I save them for a year, save any enclosed family photos, then toss them. I've only made one exception -- one year years ago an Indian colleague of mine sent out hand made cards with a simple design painted on some type of leaf that grows in India. It was so cool I framed it and it still hangs in my bedroom. (The holiday sentiment was on the other side of the card, so it doesn't feel seasonal at all -- so it is fine up all year round.)

I have all mine in a box that we too use for gift tags. We cut them up and take what makes sense on a given present. I love seeing them year after year--even though we don't get near the number we once did--still we get enough to keep us in gift tags and give us a few memories to carry over year after year. My MIL kept an example of each card she ever sent out. They were in a box when we cleaned out her estate. I took them and we are using them as gift tags. They go back as far as the '40's so they always get a close look and comment.

Now they all get tossed in the recycle bin after Christmas. For years I kept the ones from my parents and siblings. I do keep all photo cards and enjoy pulling them out each year to compare changes through the years.

On occasion I save a special card and it joins a small collection that I enjoy and display some years. The rest are recycled in January.

Yes, the special ones go in the "nursing home box" so I can peruse them when I am old and decrepit, all my friends are old and decrepit and we can't get to each other anymore. I keep special things that I might want to look at to reminisce about my life, to give me a laugh or bring a tear, or just a fond memory. It's just going to be a tote box size, so I have to be judicious!

I take the backs off and use the fronts as gift tags.

Thanks all. I like the idea of gift tags but I selfishly want to keep some of these for myself. Maybe I'll just choose a dozen or so favorites to frame and display each year as holiday decor. Perhaps mine will be cool vintage-y someday like Arcy's MIL's cards. What a special collection.

The ideas I see on Pinterest are far too crafty for my time and limited skills.

I love Christmas cards, and save far too many! I do make tags from them, but I adore looking at the beautiful ones. I will sound like Scrooge to some folks....but I do not like photo cards because they have replaced all of the beautiful cards. We always used you send pics along with the cards but now we get pics of everyone's dog with antlers or beach shots of folks we do not know that well. Sorry.....just my opinion.

Oh, Grapefruit, I hear ya. Some friends of ours used a family photo taken during the summer as their Xmas card this year. We received it in late November. Nothing says "Can't wait to check you off my to-do list" more to me.

This year, my aunt's card is a photo of her cat sitting on a placemat on her kitchen table. That image will still be in my mind next week when I'm sitting at that table being served cookies and coffee.

I'm sure I'll ruffle a few feathers here with these statements (and I'm pretty sure I'm dead now to Linelle!). And I really should just be grateful that these people think of me and my family to send us cards in the first place. Receiving cards in the mail is a special luxury anymore.

I'm just very nostalgic about holiday cards. I miss the simple manger scenes of my grandmother's cards or the old-fashioned Santas... the cardinals in the snow... Anything but Snapfish, I guess.

Again though I do recognize that receiving any holiday card is an honor and this is what I should focus on.

I've framed a couple of pretty ones and have used as part of holiday decor...

Thanks, Lisa. I think this is what I'll try and see if I have the surface space for them. (Or make a few new nail holes.) That's a pretty card!

Perhaps you could affix them to a rectangular backing and laminate it to use as placemats for the holidays.

The majority of our family members live(d) out of state. Christmas photos are/were a way to stay connected. My BIL's family would take a group photo (with kids and grands) at their Maine lake cottage every summer. Bob died in 2014 and his wife chose to discontinue the tradition. I miss that. I don't begrudge anyone who chooses to send a photo with or without a card. What I can live without are the cards with glitter!

I have cut a few and hung them on the tree with ribbon. On some I just cut out the interesting part of the picture. For instance, I have an embossed drummer boy from a Hallmark card circa 1990. The old cards were prettier with the embossing and glitter. I avoid putting plastic on my tree so paper adds some variety to the glass ornaments.

Probably because of the stage in life we're at, probably 90% of the cards we receive are photo cards with people's kids on them. So they can't really be used as gift tags, though that is a cute idea and now I'll see if any of ours can be re-used that way. I have a hard time throwing away photo cards especially of friends and family -- just seems cold -- so I usually save them in a drawer for a year or two, THEN toss them.

The funny thing is when we get photo cards from DH's coworkers and my kids are like, "who the heck is that?" I agree that I am not too interested in the pictures of random coworkers' families but it seems to be a thing in DH's office -- SO many of them exchange cards and I only know who a few of them are.

Shred them and put them in the compost bin (unless they are photos worth keeping or papers that can't be composted and need to go in the trash.) I'm just not willing to keep the clutter but like that they can turn into soil that I can grow veggies with.

Lisad82....lol......we love our cat, but he does not sit on the table......

Toss them after Christmas

My great aunts used to make baskets like the ones at the link. I think my mom still has one or two around.

Cindy, I am with you - they should ban glitter on cards! We got one yesterday that had so much glitter a pile fell out of the envelope and the card left another pile on the counter.

Grapefruit, you just think your cats don't sit on the table. :)

I have used cards for gift tags in the past, but now that we only give one or two gifts a year (and they tend to be gift cards given inside a Christmas card!) I don't need tags. Most go into the recycle bin after Christmas.

Donna

Diane, my mom made one of those back in the 60s.

I slip some of them into frames, too, so pretty.

if I have plain wrapping paper or tissue, the card double-stick or glue-sticked to the center and a ribbon looks like a framed picture under the tree.

Ms meow.....I need a Nannycam....