[The following is a guest post brought to you by Music Magpie]

Reusing and re-purposing are the new watchwords of the season. Throwing something in the trash is passé. Re-purposing something into a new something is a great way to save some money. Recycling, re-purposing and up-cycling all have similar yet different meanings.

Re-Purpose Your Used CDs and DVDs

Re-purposing your used CDs and DVDs into something new again can save you a little money and create great personalized gifts and craft projects. Damaged or scratched CDs aren’t worth much if you can’t listen to them. Creating fun crafts and party favors are a great way to add interest to a dinner table or themed event.

Re-Purposing Used CDs and DVDs – For the Crafty Person

Place Cards

Create stylized and entertaining place card holders for a musically themed or movie themed party. Choose among your damaged or duplicate CDs with artists and titles that suit your guests’ personalities. Create CD labels using free software and purchased CD labels. Label each one with a guest’s name, affixing it to the damaged media side of the CD. Place the CDs with artist side up at each place setting.

As the guests arrive and through the cocktail hour leading up to the dinner, have them review the potential seating arrangements. As dinnertime approaches, have each guest pick a first and second choice as to who they think the artist is that most represents them.

When it is time to sit, enhance the game by having each guest stand or sit at their selected artist location. If they are right, they stay seated and if they are wrong, they change places with the correct person identified on the back. Continue until all guests are seated correctly. This activity should take approximately five to ten minutes depending on the quantity of guests and their level of participation!

This is great fun and interesting dinner conversation.

Trivia Napkin Holders

CDs and DVDs have holes in the center, not large enough for a napkin but certainly large enough to slip a ribbon through and tie a pretty bow. Fold napkins in a fan shape, secure with a ribbon in a simple knot and slip the tails of the knot through the center of the CD from the back.

Tie a pretty double bow to secure the CD to the napkin and place at each place setting. Prior to attaching to the napkin, do a little homework on each artist, such as living or dead, DOB, birth place, most famous song, number of hit singles and other interesting facts. Put all these facts together on a CD label and affix to the media side of the CD. During dinner, guests share their artist trivia.

It makes for wonderful dinner conversation, especially when some of the dinner guests are new acquaintances.

For the Not so Crafty Person

CDs can add life to simple place settings or dessert plates. Use damaged CDs at each place setting as an interesting music themed coaster for wine glasses (you can try this with damaged money, but it probably won’t go over so well). For more formal dinners with sorbet or a chilled first course, use CDs as doilies for serving plates.

Used CDs and DVDs can also double as mini place-mats for ice cream or other frozen desserts served in stemmed goblets. No crafting is required, but your guests will be impressed with your ingenuity.

If you are looking for a few extra dollars to help flush out your holiday party budget, gather all your CDs and sell them. There is definitely no crafting involved here. Check online for buyers, pack them up and ship them off.

The newest way to thin your collection and make a few bucks, selling CDs online, can be a very profitable venture if you have the time to create the ads or develop a website. You will be a musicmagpie CD selling success in no time.

photo by Giovanni Sades