How to recycle your post-Christmas clutter

Tradition dictates that all Christmas decorations should be taken down and packed away today to mark the end of the 12 days of Christmas (which starts on Christmas Day and ends with the feast of Epiphany).

Whilst struggling with plants that may be past their best and drooping Christmas trees desperately clutching onto their final needles, we are also faced with a mountain of Christmas cards and unwanted packaging left over from Christmas. MOLLY MAID, the professional house cleaning experts, suggest ways to tackle Christmas recycling and set an example to younger generations.

Remember that you can create the below in advance of next Christmas and use the wetter months in the run up to Winter to amuse the family with some crafts.

Recycling Christmas cards & packaging

You can unleash your creative side and turn your Christmas cards into the following by simply cutting and sticking to new pieces of card to create:

• Gift tags (for next year’s Christmas presents)

Cut off the picture side of the card and cut to an appropriate gift tag size to fit the design, festive greeting or image on the front of the card and hole punch one hole in the end and thread some ribbon through it. Then with a marker pen (perhaps in red or green for a more festive feel) pre-write ‘To’ and ‘From’. Festive packaging and wrapping can work particularly well if it is of a thicker variety of card.

• Bookmarks

Create seasonal personalised book marks by only using the picture side of the card and cutting to an appropriate size. Even better, consider buying a book as a gift to accompany it!  Again, hole punch the top of the bookmark and thread some pretty ribbon through it and write a special message to the person on the back! A perfect Christmas recycle gift!

• Greeting cards

If you are feeling particularly creative and have some festive packaging or paper left over, consider cutting out around the various designs or images and gluing onto a plain piece of card suitable for use as a greetings card. By sticking snippets of festive imagery from a variety of sources, you are creating a festive collage with plenty of individuality and texture. Remember to use pieces of decoration that may have come on a parcel or card and affix these to your cards for an extra special feel.

• Christmas bunting

A useful and creative way of recycling your Christmas cards, or festive packaging made of card, is to cut out individual letters making up your particular message such as ‘Merry Christmas’ ‘Happy New Year’ and so on. The more vibrant and colourful the cards, the more effective. Then find a long piece of ribbon (such as green, red or if using a colour theme a colour to match) and staple the top of each letter to the ribbon. This is an excellent Christmas recycling activity for children to get stuck into.

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