Looking ahead to tomorrow at noon, when all the Christmas gifts have been opened, an unsung ritual will take place across the area.  While the kids play busily with new toys, parents will be folding tissue paper and gift bags to stash for next year, and gathering wrapping paper and stuffing it into the giant sack that will later be carried to the curb with all the other debris that inevitably comes with Christmas morning.  
But you might want to retrieve some of the prettier pieces of paper for craft projects to combat inevitable bouts of boredom  as winter break draws to an end. Challenge the kids to get creative, or challenge yourself to make something unique simply for the fun of it.
Lisa Hayes, owner of Forest Avenue Antiques  in Great Bend, admits she doesn’t use wrapping paper in the creations she offers at her store, but offers some ideas of creative things people can do at home to put the colorful paper to a good use.  
“It can be used for collage work,” she said.  “You can use all sorts of medium with it.  Decopage it onto bottles or canvas, use it to make jewelry, Glue it onto other pieces of paper, creating landscapes or animals. There’s a lot you can do with it.”
Hayes repurposes paper in many of her creations.  In one, she showcased keys and locks with a paper background.  Then, there are the tiny book necklaces, made from hand-folded paper and hand bound.  
Another suggestion, is to repurpose Christmas cards into vintage looking eight-sided ornaments, much like the ones offered at the shop.  They can be personalized with bits and pieces of whatever is on hand.
Here are some other ideas gleaned from the internet, to get your creativity flowing:

• http://howaboutorange.blogspot.com/2009/10/make-gift-bow-from-magazine-page.html   (How to make a gift bow out of paper strips.)
• http://www.designsponge.com/2008/11/paper-holiday-garlands.html  (How to make paper garlands.)
• http://www.origami-resource-center.com/wishing-star.html  (How to make origami wishing stars.)
• http://creaturecomfortsblog.com/home/2009/12/16/diy-origami-box-ornaments-by-samantha-miller.html  (How to make an origami gift box ornament.)
• http://www.instructables.com/id/Woven-Newspaper-Bag/  (Modify the newspaper bag into a wrapping paper bag. )
• http://www.home-dzine.co.za/crafts/craft-funkycolour.htm  (Create cards or pictures with the art of quilling.)
http://www.ecouterre.com/papier-coutures-lia-griffith-makes-showstopping-gowns-from-recycled-paper/papier-couture-1/   (For even more inspiration, see what some designers have created for the runway using paper....)

A bit of trivia:  Craig Moore of Arrow Trash hauling said while the number of trips his trucks make  to the landfill doesn’t increase the week of Christmas, the weight and bulk does increase dramatically.  
And Don of Don’s Trash Service said he hauls three times as much bulk after Christmas, but the extra bulk isn’t particularly heavy.  
“Where we might usually haul five tons in a trip, after Christmas, we will haul seven-and-a-half tons.”