10 Best Christmas Holiday Hacks (2026 Update)
These clever Farmers' Almanac hints and tips will make your Christmas days merry and bright!
Ten Christmas holiday hacks from the Farmers’ Almanac vault, updated for 2026, that save time, money, and cookies. Every trick uses items you already own: a Pringles can, a wire hanger, a Mason jar, a metal cookie cutter. No new-purchase gimmicks.
Quick Reference: Christmas Holiday Hacks
- Ship cookies unbroken: stack them in a rinsed Pringles can, wrap it in kraft paper.
- Hang garland without damage: use $3 zip ties on indoor railings, not tape or tacks.
- Free gift tags: cut shapes from last year’s Christmas cards.
- Perfect cookies: line the sheet with parchment paper, skip the greasing step.
- Snowy luminaries: quarter-fill a Mason jar with Epsom salts, add a white candle, tie with ribbon.
- Store lights tangle-free: wind them around a sturdy clothes hanger.
- Rising cost check: the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports the 2025 Consumer Price Index for holiday food and gifts rose 2.9% year over year, so reuse beats replace.
Why Hand-Me-Down Hacks Still Win in 2026
Holiday spending in the United States climbed to a record $989.60 per household in 2025 according to the National Retail Federation’s annual holiday consumer survey. Roughly one third of that goes on wrapping, decor, and food. The ten hacks below are the ones Almanac readers have written in about most since the 1990s. They lean on kitchen scrap, hardware bin, and last year’s cards, which is why they still hold up when store prices do not.
1. No Cookies Crumbling
Shipping homemade Christmas cookies is the fastest way to arrive at a tin of crumbs. A rinsed, dried Pringles can holds a standard 3-inch cookie almost exactly. The stiff cardboard tube absorbs the shock the flat rectangle tin cannot. Cover the label in kraft paper or festive wrap, add a bow and a gift tag, and the tube becomes the gift wrap too.
2. Bright Idea
Inexpensive zip ties, a 100 count runs less than $3 at any hardware store, hold Christmas lights and garland to indoor railings, banisters, and porch posts. They do not lift wood finishes the way painters tape does after two weeks, and they do not leave the tack holes that finishing nails do. Snip them off with side cutters in January and the wood is untouched.
3. Inexpensive Gift Tags
Reuse last year’s Christmas cards to make festive holiday gift tags. Cut the front image into rectangles, punch a hole in the corner, thread with baker’s twine. Set aside this year’s cards for next December while you are at it. The U.S. Postal Service handled 1.3 billion holiday cards last season, and most of them are card stock heavy enough to reroll as tags.
4. Festive Breakfast
Metal holiday cookie cutters, Santa, snowman, star, gingerbread man, double as pancake molds on Christmas morning. Grease the inside edge, set the cutter on a hot pan, pour the batter to fill half the cutter’s depth. Lift the cutter with tongs after 90 seconds. Kids get pancakes in seasonal shapes, and the cutters clean up in warm water.
5. Perfect Christmas Cookies
Cookies baked directly on a cookie sheet over-brown fast, especially on darker aluminium pans. A single sheet of inexpensive parchment paper solves it. No sticking, no burnt bottoms, no cookie sheet to grease. The parchment also lifts the whole batch off the tray in one motion for cooling, which speeds the second and third rounds.
6. Easy Holiday Luminaries
For a quick, low-cost luminary, quarter-fill a Mason jar of any size with Epsom salts, they look like packed snow, then set a size-appropriate white candle in the center. Tie the mouth of the jar with a festive ribbon. Line five or six along a walkway, a mantel, or a porch rail for a real statement. The Epsom salt does not burn, but as with all candles, never leave them unattended.
7. No-Fuss Holiday Centerpiece
Fill a clear glass vase or a trifle dish with the ornaments that did not make the tree, mix colors and finishes for depth, and tuck in festive bows or clipped greenery from the tree base. Total build time: four minutes. The centerpiece reads intentional, not leftover.
8. A Gift Within a Gift
Thread festive holiday-themed cookie cutters through the ribbons and bows on your wrapped gifts for an extra touch. The bakers on your list keep the cutter after the paper is off. It reads as thoughtful, and it costs a dollar at most craft stores.
9. Make Your Own Holiday Candles
Buy inexpensive pillar candles in holiday colors, red, gold, deep green. Brush them with a thin coat of clear craft glue such as Mod Podge, then roll them in Epsom salts. Let dry for two hours. The finish looks like a glittery, snowy candle. (Hint: do the same trick in July with a tan pillar and it reads as sand). The Epsom salt does not burn, but as with all candles, never leave them unattended.
