift Tags

The gifts have been opened, there are leftovers in the fridge and we begin thinking about putting up the Christmas decorations. As part of my decorations, I display the beautiful Christmas cards we received. They are on the mantle, book shelves, dining room table, etc. One year, I placed them on a string similar to a clothes line and hung them on the wall. Sorry, I do not have a picture. Who knew I would be blogging gift ideas some 20 odd years later?!

Now, what to do with those pretty Christmas cards after the holidays? Throw them away? Oh…HO HO NO! I save them for next year. Not to decorate – there will be new Christmas cards for that. I use them as my gift tags on Christmas packages.

I do this by cutting the front cover off of a Christmas card. It can be used as a decorative piece to your package or gift bag instead of a bow. If you travel with presents or mail them, you do not have to worry about smashed bows. A beautifully wrapped package with a smashed bow? Oops! Talk about an ugly  presentation!

Choose the card that you think the receiver would like. For the kids – Santa, snowmen or reindeer. My grandmother always loved birds so I would use the Christmas cards with the bright red cardinals. For the guys, there are always those funny Christmas cards. You can even make cut-outs. For example if it has a Christmas tree ornament, cut around it. You can also use several on one package.

Write “To and From” on the front and that’s it! No need to purchase gift tags or bows. Simple, easy and beautiful! You can also involve kids in on the selection, cutting and creating of their own Christmas tags. It’s a gift within a gift!

I sometimes feel like my grandparents’ generation – they repurposed everything!