I’m a massive fan of repurposing items and my favourite is recycling old Christmas cards and gift tags.

We all get Christmas cards from friends and family, which is a lovely gesture, but what do you do with them afterwards? There is a way to recycle Christmas cards into something else.

Most Christmas cards and gift tags can’t be recycled because they will have glitter (miniature plastic), bows, embossing etc so will be destined for landfill. You can reuse ribbon / string used from gift tags and presents as they can be reused year after year.

How about giving them another lease of life, even if it is just another year.

Recycling Christmas cards is easier than you think.

Cut the front of the Christmas cards and gift tag, punch a hole through a corner and insert the string / ribbon and voila! A gift tag for next year! Admittedly, you won’t be able to do this for ALL gift tags you get but you can reuse the ribbon / string.

Some of the cards may be too big for a gift tag so you can cut them up into smaller tags. Be as creative as you like.

A really good tip is to collect ribbons throughout the year. You could get them on tags, gifts, clothes as these will come in handy for your gift tags and wrapping presents.

Recycling Christmas cards aren’t the things only you can use to repurpose to make gift tags. My daughter had finished with an activity book and before it went into the recycling, I repurposed the cover into gift tags as there wouldn’t be any writing on the back of it.

There are so many ways to repurpose and recycle old Christmas cards using what you already have; it’s good for the environment and your pocket. Recycling Christmas cards means they don’t end up in landfill.

I don’t think I will need to buy gift tags ever again!