Christmas is ‘the most wonderful time of the year’, but while it is wonderful to spend time with family and enjoying seasonal traditions (and delicious food!) often the preparations for the day itself can prove stressful! But, fear not! The tools you use to be more productive work can also be just the thing to help you plan the most efficient festive season ever, enabling you to really enjoy the ‘life’ portion of the crucial work-life balance that we all crave year round.
Prep your gift list and even track which stores have the item in stock using OneNote, with Cortana on hand to call ahead to check stock and keep you updated on opening times. Buying a shared gift? Microsoft Edge is a great way to share notes and suggestions with your family or friends. In addition to ensuring you get the perfect gift for all, this is a perfect way to list gifts you have received so you can remember to thank everyone after the holidays are over. If you’re yet to decorate your home for Christmas, store your inspirations in the cloud and use Microsoft Edge to share suggestions with your roommates or family!
When it comes to preparing Christmas dinner, the cloud is a great place to store planned recipes and even new ones to try. OneNote can also be helpful when planning out meals and assigning different dishes to different family members to make sure everyone gets to play their part. Cortana is also on hand to help make sure everything is cooked to perfection with cooking time alerts for each dish.
Once the prep is done and Christmas Day is finally here, it’s time to relax and put your feet up with Cortana Quiet Hours and let her recommend you the perfect festive playlist. Skype is perfect for sharing the festive cheer with family overseas or elsewhere (or even just comparing Christmas party outfits).
And afterwards? You can look back on the memories of the day with photo sharing through OneDrive and make sending thank you letters/emails even easier with OneNote. Or even begin planning next year…? Well, you can never be too prepared.
Got a festive planning tip? Share your suggestions with us, but don’t forget the most important part of Christmas is to switch off and enjoy some downtime! Our Centre for Out Of Office Excellence can help you with that.
When Christmas Eve comes around don’t forget to follow Santa on his journey from the North Pole! People from all over the world can once again track Santa with the NORAD Santa Tracker, and don’t miss out on the Santa Tracker app. Once you’ve downloaded the Santa Tracker app check out these Christmas apps to help make this years holidays better than ever.
For even more helpful tips on enjoying the holidays check out this useful guide from Bing!
