Parents, if you bought a video game system for your kids as a holiday gift, be sure to crack it open, run all the system updates and get any games installed so it's ready to plug-and-play as soon as they open it.
This message brought to you by (admittedly fond) memories of watching my dad make DOS boot disks all afternoon on Christmas.
(I think I first heard this suggestion on the Giant Bomb podcast.)
(Oh, and you put everything back in the box and wrap it when you're done.) :)