Seasonal stress busters

Use your PC to stay calm, cool and collected

By Laura Pratt

Sometimes, the reality doesn’t line up with the ideal. Such is often the case during the holidays, when visions of cozy, nutmeg-scented family gatherings are smashed to smithereens by stressed-out parents, kids with meltdowns and to-do lists the length of garlands.

“It happens every year,” says Robyn Carey, a Toronto mother of three who approaches each holiday season with new hope. “I shoot for the stars, but I end up blinded by too many streetlights.”

But what’s the point of living in the modern age and celebrating progress at every turn if your PC can’t alleviate some of the ubiquitous holiday tension?

Here are five creative ways technology can help make the holidays simpler and less nerve-racking.

Figure out which holiday chores need to be done and print them onto cards.

Turn your holiday goings-on into a film

Equip the kids with your digital video camera and cut them loose on the festivities. Have them capture the front-line stuff and then go behind the scenes.

When it’s all in the can, upload their footage into your movie-making software (Windows DVD Maker is integrated into Windows Photo Gallery, which also makes access to stills an easy option) and produce a slick, entertaining movie.

Create holiday playlists of your favourite festive tunes.

Make merry music with Xbox

Download a mess of holiday tunes and ask family members to construct their own playlists of seasonal favourites. Windows Media Player can easily be accessed from an Xbox 360 to play digital music in any room of the home.

Turn on both the Xbox 360 and the PC from which you wish to stream music.
First you’ll need to enable Media Player 11 on your PC for music sharing. Open the Library tab (by clicking on the arrow below Library) and select Media Sharing. Check the box that says Share my media.
In the next window, make sure the Share my media to: box is checked, and select the Xbox 360 icon.
With the Xbox 360 icon selected, click Allow. A green checkmark should appear on the icon.
Click Apply and OK.
From the Xbox 360 dashboard, go to Media tab > Music > Computer.
You’ll see a prompt asking if you have media sharing software on your computer. Select Yes, continue.
Wait while the Xbox 360 detects your PC.
Click on the PC, browse your music, and select the files you wish to play.

Design a calendar in Word, print, and hang it up so everyone can keep track of the seasonal schedule.

Get organized with a Word Calendar

Create a big-picture calendar in Microsoft Word featuring all of the holiday’s events, big and small. Print it off and post it in the kitchen so everybody knows what afternoon the big shopping spree’s arranged for and when the carol sing-a-long is set to go live.

Make it organic, with Windows Calendar

A virtual calendar allows family members to adjust the schedule, dipping into such extras as personal task lists (Dad’s got to haul out that giant light-up Rudolph display for the yard) and automatic reminders (don’t forget to pick up Grandma from the train station on Christmas Eve, for heaven’s sake).

Open the calendar by clicking Start > All Programs > Windows Calendar. Create a new event (File > New Appointment), and add information such as the title, location, date and time, and a reminder. Under the Participants heading, click Attendees to select names from your Contacts to add to the guest list, or enter new e-mail addresses. When finished, click Invite, and Outlook will create an e-mail invitation for you to send. Click File > New Task to add an item to the task list on the left-hand side.

You can also create calendar appointments using the Windows Live Calendar feature in Hotmail and share the information online with family members who have Hotmail accounts.

Make your space online

Have the family set up its own holiday-themed Windows Live Space to contain the copious amounts of to-do lists, gift tallies and shopping plans that come with the holidays. This way, everyone’s on the same page when it comes to what’s been done (the hanging of enough twinkly lights to put the neighbours to shame), and what’s still to be done (the baking of eight dozen more caramel mocha squares).

Ensure all family members do their part by picking chores from the holiday job jar.

Divide and conquer your to-do list

Get a handle on all the floating tasks with the creation of a “random job” jar that makes an appearance in the family room several days before the serious onset of the holidays. Include in it a range of seasonally inspired responsibilities. These could include