Get creative this holiday season with our tips and tricks

It’s the holiday season and it’s time to get creatively festive. Don’t just show up to the party, be the party by making it a memorable time for everyone. We’ve curated a collection of apps that will not only make the holiday season a sinch, but it will enhance every moment. From setting the mood to gathering the gang or family, ward off every Scrooge and Grinch with these tips and tricks.

STEP 1 | LAY THE GROUNDWORK

Adobe Photoshop Elements 2023

Leave all your fears (and dare we say “intimidation”) underneath the mistletoe when it comes to making previous holiday photos even more festive. Adobe Photoshop Elements 2023 is the picture editor that makes accessing all of your photo essentials easy. Edit all your photos using the power of AI. if you are feeling a bit cagey, just follow the 61 step-by-step Guided Edits. Select an area of a photo and add movement, erase distractions, and quickly touch-up facial features. Want to add a little pizzazz to last year’s holiday pictures to get folks’ excited about your upcoming event? With Adobe Photoshop Elements 2023, add moving overlays to the photos with a touch of snowflakes and sparkle, or create Winter Wonderland, animated frames. Save your freshened up photos as MP4s, then share on social and more.

Canva

You’ve got people excited about your festive event on social media with your stylized and moving images, but now you want to class up the joint and send out actual invites—online and paper. Never fear with Canva. Tap into thousands of professionally designed templates, stock imagery, and quality content. Plus, if you want to run a gut check with your “partners in crime,” easily invite them to edit, brainstorm, and provide approvals. Guests will feel extra special receiving one of your custom-made invitations in the mail or online. Don’t forget the tinsel!

STEP 2 | SET THE MOOD

Spotify

Sure, there will always be that one guest who fondly reminisces about the “purity” of the 80’s mixtape. For the rest of your guests, enjoy the rounds of applause as you are lauded for your choice in those sweet Spotify playlists and lyrics. Whether you’re hosting a holiday or a “just because” gathering, this music app truly has something for each one of your guests. Whether you are seeking a playlist to showcase the holiday classics, Folk & Acoustic, Pop Culture, or Soul, you can guarantee everyone will bob their heads, or tap their feet, to one of your carefully curated playlists. It’s all about ambiance setting.

Zoom Rooms

With all your fancy social media updates and images, you’ve got friends from school excited about your upcoming holiday event, but they are on the opposite coast. They can still join the fun, hear those inspiring tunes on your playlists and chime into those nostalgic convos by tuning into Zoom Rooms. Life gets easier with one-touch meeting joining, plus quality video and screen sharing. If they can’t attend the video conference, hit the record button for them to watch later. Missing out is a thing of the past.

Movie Maker – Video Editor

Capture the moments in glorious HD and enhance your videos later. If you want to showcase your cousin randomly and oddly busting out the Macarena to Chuck Berry’s “Run Rudolph Run” with all of your guests happily complying, Movie Maker offers basic video editing functions (e.g., cut video, trim video, join video, add music and text), plus advanced features, including image filter, transition effects and pan-zoom effects. Add text, emoticons to further to tell the story for years to come.

STEP 3 | CHRONICLE THE MOMENTS

Microsoft Journal

If you “think in ink” and want to chronicle the event in writing, straightforward Microsoft Journal offers an immersive experience. Whether you make note of specific moments, shared recipes, or create an image timeline of the ugliest sweater, it can all be one place. Make a note of all the steps you took to make this event great so that next year you can make your gathering even better, while expanding on all the wins. The page-based, ink-first canvas offers easy scrolling, a variety of page styles (i.e., lined, dotted, graph, music staff, storyboard, and blank), and keyword and filter search capabilities. In the spirit of giving, print or export into a PDF or to OneNote to share with family and friends.

Become the envy of family and friends with these apps to make, enhance, and capture once-in-a-lifetime memories. Planning holiday gatherings can be stress free and fun with the right tools, tips, and tricks on hand.