Best of Parent Hacks: Holiday edition

By now, everyone's knee-deep in holiday prep. Here are a few holiday-related hacks you might appreciate right about now:

• Baby shoes as Christmas ornaments
  
• Christmas tree light switch delights kids AND protects the tree
  
• Spread out the gift-opening to keep Christmas morning manageable
  
• How to buy gifts for young kids when they're always with you at the store
  
• Simple holiday traditions
  
• Salvage wrapping paper scraps and rolls for a fun toddler diversion
  
• Pack seasonal books away with the decorations
  
• Paper clips as ornament hooks
  
• Laundry basket keeps holiday gifts contained
  
• Make a pomander or an ornament out of an orange
  
• Holiday Peppermint Bark recipe (people LOVE this and it's so easy)
  
• Tie-dye tissue wrapping paper
  
• 3-D snowflake templates
  
• Cut wrapping paper scraps and seasonal catalogs into paper snowflakes
  
• Simple, beautiful Hanukkah crafts
  
• Freeze your Hanukkah candles
  
• Decorate an outdoor tree with birdseed pine cones
  

I'm sure I've missed a few -- explore the Holidays/Special Occasions archive for more!