It’s that time of year and consumer electronics remain one of the more popular gifts. So we decided to provide you with these 5 tips to help make for a frustration free Christmas morning. If you’ve bought a new computer, smart phone, tablet, or game console for a Christmas gift before you wrap it:

Step 1 – Check it out

• Open it carefully and make sure it works.
• Make sure its charged up or has fresh batteries.
• Wireless game controllers may have a rechargeable battery or require standard AA or AAA batteries.

Step 2 – Get it Working

• Read over the Quick Start guide or other instructions, or find a YouTube video on how to run it.
• Set it up on your WiFi or home network.
• Ensure it can get on the internet.

Step 3 – Lock it Down

• Install any system updates (the new Wii and other game consoles need this too!).
• For Windows PC’s, install an anti-virus product.

Step 4 – Make it Yours

• Install any “must have” software or games, for example, you might need to reinstall games or software from your old computer using the original CD or DVD.
• Use the “Windows Easy Transfer” or Macintosh “Migration Assitant” tool to copy over data from your old computer.
• Set up custom desktop wallpaper (window, maybe you have a photo with Santa that could work?

Step 5 – Wrap It Up

Carefully repackage it and wrap it up!

Bonus

Here’s a play list of helpful YouTube videos for each of the above tips. There are videos for both Windows and Mac users, if a video doesn’t apply to you, just skip it.

Have a Merry Christmas!

.