We know you can’t get enough holiday hacks this season, and there are plenty out there that hit on travel, décor, food, and basic survival. There’s something for you if you’re playing host, being hosted, or staying put and enjoying some chill time.

Keeping it real simple is the aim with these simple holiday hacks from Household Hacker. With this video, learn to square up your fancy napkin skills, make travel comfy, and get your string lights under your command. We’re highlighting a few of those hacks below, but be sure to watch the clip to see more holiday tips.

Christmas Tree Napkins

Flex your table décor muscles with this trick using cloth napkins. Take a square napkin and fold it in half. Fold it in quarters. Household Hacker then instructs us to grab the open corner of the napkin and fold it up and opposite in a diagonal formation. Repeat with the remaining corners until you have multiple layers with about an inch in between the folds.

Flip the napkin over to where the “peak” is facing upwards. Fold each corner to the opposite side diagonally, until the napkin resembles the shape of an ice cream cone. Turn the napkin back over. The bottom of your “cone” will become the top of your Christmas tree. Fold the top layer up so that it forms a small triangle. This is the upper point of the tree.

Tuck the other layers under each one above it, so that it forms the shape of an evergreen. Tada! You can lay the napkin flat on a place setting, or stand it up. Top it off with a gift bow.

Packing Clutch

If you have to travel for the holidays, keep your carry-on bag organized. Instead of tossing things like ear buds, chargers, cash, or gum into your bag’s abyss, organize them. To keep your small items tidy and accessible, you can store them in an eyeglass case. If you don’t have a spare one handy, you can find them at discount retailers for around $1.

Christmas Light Organizer

You know how it goes. Every year you pull out the string lights and have to untangle them, spending extra time trying to find where they begin and where they end. Not fun. This year, when it’s time to put them up, try a different space-saving hack with a hanger.

With a plastic hanger, start by hooking the plug end into the ridge on the hanger. Now, you can simply wrap the string lights around the triangle part of the hanger. Be careful to keep them untangled! Hang them up in your closet for next year or stack them in storage with the rest of your holiday decorations.

 

Things can get a little boring or predictable when everyone’s home during holiday breaks. Traveling around can become frustrating or tiresome. Add these tips to your toolkit to make the holidays more fun and more organized.

Which one of these hacks would you try this year? Do you have any tricks to keep your crew busy when home for the holidays? Tell us in the comments!