Christmas cards are beautiful to display as part of your Christmas decorations, and the cards bring to mind dear friends and loved ones who sent them.
A gathering of angels,
or of Santas,
or of the Holy family,
or of any Christmas cards,
are some of the things that are part of Christmas for me.
Christmas is still a few weeks away,
but here is a
CHRISTMAS
beautiful idea...
...really SEVEN ideas that I use to celebrate
✯ CHRISTMAS IN TEXAS ✯
✯
Now, gather your old Christmas cards,
and save your new cards as they arrive.
For those ready to celebrate Christmas
throughout the house and the holidays, here are
S E V E N (7) W A Y S
to display Christmas cards.
Ideas can be used in any state, or country, not just Texas!
;) wink
✯
DISPLAY IDEA #1: By Themes
Most Christmas card displays in my home are by themes.
Over the years I have saved cards either
because I thought they were too beautiful to throw away
or because they were from someone special.
Little by little, over the years, themes emerged in my collections.
Angels ~ Santas ~ The Holy Family ~ Poinsettias ~ Silhouettes
When displaying Christmas cards,
think about ways to group together several cards
that have the same theme, like in Idea #2 below.
A themed collection can have a bigger impact as a display than
a group of cards with a variety of themes.
✯
DISPLAY IDEA #2: Door Card Holders
All of the cards on this vertical, over-the-door card holder are
images of angels collected over many years.
The over-the-door vertical card holder requires very little space
and can be hung on any door.
This one hangs on the door between my bedroom and the kitchen
which means I enjoy seeing these cards often during the day.
Every time I go into the bedroom, I get to look at these beauties.
Visitors also get to enjoy these cards since they are visible
from the breakfast table, from the kitchen, and from part of the living room.
Most of these cards are either from my sister
or one I sent to friends.
Even if I send a different design to everyone else, I often buy one
beautiful angel card to send to my sister.
Of course, I always buy at least two such cards,
one for her, one for me.
Other great places to hang over-the-door card holders are on
1) entry coat closet doors,
2) guest bathroom doors, and
3) kitchen pantry doors.
Don't forget about the back of the front door.
Guests get one last look of Christmas as they leave your house.
This card holder is tree shaped with a star-shaped top
that easily fits on a hook.
Dress up card holders by adding Christmas greenery.
The preserved boxwood star fits right over
the card holder's top star,
making it look like a tree topper does on a live Christmas tree.
Once the holidays are over,
the card holder is easy to store in a closet
over a coat hanger at one end of the closet rod
where it lies flat against the wall.
If stored in the same closet where it was displayed,
it will be easy to find next year.
Not quite enough of one kind of card for your display?
There are not enough Santa cards with predominantly
red and white colors in my card collection
to fill the entire card holder.
Y E T
What to do?
Mix two themes, with one theme at the top
transitioning to the second theme at the bottom.
Keep the lighter colors at the top and
the darker colors at the bottom to visually ground the display.
If all of the cards have the same color value (all dark or all light),
then a second idea is to intersperse the two themes
throughout the entire display.
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DISPLAY IDEA #3: Baskets
Another way to display cards is in a wire basket on a chippy green vintage folding chair in the front entry.
A single preserved boxwood bouquet adds a touch of green
to complement the cards' colors.
The ones shown do not have a common theme;
rather these are just a grouping of cards and envelopes
I find beautiful.
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DISPLAY IDEA #4: Fan Shaped Wire Holder
The colors in these vintage Christmas postcards are still vibrant.
Most of these postcards have a common theme
of a carriage on a snowy lane.
I found almost all of these at an antique dealer's stall
in Cape Canaveral, Florida.
There was a whole photo album of vintage Christmas cards, but
I only bought ones with the snowy carriage theme or a bird theme.
The bird themed Christmas postcards
were sold in my annual Christmas event that year.
This stand fans out with varying heights
of silver colored metal holders.
It easily fits on a coffee table or a mantel.
Perhaps someday my personal collection of Christmas cards
will be sold in an estate sale to someone who loves vintage cards, or to someone who sells antiques,
or to someone who simply likes angels or Santas.
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DISPLAY IDEA #5: Mantel
Displaying cards on a mantel is probably the most popular way
to show cards received for the current season,
but consider displaying cards collected over several years
with a common design instead of ones received just this year.
Santa is on each of these cards,
many of which came from the same couple.
The wife has several collections of Santas
and loves sending Santa cards.
It is an easy display that does not require a special holder.
When arranging the cards, vary the heights across the
entire mantel length and layer the cards by
placing some behind others to peek out.
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DISPLAY IDEA #6: Shelf
A striking display of cards can be achieved with
only a few cards used with other elements.
The two end cards are non-matching white silhouettes
with cut-out designs of holy land cities.
The wise men cards are not the exact same design,
but have the same blue night sky with a white border.
The wise men appear to be following a brightly-lit star
of a cluster of glowing glass lanterns and globes.
Only when I pulled out my cards did I think of putting
these four together this way.
So, save the cards you like.
The next year you may receive other cards
that go with previously saved ones.
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DISPLAY IDEA #7: Framed
Sometimes one very special card in a frame becomes a focal point
such as this one on the guest bathroom sink vanity top.
Watch for standard sized frames at
Michaels, HomeGoods, and Hobby Lobby.
Santa overlooking the Place de la Concorde in Paris, France
adds a little French Country Christmas to my Texas home.
When traveling to your favorite vacation places
or to your childhood hometown,
look for cards with local Christmas scenes
to display each year.
And, a bonus idea . . .
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DISPLAY IDEA #8: Table Centerpiece
A single card works well in a table centerpiece
when its design reiterates other items in the centerpiece.
Santa's herd of deer on the card echoes
the herd of silver deer that are the main part of the vignette.
This card was from a very special aunt and uncle
a couple of years before my aunt died.
Aunt Iris had a real flair for decorating and would have
enjoyed this table grouping.
Cards are indeed one of the beautiful ideas of Christmas
and mark the names and nearness of friends.
Customs change over the years, and Christmas cards
are no longer as plentiful in my mailbox
as they were for many years
which makes each one an even more
treasured token of love and friendship.
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