Ideas for Decorating with Vintage Christmas Cards

Christmas in the midst of a recession has been hard on everyone. Many people are cutting back any which way they can to save money for presents, and most people are at a loss on how to give their home a festive look this holiday season. Instead of going into debt buying tons of expensive Christmas decorations, try decorating with vintage Christmas cards. This is a very creative and economical way to decorate for the holidays and here are a few pointers on how to decorate your home with memories of Christmases past.

Images of holiday seasons from long ago that evoke a simpler time and precious memories are very poignant at this time of year. Perhaps you have all the Christmas cards you've received from friends and loved ones from the past several decades stored away somewhere in the attic, or maybe Grandma has an entire scrapbook filled with holiday momentos which are gathering dust. These precious images should not be forgotten, but rather displayed to share with friends and loved ones in the present day. Go thru all of your keepsakes and momentos and pull out all of your old Christmas cards. Find the ones that are most precious to you and set those aside. Go to your local craft store and purchase an inexpensive photo album and begin filling it with your priceless holiday momentos. Once it is filled up, it can be displayed in any room of the house. I personally like to put mine on the coffee table, opened to a different page each day. This scrapbook makes a fantastic conversation piece and will bring back cherished memories to your loved ones who see it.

Another way I like to decorate with vintage Christmas cards is with pretty antique cards from the 1940s and 1950s. I love the cards from that time period because of the detail and simple beauty that they were made with, and those beautiful scenes from the golden era should never be forgotten. I always find boxes and boxes of these old cards at antique stores especially around the holiday season and they are always very reasonably priced. Since these cards are very old, I like to put them in picture frames. Walgreen's always has a very good selection of picture frames for reasonable prices, and I like to put the cards in flood frames, which are just generic picture frames with glass that pops in and out, perfect for changing out pictures. Hang these nostalgic images in a cluster in your living room, or display them all on a mantle and you will have created a very festive and elegant look.

For those of you who want to get artistic with vintage Christmas cards, try collaging. This is perhaps one of my favorite holiday related crafts (or craft of any kind), as I love to design and re-create things to make them my own. For the old cards that didn't make it into your precious holiday scrapbook (ones from long forgotten co-workers, ex boyfriends, etc), take the scissors to them. Cut out the pretty images that you like and glue them all together in a collage of your choice. For instance, if you want to create a 'Winter Wonderland' collage, find all the cards with snowmen, snowflakes, etc. and cut and re-work. After you have created your holiday art, frame it. Again, flood frames are perfect for this sort of thing as you can just pop the glass on and off and interchange the picture or artwork of your choice at any given time. Be creative and don't be afraid to experiment.

These are just a few of the ways you can decorate your home for Christmas this year with recycled Christmas cards from long ago. Sometimes its best to create a look that is personal and precious, rather than garish and over the top, because after all, Christmas is all about love and family. Have a happy and blessed holiday season!