When the Christmas season is over , many of us have a small pile (or even a large pile!) of holiday cards laying around. What to do with them? You could throw them in the garbage , which is where most old greeting cards go . Or you could recycle and reuse them. Americans send about 1.8 billion cards each year during the holidays , and most end up in landfills. But your cards don’t have to head straight to the dump after the festivities. Here are five ideas to help you give new life to your old cards and give new meaning to the idea of “recycled Christmas cards.”

1. Bookmarks – One of the easier ways to reuse your old cards is to cut them into long strips and use them to keep your place in your favorite book .

2. Postcards – Cut off the back of the card and discard it, then turn over the remaining side with the artwork. Draw a line down the blank back to use it as a postcard.

3. Gift tags – Create square or rectangle shapes from your old cards, then fold them and use as gift tags.

4. Dinner placecards – Cut off and discard the back of the card and cut the remaining card into a small rectangle. Then fold the remaining picture in half to create a placecard for your next holiday meal.

5. New cards – Get blank cards from an arts and craft store and paste pictures from your old cards on the front to create cool Christmas cards for next year. Or send them to the St. Jude card program and let the kids at the St. Jude’s Ranch turn them into new cards that they sell to benefit this nonprofit home for abused kids. Send your cards to: St. Jude’s Ranch for Children
Recycled Card Program, 100 St. Jude’s Street, Boulder City, NV 89005.

Give your cards a new life with these ideas!