Trimming Trees and Recycling Cards

Recycling Holiday Cards

Recycle a card into a gift tag. Just punch a small hole and attach it to the present with ribbon.

Trace the card design onto a magnet sheet, and then cut it out with a craft knife. Glue the card to the magnet and decorate your fridge!

Glue portions of six different cards to the sides of wooden blocks for separate puzzles. Have the kids do it themselves during their holiday break!

Tree-Trimming Tips

Here are some tips for getting the job done right:

• The first step in decorating a Christmas tree is the addition of the lights. To accommodate the separate strands, run a green or brown extension cord up the middle of the tree along the trunk and begin wrapping the lights around the branches so there are lights throughout the entire tree.

• For every vertical foot of tree, you'll need a string of about 100 lights.

• Choose a variety of extra greens (faux holly stems, snow-covered pine branches or simple berry bunches) to give the tree additional interest and texture. Tuck them in throughout the tree and bend the stems around the tree branches to keep them in place.

• Add garland (popcorn, cranberries, beads, sparkly stars, candy cane roping or even silver and gold ribbons). The idea is to swag the garland, creating a soft and flowing progression through the tree.

• When adding ornaments, begin with the largest and end with the smallest. The larger ornaments will be focal points and perfect placement is critical so place them where they will have the most impact. Fill in the rest of the tree with the smaller ornaments, being sure to balance color, size and shape.

• The last step to decorating a perfect Christmas tree is the topper and that can be just about anything as long as it matches the theme of your tree.

• Finally, don't forget to water the tree daily so it doesn't become a fire hazard.