I love Christmas cards.  I do.  I love getting them, I love reading them, I love displaying them.  It's storing them that I don't love so much.  And really - how many of them do you need to keep?

I realize that, for some people, the idea of throwing out a card is akin to throwing out a gift.  I personally feel - with regards to the cards I send - that the sentiment that I express with them is good, whether or not the recipient takes the card to their grave, or chucks it in the recycling December 26th.  Furthermore, if I kept every card I ever received, I would be able to wallpaper the Taj Mahal by now.

All that said, I don't like simply throwing something out if it can be re-purposed.  So this year, I whipped up a quick DIY project that was fun, simple, and USEFUL for Christmases to come: Christmas card gift tags!

The first thing that I did was to sort out any cards that I definitely wanted to keep.  For me, these included cards that have a specific message written to me (more than just the basics), cards from certain family members and/or cards with photos.  Setting those aside, I focused on the remaining cards - beautiful Christmas cards from friends and relatives with more general notes and wishes inside (still very much appreciated!).


I then gathered up a few craft supplies: scissors, pencil, hole punch, glitter, metallic pens, double-sided tape, and ribbon and string remnants from presents (waste not, want not).  In order to get the patterns, I used a tag stencil form, but simply outlining preexisting tags, or printing off and cutting out the shapes you like would work as well.

Then I started crafting.  Focusing on some of the pretty details of the cards, I worked to get as many tags out of each pattern as possible (It's actually kind of amazing how many pretty little focal points there are in each card). 

I LOVED this card. I'm thrilled I was able to get four tags out of it!

 After cutting the tags out, I matted any that I felt needed the extra heft, often using the backs of cards to do so.  I then punched a hole in the top and tied a ribbon or string to it for gift attachment.  For the To/From portion, I used a stamp (A freebie from Vistaprint that I got once upon a time), but simply writing "To" and "From" with a pretty pen works too.  Or just leave it blank for next year!


If you're feeling a little crafty, you might want to spend some time adding extra embellishments to each.  For some of mine (I was only feeling moderately crafty) I lined the bottom with double-sided tape and dipped them in glitter.  A few others will get some embellishments added later on when I get the time and energy (think buttons, ribbons, stamps - anything scrapbook worthy).  For now, though, I'm thrilled with the quick little project that helped me to streamline AND prep for next year.

(BONUS: It's a great activity to do with little ones too!)