What to do with your old Christmas cards

It's that time of the year... Christmas Cards.

If you are sending or receiving Christmas cards this year, it can be tricky what to do with your old cards.

Some fun facts about Christmas cards: -There are more than 3,000 greeting card publishers in America.

- Over 2 billion Christmas cards are sent in the US each year.

- Preferred Greetings on Christmas Cards • Merry Christmas 53% • Happy Holidays 21% • Season’s Greetings 12% • Other 14%

What to do. Make Christmas gift tags from the cards. You can use a portion of the card or the whole card, depending on how big your gift is or how much you like the art on the card.

All you need are some scissors, a hole punch and ribbon if you want to keep it easy. Add a little more pop to your tag by using twine, string or hemp cord. I've hear others use the larger scrapbooking punches Punch out some nice, neat tags. Stamp the “to” and “from” as well as handwritten them and printed sentiments to add to the tags and sewn ribbon to them as well as used a variety of punches.

These make fun, unique tags that you can personalize to your specific tastes.

Here’s a few more ideas to upcycle those cards:

*Make dinner name tags to place at each place setting for your holiday gatherings. Just cut out and fold.

*Cut or punch out small designs to place on toothpicks that be used for appetizers such as olives, cheese and fruit.

*Use full fronts of cards for postcards. There is nothing like a quick, cheery note in the “real” mail to make someone’s day.

Christmas cards use tons and tons of heavy stock paper, so best ot upcycle when possible!