Helpful Mom

As if we moms don’t have enough clutter to deal with on a daily basis, then comes the holidays with all it’s decorations, gifts, and cards.  Here are a few ideas I came across for wrangling all those cards.

1. Hang a Card Garland. To create a festive garland, laminate the cards, then punch a small hole in the top conrers of each and link them together with ribbon.  This makes a unique and inexpensive decoration and adds a personal touch to the holiday trimmings.

2. Give them a place at the table. After the holidays you can make place mats with photo cards sent by family and friends.  Arrange the pictures on poster board, add borders and text cut from other holiday cards, and laminate the finished product.  Your family can enjoy the photo cards year round.

3.  Start a Blessings Basket. This one is my favorite idea.  Place the photo cards in a basket in the kitchen, then choose one card each night at dinner.  When you say grace, ask a special blessing for the person or family whose card was chosen.

4.  Make an ornament. Cut the card front into even strips.  Stack strips and poke a hole through both ends.  Using a needle, pull sturdy thread through one hole, knot at the base.  Thread through other hole, leaving enough string to make a loop for hanging.  Push the stack of strips down into an arc, knot thread at the base.  Fan out strips to form a ball.

5.  Spice up Recipes. No you’re not going to eat them!  Cut the fronts off your cards and use them to make festive recipe cards by writing a favorite holiday recipe on the back of each one.

6.  Lend a hand. Cut out your child’s handprint from card fronts.  On the back of each hand write a kind act your family can do for others.  Attach to a garland and hang.  Each day, pick a hand, then perform that deed.