Recycled Christmas Cards

I have a hard time throwing away all the beautiful Christmas cards we receive each year.  I have saved the cards and looked at them again, year after year.  Several years ago I reached a point that I needed to get rid of some of the hoarded Christmas cards.  What to do??  Oh, my.

In the past I have cut them up and used them for Christmas tags for packages the next year.  But then the cards were gone, and I never got to admire them again.  That is until I bought a craft magazine a few years back and found what I thought was an awesome way to recycle Christmas cards.

First you choose a favorite Christmas cookie cutter.  I chose the Christmas tree.  You draw an outline around the cookie cutter on the Christmas card.

Then with a hole-puncher, punch a hole on the right and the left sides of your Christmas tree cut out.

Take colored ribbon and thread through the holes of each tree.  You can make this Christmas garland as long as you want.  If the cut outs tend to slide, you can wrap the ribbon around the hole two times.

I usually hang the garland across the top of the drapes, from corner to corner on the fireplace mantel or along the top of a mirror.  For the ends of the garland, punch holes in the top and bottom of the Christmas tree cut outs.  Weave your ribbon top to bottom and use as many cut outs as you need for the height of the window.  This frames the window nicely.

The garland is festive and I get to enjoy my favorite Christmas cards year after year.  (Oh, yeah, I save the garlands!)

You can color coordinate the cards for different rooms in your house.  This is a cheap fun way to decorate, and if you have children they can help, too.

What ways do you recycle Christmas cards, or other holiday items?