How to Make DIY Christmas Cards

Christmas cards are a staple of the festive season. We send Christmas cards to friends and relatives all over the world. They are a great way to keep in touch and pass on the year’s news. But sadly Christmas cards can be pretty expensive if you have dozens of them to buy. Thankfully there is another way—make your own Christmas cards this year and save some money in the process.

Reasons to Make DIY Christmas Cards

• The personal touch – It’s easy to buy some generic cards from the local store, but it is far more meaningful to make your own. Sending out homemade cards tells people you have put a bit more time and effort into your cards, which they are bound to appreciate.
• A money saving idea – Making DY cards is cheaper than buying them, so if you are looking to save money this year, don’t bother buying any Christmas cards—get creative instead.
• It is fun – Making DIY Christmas cards is not a chore; rather it is good fun and it is also a good way to get the kids involved in preparations for the festive holiday.

Recycle Old Christmas Cards

If you have a box full of old Christmas cards sitting in a cupboard somewhere, it makes perfect sense to reuse them instead of throwing them away. Buy or borrow some crimping scissors and cut out the pictures. Decorate them with glitter or mix and match different cut-outs and then stick them on some new card. Add a message and you have a brand new card to send out to friends and family.

Make Christmas Stencils

You can either buy some Christmas stencils or make your own using a sharp craft knife and a template. Once you have a few simple templates, use them to create lots of identical cards that you can decorate in a variety of different ways. Simple easy to make shapes include Christmas trees and Christmas baubles, but there are many more you may wish to try.

Print Your Own Cards

Printing Christmas cards is another way to make lots of cards with a similar design. Kids enjoy potato printing because it is nice and easy, albeit a bit messy, but if you want to make cards that are a little more professional looking, invest in some rubber stamps or similar. You could also use small pieces of vinyl or linoleum to create a printing surface.

Encourage the Kids to Help

Christmas is very much about children, so why not encourage yours to get involved this year? Kids like the opportunity to be creative and if you ask them to help you make some Christmas cards and Christmas decorations, they are bound to have a ball. Depending on the age of your children, making homemade cards could be a messy job, but at least the task will keep them amused for a few hours.

Don’t forget to make or buy envelopes when you make Christmas cards. If you don’t want to make envelopes, they can be bought online or from craft stores. Just make sure you choose the right sized envelopes for your cards.

Nancy Baker is a very creative person and she thoroughly enjoys making her own arts and crafts at Christmas time. She also likes blogging about her creative activities and last year she had a go at making some homemade decorations for the house.  She recommends others do the same.