10. Tangle-Free Lights
Keep Christmas lights from tangling in storage by winding them around a sturdy plastic or wooden clothes hanger. One hanger holds two 25-foot strands. Hook the hanger over the wire shelf in your storage bin, plug end tucked in, and next December they come out ready to string.
What Almanac Readers Add to the List
Reader mail since the 2016 first run of this list has produced a handful of consistent extras. Sliding a sheet of wax paper between stacked strings of lights before hanging them keeps bulb glass from scratching. A cheap pool noodle cut in half lengthwise hides an extension cord along a baseboard for a lit village. And a plain white plastic tablecloth taped under the tree stand catches every dropped needle for easy removal on Twelfth Night.
What’s your favorite Christmas holiday hack? Share it in the comments below.
Christmas Holiday Hacks FAQ
What are the best Christmas holiday hacks for saving money?
The three that save readers the most cash are reusing last year’s Christmas cards as gift tags, tying up garland with $3 zip ties instead of buying command hooks, and winding lights around a spare clothes hanger to skip buying reels. Together they save the average household roughly $35 per season.
How do I ship cookies without them breaking?
Stack them in a rinsed and dried Pringles can with a small square of parchment between each cookie. The tube’s stiff walls and snug fit prevent the shifting that cracks a cookie tin. Cover the label in kraft paper and pad the outer box with newspaper.
Is it safe to burn candles in Mason jars with Epsom salts?
Yes, the Epsom salt does not burn and does not catch fire when the candle burns down. As with any open flame, never leave a lit candle unattended, keep the jar off flammable surfaces, and use a candle sized so the flame stays well below the rim.
Can I use parchment paper more than once for Christmas cookies?
Yes, a single sheet handles three to four batches of the same cookie before it browns through. Wipe crumbs off between rounds. Swap the sheet when you switch cookie types so flavors do not carry over.
What’s the easiest last-minute Christmas centerpiece?
A clear glass vase filled with extra ornaments and topped with a bow or a sprig of greenery. Total build time is under five minutes and it uses only items already in the box or on the tree.
How do I keep Christmas lights from tangling in storage?
Wind each 25-foot strand in a figure-eight around a sturdy plastic clothes hanger and hook the hanger inside your storage bin. The hanger keeps the wire off the bottom of the bin and holds two strands per hanger.
Do these Christmas hacks work for Hanukkah or other winter holidays?
Most do. Swap the color palette and the metal cutters and everything else, the parchment cookie trick, the hanger for lights, the reused-card gift tags, the Mason jar luminaries with a blue ribbon, all still hold. The hacks are about the technique, not the imagery.
This article was published by the Staff at FarmersAlmanac.com. Any questions? Contact us at questions@farmersalmananac.com.
- Farmers' Almanac Staff
- Farmers' Almanac Staff
- Farmers' Almanac Staff
- Farmers' Almanac Staff
Save money from buying ‘one time use’ zip ties, reuse the large twist ties from leaf lettuce to tie up lights, wreaths, storing lights, and keep your cords together. So many uses for these ties!
I also attach the keys to the snowblower and lawn tractor to the equipment so they don’t get lost. My flash drives too, so when I go somewhere with them, I don’t forget them…then I twist them to my purse or pants belt loop.
These are great tips!
When you have guests over, hang a string of lights around the bathroom door, help newcomers find it easily. Also, for added flare, place a string of lights in hurricane vases or recycled candle jars for a mantle or table. I’ve combined ornaments and lights too.
Hi Gail, those are some great ideas. Thank you for sharing.
You can use battery operated candles instead of real candles. I have a cat so my tree is on top of an end table (more room for gifts underneath!) and place shatter proof ornaments on the bottom portion.
I hope my comment posted. I will resubmit if it doesn’t show up.
I’ve collected popcorn tins over the years and keep my ornaments and lights in them. They have Christmas photos on the outside and add to the fun of bringing them in the living room to decorate.
I use the fronts of old Christmas cards glued onto plain white, green or red paper bags for gift bags.
This year when getting my CHRISTmas tree out of my building, the top somehow broke off. My son decided to use zip ties to fix it. I was so depressed, but it actually worked!! It looks even more beautiful this year than it ever has!! I
I use the cardboard core from the center of wrapping paper (the sturdier ones) to wrap Christmas tree lights around. Beats trying to put them back the way they came out of the package, and the tubes store upright in the closet.
Perhaps they should specify *metal* cookie cutters as pancake molds.
Hi Diane, thank you! We’ve added that to the story.