There are some fun ways to recycle Christmas cards. If you're trying to tread a bit more lightly on the Earth, one simple step toward that goal its to turn old Christmas cards into something new. Each year, millions of holiday cards are sent; by recycling, you’ll be keeping some of those cards out of our landfills, and giving them another useful life.

Holiday Postcards
Turn your pretty holiday cards into holiday postcards! Simply cut off the front of the card and write your message and the address of the recipient on the blank side. Sending recycled postcards is not only good for the Earth, but it will save you some green in your wallet, as well, as postcards cost less to mail. There is also no need for an envelope, another good thing for Mother Earth and your wallet.

Gift Tags
Use your holiday cards to make one-of-a-kind gift tags for all the presents under your tree. Simply cut the card fronts into shapes, such as circles, squares and stars. Try to center each shape around a pretty picture or other design element from the card front. Use a hole punch to make a hole in each tag, then tie them onto your packages with ribbon.

Decoupage Gift Box
You can make a pretty gift box by decorating a box with pictures from your old Christmas cards. Simply cut out pretty pictures from your old cards, and arrange them on the top and sides of a box, using a decoupage medium such as Mod Podge. When finished, coat the entire box in another coat of Mod Podge. When the glue is dry, use the box to present a special gift…no wrapping paper needed!

Gift Wrapping Shreds
After you’ve recycled the fronts of your old cards into all sorts of pretty things, you may be wondering what to do with the scraps, card backs and all those red, green and white envelopes. You can turn all of these into gift wrapping shreds, to tuck into gift bags and boxes. Simply shred all the card scraps and envelopes in a paper shredder, and then use them as needed to wrap your gifts. You'll find shredders in most offices, if you don't have one at home. If you don't have access to a shredder and don't mind a little extra work, a paper cutter or a craft knife can be used to cut paper and cards into thin strips appropriate for packing gifts.