51 EPIC Christmas Card Crafts to Recycle/Repurpose Old Cards!
De-Christmasing is the worst, isn’t it? If you’re anything like me, you feel sad when the season is over. And one of the saddest moments is when you go to dump those wonderful Christmas cards you’ve received over recent weeks from friends and family.
It always gives me a twinge of guilt to see all that color and glitter and pictures of loved ones staring back at me from the bottom of a Hefty bag…
So this year, I vowed to find a better way to deal with all those Christmas cards.
And boy, did I ever find a way. In fact, I found 51 EPIC ways to recycle cards into beautiful Christmas card crafts.
Make sure to check out the video preview of some of the amazing repurposing ideas for this year’s holiday cards!
Before we delve in, if your house is anything like ours, CLUTTER and CHRISTMAS go hand in hand! Let me help you get control! Grab your free copy of our decluttering quickstart list ! It will show you 60 ideas for places to declutter at home in as little as 5-minutes of time!
I’m confident that we all will find a few ideas we love here!
And these great card upcycling projects will help us keep the spirit of the season lingering for years to come, without the clutter!
It’s wonderful that the cards people spent so much time creating can be repurposed and upcycled into something that can be used and admired year after year, isn’t it? Let’s bring on the ideas!
1. Wood Slice Vintage Christmas Card Magnets | Mod Podge Rocks
These wood slice magnets are genius. A great way to create upscale magnets (or I could see these as ornaments, too…foreshadowing, perhaps to #36 on the list) from some very budget-friendly materials…scrap wood and old Christmas cards!
2. Geometric Christmas Card Ornament | What’s Up Fagans
Origami meets upcycling to create a super unique ornament from your old Christmas cards!
3. Christmas Cutie Crate DIY | Pink Fortitude
My family lives on little clementine/mandarin oranges over the winter, so there are always a few of these crates floating around.
Isn’t this a fun way to upcycle both the Cutie crate as well as the cards? Would make a fun little breakfast in bed type tray!
4. DIY Christmas Card Holiday Coasters | Ann’s Entitled Life
Mason jars are sometimes hard to come by, but if you have a stash, you could create some of these adorable and super useful coasters from your old Christmas cards.
5. Christmas Gift Tags Made from Christmas Cards | What’s Up Fagans
Who doesn’t love a good ugly sweater craft? These could easily be made into ornaments, as well!
6. Recycled Christmas Card Snowflake Ornament | DIY Inspired
These kind of remind me of a Nordic style ornament. A classic snowflake made from those classic Christmas cards you don’t want to dump!
7. Recycled Christmas Card Decor | Party Planning Center
Want a fun garland idea? Grab your old Christmas cards!
8. Washi Christmas Card Tree | Thyme is Honey
Looking for a creative Christmas card display? Here’s one and it doubles as a Christmas tree if you’re not fond of pine needles and watering real trees!
Oh, and if it’s Christmas card display ideas you’re after? We’ve got BUNCHES of them for you!
9. Upcycled Christmas Card Present Toppers | Brit.co
Brit.co always has amazing ideas, and this one is not different! A cool, Christmas-y gift wrap embellishment that can be fashioned from old cards!
10. Christmas Card Wreath | Crafty Sy
Isn’t this gorgeous? What a great pop of color this DIY wreath creates! And a great way to see those old cards come out year after year when the wreath is mounted each holiday.
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11. Christmas Card Pinecone Ornament
Pine cones represent regeneration and enlightenment, and that’s just perfect for this craft!
A great way to re-use old Christmas cards, this version was created using scrapbook paper, but we suggest using bits and pieces of your Christmas card collection!
12. Gift Boxes Made from Christmas Cards | Sum of their Stories
Turn old cards into gift boxes with this awesome idea!
13. DIY Cards Made from Old Christmas Cards | Sum of their Stories
14. Recycle to Support St. Jude’s Hospital
Consider donating your old cards to help St. Jude hospital and their programs. Learn more here.
