2014 Christmas Gift Tags! (Easy Crafts)

Our Christmas tree came down on the 26th and it tends to each year.  I adore the holidays and look forward to Christmas with anticipation and excitement.  But, once it's over, I'm ready for a clean slate.  If my tree hangs around too long then I get a get a little dramatic and sadly look over my ornaments from the past years and watch as the zillion little pine needles get tracked around the floor.  So for me, the morning after Christmas tends to lead me to my tree.  This is a solo project, I listen to my kids play with their toys and bask in their after-Christmas glow and my husband usually relaxes and sips his coffee in the other room.  I make my way into the family room and tend to slowly take apart our tree and carefully organize the ornaments for the next year. 

The rest of the decorations which are a a mix of green and silver, stay up past New Year's Day.  I still want the house to feel festive but not Christmas-y.  This year I also got outside and took our outdoor decorations down simply because I knew a huge snowstorm was looming here followed by extreme cold. I didn't want to contend with frozen lights and snowcovered garland till May. 
Lastly, the Christmas cards: all the beautiful cards that arrived with sweet messages and notes from friends and family.  What do you do with them all?  We save the photo cards.  But, it's hard to hold onto each and every one! They are too pretty to just disregard so a few years ago, I started turning the cards into gift tags for the following Christmas.  This is something that Riley and Sydney both help me with and look forward to doing in the days post holiday.   It's a wonderful craft that results in beautiful, upcycled gift tags! 

Simply cut special details out of each card, hole punch a spot and tie a ribbon on the top.  Easy peasy and special, sentimental tags to adorn our gifts with for the next Christmas!  Bring on those 2014 holidays!