I don’t know if it is my age or what, but now I prefer to give fun gifts that people can really use. For co-workers, that is quite an order – since I don’t know what they like or can use. So, I decided to make it their choice by creating a new kind of gift card … one that lets the recipient decide – what and who the gift is for …

Rather than being pre-made card holders, I decided to make my own. There’s many online sites with directions, such as this one – CLICK HERE.

The first step – finding and folding paper. Finding holiday paper is a bit of a task for me because I have so much paper – and it isn’t necessarily organized.

1.  I cut the paper into 8 3/4 inch squares, slightly larger than my directions. I found they folded better.
2. Fold each side to the center.
3. Fold in all four corners.
4. Fold again to the center, tucking in the folded corners.

Next step – finishing the folding and decorating.

1. Turn the already folded paper to the bottom and fold up to the center.
2. Fold the other half to the center, slightly overlapping so you can tuck in the corners
3. Turn the folded paper over and fold the other direction (the long way). Now you have a card holder.
4. I then made decorative strips for the cover.

I didn’t do this project all at one time. I did it in several steps – doing all of one task – such as the decorative tags (which were stamped) at one time, or all of the folding at one time.

The final step – inserting gift cards or not …

1.  First I decorated the covers.
2. Then – I printed notes on blank business cards that simply says “Treat yourself or someone else.” So, the recipient can pass it forward, share a treat or treat themself – whatever their pleasure.
3. Instead of me deciding where they should get a treat, I simply inserted cash.
4. Finally, I tied the card holder shut with a decorative ribbon.

I made several gift holders – a mini-manufacturing line on my desk.

The best part – you can do this anytime of the year. Simply change the paper to something more generic or appropriate to the season and decorate accordingly. Make several at a time so you have them on hand. Gifting treats can happen any time.

Thanks for reading! I hope you will return.