Holiday cards are a fun, festive way to let loved ones near and far know you’re thinking of them. And there are so many easy, unexpected ways to make your own cards—no fancy photography or brilliant prose required! All you need is some creativity and a few craft supplies you may already have around the house, and you’re ready to spread holiday cheer.
Re-Use, Recycle, Rejoice!
These sustainable cards are made from flattened cardboard cereal boxes that have been painted, decorated, and cut into shapes. After turning the cardboard into a work of art—or having your kids do so!—you can cut it into mittens or trees using our templates, or snip a shape of your own. If you’re left with long, narrow pieces, punch a hole at the top, add a ribbon and turn them into bookmarks.
Send Them Home for the Holidays
Our cozy paper houses can be cards, decor, and gift wrap all in one. Put one together and slip a note, IOU or gift card inside. Or send the template and decorative add-ons—from trees to chimneys to chandeliers—and let them put together the home themselves, like a gingerbread house without the crumbs!
Treat Them to Hot Chocolate
Mail a cup of cheer by downloading our mug of hot chocolate card and popping it in the mail. You can also cut a slit in the top and slip in a packet of hot chocolate, tea bag, or gift card to a coffee shop, turning the card into a treat. Mail one to everyone on your list or print out several to use as gift tags, place cards, or string together as a garland.
Piece Together a Puzzle
Turn your annual family photo into fun activity by making copies of your picture, writing a note on the back, and cutting it into puzzle pieces you slide into an envelope and pop in the mail. The recipient gets the fun of putting together the puzzle. No picture? No problem! Write a note, draw something, paint a landscape, and make copies of that to cut up!
Produce a Pop-Up
These cards mail flat, but when pushed open, they pop up into a piece of 3-D holiday decor. Choose from our dreidel or tree templates, or design your own sculptural greeting card that stands up when you slide two identical pieces—one slit on the bottom, the other on top—together. Make a few and line them along your mantel or table to dress up your own home for the holidays!
Pack Up a Pal
Turn a holiday treat into a friendly animal card by packaging it in a cellophane bag, sealing it with a sticker, and writing holiday greetings on the back. A bag of mini-marshmallows becomes a polar bear you can send in a small box. A spice cookie morphs into a reindeer with a few construction paper pieces made from our template. And a milano cookie makes a perfect penguin.
Tag a Treat
If you’re looking for a sweet card to attach to a gift, these tags are it! Bake letter-shaped cookies, slip them into a cellophane bag, and attach them to our oversized tag. Now you have a treat and a card in one that you can tie onto the top of a present.
Send a Frosty Friend
This snowman not only stands up if you tape him to a bag; he also doubles as gift wrap if you slip a present inside. Cut out a snowman (use our template or go freehand), then dress him up with construction paper, markers, and strips of fabric as hats and scarves. You could even out all the pieces in the mail for your friend to play paper dolls with—just add a note, “Do you want to build a snowman?”
Give a Tie That Binds
The point of summer camp friendship bracelets is to remind far-off friends you’re thinking of them even when you’re not together. This holiday card version works the same way. Spell out a word, initials, or a name with beads, tie it around a card (make your own or use our template) and send your absent loved ones a piece of jewelry that will keep you connected even when you’re far apart.
Put it on Display
Along with your card, send a way to display it! These easels, made out of gold paper straws, make a shiny showcase for photos, kids’ art, holiday greetings or sweet messages. Set up several to show the cards you receive, or a copy of the card you sent out over the past several years, turning them into holiday decor. Or put one in the mail to grandma along with a work of art from the grandkids or your latest family photo.