Two women embracing with a laptop on a table with illustrated holiday decorations

November 1, 2021

The key to holiday planning is in your hands

3 minute read

The holidays are such a special time of year. Whether you’re gathering virtually or in-person, it’s a time of merriment and memories with the people you love most. But this season of joy can also mean lots of planning. From gifts to dinners to travel, sometimes it feels like you need an assistant just to make it from October to January! This year, you can relax a little more by making your technology do the heavy lifting.

Read on to learn how to make your holiday planning worry-free.

Make your list, and don’t worry about checking it twice

Say goodbye to the last-minute holiday scramble and keep your to-dos at your fingertips when you use Microsoft To Do. If you’ve upgraded to Windows 11, you can use the To Do widget to keep an eye on your list and check each item off as you go. While you’re there, check the Traffic widget to help plan your holiday errands, or the Weather widget to help relatives decide what to pack for their visit.

Give yourself the gift of better budgeting

Illustrated holiday tree, ornament, and gift box

Giving gifts is such a big part of the holidays, and while the saying goes, “It’s better to give than to receive,” giving can make a dent in your bank account. Keep an eye on your spending by using budget templates in Microsoft Excel and ring in a season of better budgeting and smarter shopping this year.

Get the group together, however it works for you

Whether you’re gathering in-person, online, or a mix of the two, Microsoft Teams makes holiday planning easy by getting everyone on one video call, regardless of which device each guest uses or whether they have installed Teams. Create instant video meetings and invite anyone, and then meet in a virtual café or lounge with Together Mode.

Use Microsoft Outlook for free with Office on the web to email your invitations to everyone on your list, and keep track of your events and plans in your Outlook calendar. You can even block time on your calendar to ensure you get your tasks done, like “Bake pie the night before potluck,” or “Hide gifts!”

Get by with a little help from your friends

Illustrated cat sitting next to gift boxes and tree with a star at the top

Anyone who has ever planned a holiday get-together knows it’s not a one-person job. But between busy schedules, group texts, email chains, and conference calls, sometimes group efforts feel more like hassle than help. Thanks to cloud sharing, planning with others can be a breeze. Enlist the help of your friends or family for holiday planning and keep it all organized (and accessible to everyone) using Microsoft OneNote for free with Office on the web.

Within your notebook, you can keep it simple and just have a handful of sections like: Food, Party Games, Guest List. You can also create multiple pages under each section for the details. For example, the “Food” page could have subpages such as menu options, recipes, allergies, and more. With all the tools you need to plan as a group you can easily create your dream holiday get-together.

Enjoy a holiday season to remember

With all these tools and tips for streamlining your holiday festivities, you can focus more on the fun and less on the fuss this year. Whether you’re gathering in-person, online, or both, Microsoft can help you plan it all, leaving more time for the ones you love.