15. Placemats | Adventures of Mel
Kids love having personalized holiday placemats, so this project is a perfect way to create unique and special place settings!
These fun placemats will tell a one-of-a-kind story for kids made with cards from loved ones. A treasure for years to come!
16. Bookmarks | Zensible Mama
You can never have enough bookmarks, right? Great way to reuse those old cards for something really functional.
17. Christmas Bunting | Learning 4 Kids
Decorate with the help of some old cards turned into happy, colorful, playful bunting.
18. Christmas Rubik’s Cube | If I had a Million Hours
I don’t think I would have ever dreamed this idea up! What a brilliant upcycle idea.
19. Recycled Christmas Card Album | Simple Made Pretty
This is a fun way to bundle your cards so that you can flip through them like any regular album!
20. Advent Calendar | Crafty Nest
I love advent calendars, and this is a very green one, to boot! Rather than investing in the kind you toss once the holiday has come and gone, why not recycle those festive cards into an advent calendar you can use year after year?
21. Small Gift Card or Jewelry Type Boxes
Great for gift cards or small items like jewelry!
22. Christmas Card Charger
This holiday charger, or cookie plate for Santa is a really fun way to personalize the Christmas tablescape!
These were made using fabric. To use Christmas cards, I suggest covering ONLY the flat, bottom part of the plate with your cards, since they are usually made from thicke cardstock.
You can embellish the rest of the plate with fabric, as shown in this tutorial, or try painting (the underside) of the glass plate.
23. Card Christmas Trees | Easy Peasy and Fun
A darling tabletop Christmas tree idea…though these would be fantastic on the mantel, too!
24. Upcycled Card Collection | Happy Strong Home
Use bits and pieces from the Christmas cards you’ve collected to create brand new cards!
25. Christmas Card “Putz” Houses | Christmas Notebook
Aren’t these little houses darling? You can create a whole Christmas village using your old cards!
26. Recycled Card Paper Chain | Creative Family Fun
A traditional paper chain with an eco-friendly Christmas twist!
27. Christmas Card Topiary | Life As Mama
What’s not to love about this little Christmas tree? Not hard to make, and a great way to save old Christmas cards from the landfill!
28. Card Luminaries | Just add Ink
This shows a vellum material, which is translucent. But you could punch regular cards in different patterns to allow the light from a battery-operated candle to diffuse through the traditional Christmas cards.
29. Trinket Basket | My So-Called Crafty Life
This idea is darling! Who’d have thought to “sew” the cards together to create something sturdy like this sweet little trinket bowl?!
30. Mason Jar Toppers | Family Feed Bag
Make your mason jar tops more festive thanks to old cards! A great (and totally socially acceptable) way to re-gift!
31. Clear Magnets | Ingenious Inkling
While these particular DIY magnets are not Christmas-themed, you get the idea. And you could make a multitude of magnets like this from just one old Christmas card!
32. Mini Notebooks | Hope Studios
Are you or someone you love an old-fashioned paper and pen kind of person? If so, create some notebooks with those old cards!
A perfect place to write that holiday shopping list!
33. Shadowbox Ornaments | Serendipity Refined
Doesn’t this keepsake DIY ornament have such a lovely, vintage feel?
34. Upcycled Card Shadowboxes | Edventures with kids
Made differently from the ornaments above, these shadowboxes could also become tabletop decor.
35. Altoid Tin Shadowboxes | Creativepointe
Two upcycled items in one! Altoid tin + old Christmas card creates another wonderful take on a 3D Christmas ornament!
36. Christmas Card Wood Slice Ornaments | Lil Blue Boo
We saw magnet wood slices at the top of the list and here are some awesome wood slice ornaments, too! Either way, you go, it’s a win!
37. Christmas Card ABC “blocks” | First Palette
Spell out a festive message with these fun ABC paper blocks.
