What to do with all those Holiday Gift Cards?

Prayer Sticks

If your family is like ours, we receive a LOAD of Christmas cards in the mail.  My daughter just loves getting any form of mail, and when there are pictures of those that sent it, well it just makes it that much more special!

During the Christmas season, we received an abundance of holiday cards with family photos on them.  I know we usually send them out to all of our family and friends (this year I just ran out of time!).  Am I the only one that struggles with throwing them out?  I look at the card and those beautiful pictures and I think . . .  "How can I put that in the trash?"

So here is an idea of what you can do.  Collect these simple items:  Sharpie marker, Popsicle sticks, scissors ( i know they are not pictured) and tape.

Now cut out the picture of the person/family/pet that you want to save.  Place the picture face down, put the popsicle stick against the picture, and securely tape it together.  Then use the Sharpie marker to write the name of the person on the stick.

Then TADA, you now have prayer sticks.  We will be using these at night so our little one can recognize the faces of family and friends afar as well as use it as a learning opportunity in letter recognition as we say the letters of their name out loud together.

Best part about these little guys is that our 3 year old (who desperately needs something tangible in order to understand a concept) is learning how to pray for someone that she visually sees.  I know when we see these loved ones in person throughout the year she'll be able to recognize them more . . . maybe even lose this shyness that is present in the first 10 minutes of seeing someone.

Enjoy!

What do you do with your Holiday Picture Cards?