Accommodate your surplus of holiday greeting cards creatively and minimize clutter by turning them into funky Christmas decor
Sure, you could pile them on your mantle, but then where would you put your antique Santa ornament or dreidel collection? Here are six ways to display all the lovely holiday greetings you and your family have received:
Card Tree: Put togetheryour own bouquet of dried winter branches (or a mix of pussywillows, branches and cedar bough) in a vase. Stick them into a piece of foam if you want them to stay put. Punch a hole in the top middle of your cards and suspend from branches with a loop of ribbon or small craft clothespins. Alternate cards with ornaments if you want to pump up your display.
Glass coffee table collage: If you have one of those versatile coffee tables with a glass covered top, give it a seasonal modification by arranging your cards underneath. Read more...
Make great looking gifts from recycled materials and things you find around the house.
Wrapping Paper
For the paper itself, use old newspapers, tissue paper (from your recent purchases perhaps) or blue prints. You can acquire old blue prints by calling up a local contractor. Pro tip: Make sure you use the Arts & Life or Style section of the newspaper — a murder-suicide headline really saps the Christmas spirit. All these techniques can also be applied to paper shopping bags.
Potato Prints:
Cut potato in half and cut out holiday shapes in relief. (This part is for the grownups) We suggest pine trees, holly berries and leaves, stars, ornaments, snowflakes, snowmen and standard geometric shapes.
Paint stamps with a brush, or dip into a paint-filled plate. Pro tip: Make a “stamp pad” by soaking a piece of felt in the paint plate — this gives a crisper potato print. Read more...
As far as Christmas missives go, we’ve always preferred the photo card to the family newsletter wherein a well-meaning parent brags about all the amazing stuff their family has accomplished over the past year. (These can sometimes be a sweet and much appreciated update, or they can be totally obnoxious/sad) The photo card is a simple update. “Hey, we like you, we thought you’d like this year’s picture of our beautiful family.” You thought right, friend! Those cards go straight up on the fridge! That’s part of the reason we love the Kardashian-Jenner Christmas card – they knew the internet would want one. And as far as Christmas cards go, the Kardashian-Jenners don’t mess around —
