We are fully in the holiday season and that means people are celebrating, gathering and hopefully making plans for rest.
As we continue to feel merry and bright, I’ve realized that technology plays interesting and at times significant roles in our holiday planning and enjoyment.
While there are gifts that can be related to tech, some positive and some that should be approached with caution, there are also apps that help the makers of magic stay on task, plan ahead and more.
When our family did a name draw for gift giving among the youngest of our family members, I used an internet random generator to make it easy. In the past, I’ve written out names on pieces of paper, but this year I did it digitally with success.
I know others who create their wish lists for gifts on apps that can be sent to family and friends. When an item is purchased, it’s marked off anonymously by the gift-giver, but it’s not obvious to the recipient that they’ll be receiving it. This helps find the perfect, wanted gift, while maintaining the surprise.
There are also online resources like MediaSmarts’ family contract for new devices that you can print off to give with new tech gifts, so that you can establish rules from the get-go.
Almost all of my Christmas baking recipes are written on butter-stained notecards in my recipe box, but I couldn’t find one of them this year (my popular Skor Bar recipe). Fortunately, I had a link to it on my own blog, so I just pulled that up! I do like having a digital memory keeper for reasons like this.
I know people use online invitations to plan their New Year’s Eve parties and other celebrations and many of us use online note apps to track our grocery lists (and I know many people ask ChatGPT for help with their meal and recipe planning).
Technology and digital apps don’t always contribute positively, but when our calendars are filling up (many of us are using the online versions of these too), turning to tech to get support can save us time and stress and help keep us organized during a busy and overwhelming season. That’s a win.
Not all technology is created equal and finding the supportive shortcuts during this time of year when we are all extra busy, while still making the time to connect with loved ones, can be a welcomed approach.
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