What to Do With Old Holiday Cards (Turn Them into a Keepsake Book)
- Dec 31, 2025
- 6 min read
Updated: Jun 27
After the holiday season, many of us face the same question: what to do with old Christmas cards? Those colorful envelopes and heartfelt messages pile up quickly, creating clutter instead of joy. Instead of tossing them or letting them gather dust, you can turn your holiday cards into a beautiful keepsake.
With Cardkive, you can neatly organize and preserve your favorite Christmas cards in a beautiful coffee-table book. In this guide, you’ll learn each step for transforming your holiday memories into a display-ready gift that gets people talking.
Why Holiday Cards Are Worth Preserving
There's a reason you can't bring yourself to throw them away. Holiday cards carry things that photos alone can't: Grandma's handwriting on a simple "Thinking of you." A funny note from a college friend you only hear from once a year. A family photo card that shows how much everyone has grown since last December.
Christmas card storage ideas come and go, but the cards themselves hold something irreplaceable. The message inside a personalized Christmas card often says more about a relationship than any photo album could. And Christmas photo cards, in particular, become a kind of annual record: faces aging, families growing, babies becoming toddlers, becoming teenagers.
The problem isn't the sentimental value. It's the pile. And the pile grows every year.
That's exactly why figuring out what to do with old Christmas cards before they take over a drawer (or a whole closet shelf) is worth your time. There are more options than you might think, and some of them are a lot more satisfying than a rubber-banded stack in a shoebox.
Other Ways to Display Your Holiday Cards
Before you commit to one solution, here's a quick look at the most popular holiday card display ideas people use each season.
String them up. A ribbon or garland strung across a mantle or doorway is a classic holiday card display. It's festive during December, but most people take it down in January and have the same pile they started with.
Frame your favorites. If you have a handful of standout cards, especially beautiful Christmas photo cards, framing one or two is a lovely way to give them a permanent home. It doesn't solve the storage question for the rest, but it's a meaningful touch for the ones that really matter.
Make a Christmas card scrapbook. Some people enjoy the hands-on process of creating a scrapbook with their cards. It takes time and craft supplies, but if you love DIY projects, it can be a meaningful way to spend an afternoon. The downside: it's harder to flip through and share than a finished book, and the quality depends entirely on your supplies and skill level.
Each of these works well for a small collection or a seasonal display. But if you've been saving holiday cards for years, or if you want a christmas card keepsake you'll actually pull out and share on any given Sunday, a holiday cards coffee table book is worth a closer look
Gather and Sort Your Holiday Cards
Start by collecting all your holiday cards from this year and previous years. This includes traditional Christmas cards, Christmas photo cards, and any other personalized holiday cards you receive. Lay them out in a well-lit area where you can see everything clearly.
Separate cards by year or sender if you want to create a chronological or thematic book.
Set aside cards with special messages or unique designs that you want to highlight.
Decide if you'd like to include envelopes or just the cards themselves.
Sorting helps you decide which cards to keep and which to recycle, making the next steps easier.
Prepare Your Cards for Cardkive
Cardkive makes it easy to digitize and organize your holiday cards without having to scan or photograph them yourself. Here’s how to prepare:
Place your sorted cards into the Cardkive box, which you can order online.
Include any notes about special cards or preferences for the book layout.
Seal the box and send it back to Cardkive using the prepaid shipping label.
Cardkive's team will professionally photograph each card, capturing details like handwritten notes and family photos on the cards. Unlike a standard scanning service, Cardkive uses high-resolution photography that picks up texture, dimension, and color in a way flat scans simply can't.
You can also include more than just holiday cards. Many customers send Hanukkah cards, save-the-dates, and even recipe cards alongside their Christmas collection. As long as it fits in the box, Cardkive can preserve it.
Customize Your Coffee Table Book
Once Cardkive digitizes your holiday cards, you can customize your coffee table memory book online. This step turns your collection into a truly personalized keepsake or gift.
Choose the book size and cover style that suits your décor.
Arrange cards in the order you prefer, adding captions or dates if you like.
Select background colors and fonts that match your holiday card ideas or home style.
This customization makes your book a unique reflection of your holiday memories and style. If you've accumulated years of cards, you might organize them by decade or by family branch to make it easy to flip through on a lazy afternoon.
The online customization portal is intuitive enough that most customers work through it in one sitting. And if you have questions, Cardkive's customer service team is easy to reach throughout the process.
Use Your Book as Décor or a Gift
Your finished Cardkive book is more than just a storage solution. It becomes a stylish piece of décor and a thoughtful gift.
Display it on your coffee table during the holiday season or year-round.
Share it with family and friends as a way to relive holiday moments.
Gift a copy to loved ones who appreciate personalized Christmas cards.
The book's design and quality make it a conversation starter and a cherished keepsake. Customers often say it's the first time they've actually sat down and looked at all their cards together. As one Cardkive customer put it: "It's the best way to keep cards without the clutter they make. The quality of the books is top-notch."
Tips for Maintaining Your Holiday Card Collection
To keep your holiday card memories organized and fresh:
Add new cards each year to your Cardkive box for annual updates.
Store your memory book in a convenient location to enjoy at any time.
Use the book as inspiration for future holiday card ideas.
These tips help you avoid clutter and keep the holiday spirit alive throughout the year. If you also save greeting cards worth keeping from other occasions, like sympathy cards or birthday cards with handwritten messages, the same process works for those, too.
What to Do With Old Christmas Cards After the Holidays
Once the season wraps up, most people fall into one of three categories: they keep all their cards in a box, they recycle them, or they find a way to preserve what matters while letting go of the physical clutter.
If you're in that third group, a holiday cards memory book is one of the few Christmas card storage ideas that actually solves both problems at once. You don't have to choose between the memory and the space.
If you also collect Hanukkah cards or other seasonal greetings, this is a good time to pull everything together. The Hanukkah cards memory book approach works the same way, and you can combine multiple occasions into one book if you'd like.
The goal isn't to preserve every card you've ever received. It's to make sure the ones that actually matter to you are somewhere you can find them, share them, and enjoy them for years to come.
Frequently Asked Questions
What should I do with Christmas cards after the holidays?
You have several good options: display them seasonally on a garland or string, frame your favorites, or preserve them in a holiday card memory book. If you've saved cards for years and want something permanent, a coffee table book through Cardkive lets you keep the memories without keeping the pile.
Is it okay to throw away old Christmas cards?
Yes, though many people find it harder than expected. If a card has a handwritten note or a family photo, it's worth pausing before recycling it. Digitizing through a service like Cardkive means you don't have to choose between the sentiment and the space.
How do I organize years of holiday cards?
Start by sorting chronologically or by sender. Once sorted, you can decide which cards to highlight and which to let go. If you use Cardkive, they handle the photography and book layout, so your only job is deciding the order and style of your book.
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