So here it is, part one in our multi-part series: things to do with....
- Tie it over your child's shoulder and let them use it like a doll sling. Don't freak out when your kid pretends to breastfeed the doll.
- Use it to hold your child's hair up (Aunt Jemima style --->) when she's in the bathtub.
- Tie a bundle on the end of a yardstick and tell your kid he's a hobo. Then explain what a hobo is in politically correct terms.
- Teach your baby to use a hanky as a lovey. They're cheap, easy to replace, and don't look too babyish when a five year old is still carrying it around. I failed at this, but it was my own fault.
- Sew a pacifier to the corner and give it to your paci-loving toddler at naptime so that it's easier to find in the dark.
- Use it to blow your nose. Tie one on your child's bedpost and let them use it to wipe away their sniffles at night.
- Use a clothespin or binder clip to attach it around your child's neck like super-hanky-man. I wouldn't tie it since I'm scared of choking them. A clothespin will pop off if it gets caught.
- Use a clothespin or binder clip to attach it around your baby's neck as an 'oops-I-forgot-my-bib' bib.
- Dress your kids up in chic bandanna clothing using stylish patterns from Martha Stewart (<---)
- Tie hankies around everyone's heads, outfit everyone with an instrument and say you're a band. Call yourselves bandannarama.
- Use it cape-style to keep poky hairs off a child when you're cutting their hair.
- Makes fun, multifunctional gift wrap. Print this list out and tuck it in the card (no! I'm kidding!).
- Fill with ice or frozen vegetables and fold for an ice pack (you can tie it on, too!).
- Tie one around your child's head for an instant pirate costume.
- When walking with a child, have each of you hold on to one end to keep your little one from having to hold their arm up in the air to reach yours.
- When walking with two children and only have one hand available you hold the middle and have each child hold one end.
- Tie one end to the grocery cart and have your child hold it as you walk around the store.
- It's an awesome burp cloth.
- Use it to attach things (keys? lunch?) to your backpack, purse, diaper bag, or belt loop.
- A damp bandanna 'round the neck keeps you cool and keeps the sun from burning the one place I inevitably forget to put sunscreen on.
- Hey, I swear I had more diapers! That hanky makes a handy temporary so your little one doesn't pee all over themselves (or you!) on the way home.
- It's a compact, washable diaper changing pad.
- Tie them around the leg of your jeans/around your wrist like a funky bracelet/around your head like a sweatband/around your ponytail and tell your children a fairytale about the Punky Brewster and the eighties.
- Makes a handy washcloth when little faces and fingers get sticky and you're not at home.
- Make a teddy bear parachute, then drop him from the top of the stairs and tell your children to never, never, ever try it themselves!
- Tie one end to a carseat/highchair and the other to a toy so your toddler can retrieve the things they throw themselves.
- Teach your child decorative napkin-folding with your hanky when you're waiting for ridiculously long periods at the doctor's office. (It'll come in handy during state dinners, I'm sure).
- It's a tiny picnic cloth for those impromptu picnics.
- Hankies come in handy when there aren't paper towels or napkins available.
- Drape it over a carseat to keep the buckles from becoming tiny branding irons in the sun.
- Finally, fold one in half diagonally, tie it around your neck and call yourself a cowgirl!