Mobile By Russell Holly Dec. 23, 2013 11:25 am
The most frustrating thing about Christmas Day is not being prepared. If you’re anything like me, you could use a checklist of things to do in order to ensure less time is spent trying to solve problems and more time is spent enjoying the company of friends and family.
Christmas readiness isn’t just about making sure you’ve got clean clothes, gas in the car, and the correct number of gift bags. You need to make sure you’ve got your personal accessories in order, and there’s a few helpful hints that we’ve picked up along the way that just makes things easier. Whether you’re front and center in the mission to remove children’s toys from their plastic prisons, the photography general, or the captain of the kitchen, there’s plenty of things you can do to make Christmas Day easier to deal with.
[h=3]Charge everything the night before[/h] This may seem like an obvious one, but it’s on the top of our list for a reason. If you have camera, a tablet, a smartphone, a smartwatch, laptop, or really anything you could possibly want to bring with you or use on Christmas, plug it in the night before.
In fact if you aren’t using it right this second you should stop what you are doing and go plug it in, just to be safe. Even if you aren’t sure you are going to bring it with you, plug it in. Fill every outlet in your house if you need to. Being stuck with 12% battery as your kids are opening their presents or as you’re trying to get Google Maps to give you directions to the in-laws is a bad position to be in.
[h=3]Stock up on open outlets and batteries[/h] Another mostly obvious one, but the time saved here can’t be ignored. If you have company coming over, make sure you have a few outlets free in the living room or near the Christmas tree. If you are going to a family member’s house for the holiday, and you know someone will need to plug in a gift after opening it, make sure you know where the open outlets are. If you’re relying on portable power for anything this year, stock up on the required batteries. You don’t even have to leave the house — you can get batteries delivered to you on Christmas Eve through Amazon.
[h=3]Know where your tools are[/h] It may not seem necessary, but assembling a Christmas toolkit and stashing it in the living room or kitchen can be a time saver. Grab a screwdriver set, scissors, razor blade, and maybe some scotch tape just in case. Set those aside somewhere so you can quickly get to them. If you’re travelling, put these in your car just in case wherever you are going is less prepared than you. When the time comes, you’ll be able to just dip out for a second to grab the right tool for the job, instead of trying to use whatever is close to open whatever gizmo or nightmare package that sits before you.
[h=3]Digital preparedness – update your devices and clear out your inbox[/h] It is important to put as few steps in between you and having fun as possible on Christmas Day. If you’re playing a video game with family, make sure your consoles are up to date. Christmas Day is a terrible day for software updates, because everyone who just got a new console is doing the same thing. If you’re already set up on Christmas Eve, fire up the box and make sure you’re good to go. The same goes for Blu-Ray players and apps for your television set top boxes. Just make sure everything is up-to-date beforehand.
If you’re a big fan of Inbox Zero you probably don’t need to worry about this last bit, but if you’ve got a bunch of clutter in your inbox you should consider getting rid of it. Especially if there’s work on your phone, the inbox just serves as a distraction. You’re better off getting it out of the way before hand. The same goes for work-related group chats, just mute them and come back after the holiday.
[h=3]Make a Christmas playlist[/h] If you’re going to spend the day working in the kitchen, opening present, or just sitting by the TV as a fireplace video plays from YouTube, not having to stop and skip tracks on your music player of choice can be a big deal. Whatever your music player of choice is, set up a Christmas radio station or playlist of your favorite music. If you’re looking for traditional Christmas music instead, nearly every music app out there has a special Christmas section set up now, just for you.
Now read: Bill Gates turns out to be Redditor’s Secret Santa, gifts cow
More...
Christmas readiness isn’t just about making sure you’ve got clean clothes, gas in the car, and the correct number of gift bags. You need to make sure you’ve got your personal accessories in order, and there’s a few helpful hints that we’ve picked up along the way that just makes things easier. Whether you’re front and center in the mission to remove children’s toys from their plastic prisons, the photography general, or the captain of the kitchen, there’s plenty of things you can do to make Christmas Day easier to deal with.
[h=3]Charge everything the night before[/h] This may seem like an obvious one, but it’s on the top of our list for a reason. If you have camera, a tablet, a smartphone, a smartwatch, laptop, or really anything you could possibly want to bring with you or use on Christmas, plug it in the night before.
In fact if you aren’t using it right this second you should stop what you are doing and go plug it in, just to be safe. Even if you aren’t sure you are going to bring it with you, plug it in. Fill every outlet in your house if you need to. Being stuck with 12% battery as your kids are opening their presents or as you’re trying to get Google Maps to give you directions to the in-laws is a bad position to be in.
[h=3]Stock up on open outlets and batteries[/h] Another mostly obvious one, but the time saved here can’t be ignored. If you have company coming over, make sure you have a few outlets free in the living room or near the Christmas tree. If you are going to a family member’s house for the holiday, and you know someone will need to plug in a gift after opening it, make sure you know where the open outlets are. If you’re relying on portable power for anything this year, stock up on the required batteries. You don’t even have to leave the house — you can get batteries delivered to you on Christmas Eve through Amazon.
[h=3]Know where your tools are[/h] It may not seem necessary, but assembling a Christmas toolkit and stashing it in the living room or kitchen can be a time saver. Grab a screwdriver set, scissors, razor blade, and maybe some scotch tape just in case. Set those aside somewhere so you can quickly get to them. If you’re travelling, put these in your car just in case wherever you are going is less prepared than you. When the time comes, you’ll be able to just dip out for a second to grab the right tool for the job, instead of trying to use whatever is close to open whatever gizmo or nightmare package that sits before you.
[h=3]Digital preparedness – update your devices and clear out your inbox[/h] It is important to put as few steps in between you and having fun as possible on Christmas Day. If you’re playing a video game with family, make sure your consoles are up to date. Christmas Day is a terrible day for software updates, because everyone who just got a new console is doing the same thing. If you’re already set up on Christmas Eve, fire up the box and make sure you’re good to go. The same goes for Blu-Ray players and apps for your television set top boxes. Just make sure everything is up-to-date beforehand.
If you’re a big fan of Inbox Zero you probably don’t need to worry about this last bit, but if you’ve got a bunch of clutter in your inbox you should consider getting rid of it. Especially if there’s work on your phone, the inbox just serves as a distraction. You’re better off getting it out of the way before hand. The same goes for work-related group chats, just mute them and come back after the holiday.
[h=3]Make a Christmas playlist[/h] If you’re going to spend the day working in the kitchen, opening present, or just sitting by the TV as a fireplace video plays from YouTube, not having to stop and skip tracks on your music player of choice can be a big deal. Whatever your music player of choice is, set up a Christmas radio station or playlist of your favorite music. If you’re looking for traditional Christmas music instead, nearly every music app out there has a special Christmas section set up now, just for you.
Now read: Bill Gates turns out to be Redditor’s Secret Santa, gifts cow
More...
