If you absolutely cannot bear to throw away your child’s artwork, it helps to remember that it’s probably not that important to him anyway.

Kids enjoy the process of creating something beautiful; they are not as focused on the results as we are.

So, if you secretly only want to keep only a few of the best pieces, and dispose of the rest, rest assured your preschooler isn’t going to freak about it in 15 years’ time.

Guilt reduction out of the way, here are more innovative ways to display artwork.

• Use them as gift wrapping paper. Obviously the paper will have to be of considerably larger size, than regular drawing sheets, but they can make charming wrapping paper for gifts for family members and close friends.
• Make greeting cards out of them. Cut out elements that they really like about their artwork like a bright sun or a flower, and stick on a folded piece of card stock. Decorate with squiggles using sketch pens, and help her write a message to the recipient inside the card.
• Laminate them, and use as place mats. You don’t have to get them professionally done; just slip each paper in a plastic cover, and seal the open end.
• This one is slightly more expensive and time consuming, so make sure you pick out only the best artwork to go in here. Take 12 of her best art pieces and make color copies of each. Get them printed up as a calendar with her name on each to give as gifts to family members.
• Create an Art Album. Cut up thick black chart paper into large rectangles. The size should be around an inch bigger on each side than the regular sheets you give your child to paint in. Get these chart paper pieces spiral bound, and stick each sheet of artwork on a single black page. The black backdrop enhances the visual appeal of the art, and the spiral binding ensures that your Art Album will stand the test of time through a million look throughs.

Here are 14 reasons for for you to get to work building on your preschooler’s alphabet and word skills, pronto!

Watch at your own risk.