Of course you know now is the time to purchase the holiday wrapping paper, Christmas cards, paper ware, and decorations. I mean that's Really Real Cheap Housewife basics. I haven't paid full price for Christmas paraphernalia for over twenty years. I buy it now and pack it away with my holiday decorations.
So, that's the no-brainer holiday tip.
Here's another tip...
I love Christmas greeting cards. The old school, snail-mail card delivered by the US postal service. Maybe I'm old fashioned, but the cards just add a personal touch to the season.
The problem is, what do you do with them after the holidays are over? Tossing them seems like such a waste. Here are a few ideas:
Christmas Crafts The pictures on cards are durable and easy to use on anything from collages to decoupage- which is just a fancy glue that can be used to attach art to anything from wood to ornaments.
Christmas card boxes Glue the the card fronts and sentiments on an old shoe box, seal with decoupage glue, and viola- you have a decorative box for next year's gift giving or storage. Cookies in zip lock bags and placed in boxes actually stack better than cookie tins.
Christmas tags Another very simple use of the old cards is to recycle them into tags for the next season. It's as easy as cutting out and taping.
Christmas Count Down Cutting out the pretty pictures on a card and using them to tape to a count down calendar to mark the days left is a fun way for kids to strike off the days until Santa arrives.
Now, what to do with those holiday photos that come inside the cards?
I keep a special photo album just for holiday pictures. I've been doing it for years, so it's fun to look back on all the memories.
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| Warmest greetings from Frosty and fam! |
i love cards too, and i do the tags but i love these other ideas too! i'll have to try them. the pics usually get tossed, unfortunately... i miss the days of photo albums! happy monday, liz!
ReplyDeleteHappy Tuesday. I'm late :)
DeleteI love my photo albums, though I have gotten very lazy about the upkeep of them.
I shocked myself and bought new Christmas lights. They cost less than half of what they did before Christmas! Hurray for me.
ReplyDeleteNot paying full price is addictive! I cringe when I have to pay full price for lack of planning.
DeleteBy the time the after-Christmas sales are going on, I'm so done with buying stuff I never take advantage of them. I really should though.
ReplyDeleteCute ideas! Thanks for sharing.
Heather
I do so much of my shopping online, I think I only made it to the mall once. So, hitting them post-Christmas isn't too bad.
DeleteWell, of course, I print my own cards anyway. I do agree with you about having snail mail cards, but this year (last I suppose now) I cut out most of them because of the cost of postage. I was spending $70 or more and just can't afford to do that on a pension. So, sorry if you don't like electronic cards, if you are a friend and you have a computer, an electronic card is what you get. Now if all my friends suddenly decide to get rid of their electronic devices, I am up the creek without a paddle.
ReplyDeleteYou send the loveliest e-cards and I love them! I still play the bulb smashing game. I consider it a stress reliever. I also shrunk my list this year, skipping most of the international shipping because I also had to watch the budget.
DeleteAnd that's another reason I hate to just trash the ones that are sent in the mail- it seems like such a waste.
(And some special ones, like the ones people print and personalize- they go into my keepsake box.)