Instead of plain scrapbook paper, substitute your holiday cards for a festive twist on these traditional blocks.
38. Shredded Christmas Card Ornament | Taste of Home
What simple Christmas card crafts to create, but they’re used here to make such elegant ornaments!
39. Christmas Card Craft Garland | Make Today Creative
40. Christmas Card Craft Coasters | Taste of Home
While these look more like beautiful black and white photographs on the coasters, this same technique can be done with your Christmas cards.
41. Christmas Card Craft Fan | All Free Crafts
Are you a fan of this fan idea? I sure am! Keep Christmas close to your heart, even during the summer, with this helpful and creative fan project!
42. Christmas Card Globe
These could look lovely in a decorative bowl, as ornaments, or as gift toppers, too!
43. Wine Gift Label | Crafted Living Blog
Wine is even more wonderful with a homemade gift tag crafted with Christmas cards! Tina created hers with scrapbook paper rather than Christmas cards, but you can easily substitute the materials.
Oh..and pssst…if you like to gift wine, we have some fun, free printable Christmas wine tags for you, too (no crafting required).
44. Embellished Gift Bags | Cathie Filian
A nice and easy way to dress up plain gift bags, or gift bags from another holiday if you’re running low on Christmas bags!
45. Treat Cones
Create a fun cornucopia for little holiday treats using your old cards. The video shows these being made with scrapbook paper. Simply substitute the materials, but use a card that has similar dimensions.
46. Christmas Card Craft 3D Star | Jenny Harada
This image was submitted on Craftster. The crafter who made it credited Jenny Harada’s tutorial and pattern for the idea.
47. Christmas Card Tree | Fun Family Crafts
The tutorial originally associated with this image from Fun Family Crafts now appears to be missing, so you’d have to be prepared to bust your own move a bit if you want to re-create this gem!
OR, I found a similar tree, and the tutorial is available on Rockycraft, or this one, from The Shabby Tree.
48. Mason Jar Centerpieces | Mommy Kat and Kids
A quick Christmas centerpiece idea thanks to some old Christmas cards!
49. Postcards
I love simple solutions, and this one is super simple. Repurpose greeting cards from any holiday or season into a postcard! Simply dissect your greeting card.
Typically there is nothing on the back of a greeting card cover, and it can make a perfect postcard!
For the USPS to consider a piece of mail to be a postcard, it must be 3-1/2 inches high (or no more than 4-1/4 inches) x 5 inches (or no more than 6 inches) long. A postcard can be anywhere between 0.007 – .016 inches thick.
50. Greeting Card Trivet | Thrifty Fun
Trivets always come in handy in the kitchen. And what a fun way to add some seasonal flair while upcycling Christmas cards at the same time!
51. Fine Motor Skills Activity | Little Bins for Little Hands
The physical therapist in me loves this simple idea. Let your little one practice their cutting skills with those old cards! Cardstock is thicker than regular paper, so the extra resistance is great for building muscle.
And then they can create their own puzzle with their snippings! It’s a twofer. Simple and genius idea from Little Bins for Little Hands!
Phew. And that’s a wrap! 51 amazing recycling ideas for those old Christmas cards.
I love the idea of creating Christmas card crafts that stand the test of time. It’s a great way to pay homage to the spirit of Christmas past.
And a green, eco-friendly idea to boot! Happy crafting!
In the market for more Christmas crafting ideas? Check these out, too!
Pin these repurposed Christmas card ideas for later! Try one? Leave a comment on the pin! That helps others decide whether they’d like to try one of these ideas, too!
Ready to get control of the clutter and chaos at home? Here are 60 places you can declutter in just 5-minutes at a time. Grab your free copy now by clicking here or on the picture below:
Such cute ideas! Thank you!
So many great ideas. Thank you for sharing. Happy New Year!
So many reusable ideas. Thank you!
These are great! I already reuse cards as gift tags but these are even more creative!