Holiday Crafts with Office Supplies

This time of year, children come home from school with a plethora of winter themed items. Pictures of snow men, beautiful cut out snowflakes, hand traced turkeys, paper Christmas trees, maybe a drawing of Santa, and other holiday related designs will make their way into your home. If you're like most parents, these things will be hung on the refrigerator or wall for a little while and then tossed at the end of the season. Instead of discarding these precious masterpieces, why not laminate some to save? Most things up to 1/2 inch thick can run through a laminator. This will preserve and protect them so you can hang your child's creations year after year. If you have too many, simply choose your favorites, or let your child pick the ones they like the best, and recycle the rest.

Holiday decor can be expensive. And why spend hard-earned money on items that only come out for a short time every year? Instead, spend an afternoon making these placemats and enjoy them for years. You can even get your kids to help! I'm sure your mailbox is full of Christmas and Holiday catalogs. Save them up for a few days (or weeks, depending on how many you get each day). Go through and cut out fun pictures or items that speak to you. Glue these onto a large sheet of paper, we recommend 11x17 but letter or legal size will work as well. You can also include photos of Christmas past, good friends, family both near and far, and pets. Let your kids choose their own pictures; this is a great way to see what they value and enjoy. Once everything is glued down, run the sheet through a laminator. If you're including photos, be sure the machine is photo safe. For best results, use cold lamination.

If you don't have a laminator, you can find one for a good price at MyBinding.com. Plus they have all the laminating film, pouches, and accessories you'll need. And they offer free shipping for orders over $75. It may seem like a lot of money just to make placemats but there are so many other things you can do with a laminator that the investment is definitely worthwhile.

Are you wondering what to do with the random leftover cards from last year? You know, the ones you have from buying a box of 20 when you only needed 17. Here's an idea: cut out the picture on the front to make a gift tag. For extra stability, glue your freshly cut tags onto cardstock. You can punch a hole in one end and slide a ribbon through to tie onto gifts. Or if you have a handy sticker maker, run the tags through to apply adhesive. When you're ready, peel off the plastic and press down firmly to attach to the present.

Every year we go through tons of tissue paper, whether carefully packaged around delicate items or crumpled in a bag to fill space. This year, add some pizzazz to your gifts. Use a shredder to slice up some colorful construction paper and use that to fill your presents. It's much more colorful and fun than plain white! And you can match the colors to your gift bag design.

You can also use wrapping paper scraps that are too small to use for presents.

Using a Xyron Creative Station Laminator, you can make bookmarks, stickers, and magnets. This is a great way to turn extra wallet size pictures into custom bookmarks for grandma. And for the scrapbooker in your family, stickers are always a great stocking stuffer. Fun magnets give your fridge a festive look.

The Xyron Sticker Makers can be used to make crafts all year long, not just at Christmas. Both permanent and repositionable adhesives are available, making them perfect for children's stickers.

Does your family have traditional recipes that get made every year? Is your sister always calling you for your amazing bread recipe? Create a small recipe collection that can fit in a stocking.

First, gather together the recipes you want to include. Look for family favorites, traditional dishes, and any you're always asked for.

Next, print them out onto recipe cards or copy them down yourself.

Once printed, run them through a laminator. This will protect them from any spills or splatters.

Square them up and punch a hole in the corner. Tie a festive ribbon through the hole and add one of the gift tags you made earlier. You can also use a binding ring to hold them together.

That's it! Any relative who loves to cook will appreciate having all their holiday favorites in one place. Make sure you keep one for yourself!