9 Ways to Display and Store Your Holiday Cards

In an age when most of our mail comes to our email in-boxes instead of our homes, holiday cards are a welcome seasonal treat. But once the envelopes are tossed, what exactly do you do with all of those thoughtful cards, pictures, and notes? Make the most of your friends' and family's seasonal greetings with these nine fun ideas for displaying, preserving, and recycling your holiday cards.

Take a Trip Down Memory Lane

Take a Trip Down Memory Lane

When framing all of her family's Christmas cards became too much, Sarah of Clover Lane used the cards to adorn her staircase. She added decorative paper and the year of each card to its back, and her kids got to take a fun trip down memory lane every time they went up or downstairs.

Source: Clover Lane

Turn Photo Cards Into iPhone Contacts

Turn Photo Cards Into iPhone Contacts

Snap iPhone pics of your friends and family's holiday cards and add them to your phone's contacts. Now every time your phone rings, you'll smile at the sight of your loved ones.

Source: Lisa Horten

Christmas Card Tree

Christmas Card Tree

Hanging cards from a houseplant or tree adds a festive element to your home's decor (and all it takes is a spool of ribbon or string!).

Source: Shutterfly

Donate Your Cards to a Good Cause

Donate Your Cards to a Good Cause

St. Jude's Ranch For Children, whose mission is to transform the lives of abused and at-risk youth, accepts donations of used Christmas (and any occasion) cards year-round. Kids at the Ranch use the recycled cards to create new ones, which are then sold to benefit the organization's work.

Give Your Coffee Table a Seasonal Makeover

Give Your Coffee Table a Seasonal Makeover

Have a piece of glass cut to the size of your coffee table and display all of your friends' and family's cards underneath it for a festive and fun conversation starter.

Source: Shutterfly

Turn Cards Into Ornaments

Turn Cards Into Ornaments

Create ornaments from the photos on cards of special friends and family, or intersperse the cards themselves among your tree's branches.

Source: Shutterfly

Create Yearly Binders

Create Yearly Binders

Using a basic binder and sheet protectors is a simple solution to keeping many cards neat and organized. Store the binders, then at holiday time, take them all out and reminisce about how your loved ones' families have grown and changed throughout the years.

Christmas Card Chandeliers

Christmas Card Chandeliers

Hang favorite cards from a string of lights to create festive chandeliers — a fun activity for the kids to take part in!

Source: Shutterfly

For a Vertical Space

For a Vertical Space

String cards on pieces of ribbon and hang them in a window or entryway — instant decor!

Source: Shutterfly