Crafty Idea: What to Do with People's Christmas Cards

Our pastor's family once shared the idea that they pray for families from whom they receive Christmas cards.  They have the cards in a file, and at dinner they pray for several families each night throughout the year.
 
Instead of bagging up the cards and filing them away, I wanted to start this tradition in our family and share my project with you.  Our family gets over 100 Christmas cards a year.  I know some of you get more, some less.  You can adapt this project to the number of cards you receive.  Our number worked perfectly with praying for about 2 families per week during the year.  We will keep the frame in the kitchen so that we remember to pray for these families at the dinner table.   

First, I went out to a discount store and bought a double picture frame.  Not all the Christmas card pictures will cover the entire glass picture area, so I matted the back with craft paper.  I taped mine onto the backing so I can change it with the seasons or with different whims.  You can use fabric for this too, especially if you have a larger frame where more of the background might show. 

Depending on the size of your frame, you can put the whole card or just the family picture in your frame.  I bought a smaller frame, so the family portraits can be cut out from the whole Christmas card and put into the frame--I just taped them right onto the glass where the tape wouldn't show.  Each week, we will change out the pictures and pray for two new families.

I then finished off my frame by writing a verse in chalkboard marker on the frame itself.  Since it is chalkboard marker, I can wipe it off and rewrite a different note or verse as the pictures change.

This is very easy and a great tradition to start in your family.  We are always trying to teach our boys to pray for others, and this will help them (and us) pray for various families we love throughout the year.
Now, our family and friends' lovely faces greet us on our kitchen counter and remind us to pray for one another throughout the year.

I linked this idea to: