Category: Holidays Page 2 of 14

Stories about the occasions that matter most.

Preparing for Christmas / How to be the best gifter

On December 7, 2023

In Christmas Holiday, Gifting Guides, Holidays

10 Ways to Prepare for Christmas AND Become the Best Gifter:

Give Digital Photo Frames for A Personal Touch

Christmas is the most wonderful time of the year. It’s a season of joy, celebration and quality time with loved ones. Preparing for this magical holiday is part of what makes it so special. Careful planning goes into making the holidays special and thoughtful organization with a touch of creativity can go a long way. Whether you’re a seasoned holiday planner or a first-time host, this blog will help you navigate the process of preparing for Christmas with ease and enthusiasm.

Create a Checklist

At the risk of being obvious, the most important thing to start with is a checklist. Outlining the tasks and responsibilities ahead is half the battle, and getting everything on paper will provide clear direction in the days to come. Divide your list into categories like decorations, gifts, food and events. This visual aid will keep you on track and prevent any forgetfulness that is likely to occur during this busy time.

Decorate Your Home

The first step (after the all-important checklist) in creating a festive Christmas atmosphere is to decorate your home! Start by setting up the tree, hanging ornaments, displaying lights and putting up garlands. This alone will give your home a cozy holiday feel, but you don’t have to stop there. Consider adding wreaths to doors and windows, placing candles throughout the house, potting poinsettias or adding other seasonal decor.

If you have a Nixplay digital photo frame , you can even add festive photos from holidays past or Christmas graphics to a seasonal playlist.

Plan Your Menu

If you’re hosting Christmas dinner or a holiday party, having a plan for food is essential. Decide on the main dishes, sides and desserts before creating your shopping list. Once that’s done, you can make a cooking schedule so your dishes will be timed perfectly and you can avoid any last-minute chaos. Don’t forget to ask your guests about any dietary restrictions they may have before starting.

Gift Shopping (for Digital Photo Frames)

If you haven’t finished your gift shopping yet, now is the time to do it. First, make a list of all the people you want to buy for and a few things they might be interested in receiving. Avoid crowds by shopping online, and make it more thoughtful by getting something that you can personalize. A great way to check both of those boxes is with a Nixplay digital frame. Digital photo frames are thoughtful, easy to use for all ages, and convenient to shop for online.

Wrapping & Prepping Presents (and your Digital Photo Frame)

Once you’ve purchased your gifts, set aside some time for wrapping and prepping. With Nixplay, you can even preload the digital photo frame to make the gift that much more thoughtful and personal. We’ve included some unique ideas for preloading your frame in this blog to get you started if you’re feeling stuck.

Ideas for Preloading A Digital Photo Frame Gift:

Personalized Digital Photo Frame

Start your digital photo frame preloading with the gift of personalized memories. Create a unique digital photo frame that showcases a collection of special moments with the loved one you’ll be giving it to. Whether it’s family vacations, weddings, or the first day of school, you can curate a digital slideshow that tells a beautiful story. Choose a frame that complements your recipient’s decor for a gift that truly resonates.

Family Time Capsule Digital Photo Frame

For many, Christmas means precious time spent with family. Encourage your loved ones to relive their favorite moments by gifting them a family time capsule digital photo frame. Collect photos and videos from previous Christmases, milestones, and celebrations. Create a slideshow that encapsulates the essence of your family’s journey and showcase it in a timeless frame. Watching these cherished memories year after year will become a beloved holiday tradition.

Digital Photo Frame Of Recipes

For the food enthusiasts in your life, consider a digital photo frame turned recipe book. Collect family recipes, heirloom cooking secrets, and seasonal classics. Compile them into a digital cookbook, complete with mouthwatering food photos. With this gift, your loved ones can easily access their favorite recipes and culinary inspiration for the holiday season and beyond.

Pet Lover’s Digital Photo Frame

Pets are cherished members of many families, and their antics make for heartwarming memories. For the pet lovers in your life, gift a digital photo frame that captures the essence of their furry friends. Create a slideshow filled with adorable pet photos, funny moments, and heartwarming interactions. This gift will undoubtedly bring a smile to their face.

Make Travel Arrangements OR Prepare for Guests

If you’ll be traveling for Christmas, be sure to book your flights or accommodations! The sooner the better to make sure you secure availability and affordability. Check your travel itinerary, make a packing list, and ensure your travel documents are up to date.

If you’ll be hosting overnight guests, make their stay comfortable and welcoming. Prepare a guest room with clean linens, extra blankets, and toiletries. Consider creating a festive basket of treats and essentials as a special touch.

Finalize Your Schedule

As Christmas approaches, finalize your schedule to ensure that all your preparations are on track. Revisit your checklist, complete any remaining tasks, and take a moment to appreciate the beauty of your decorated home.

Conclusion

Preparing for Christmas can be a joyful and fulfilling experience if you approach it with careful planning and a loving heart. By setting a budget, creating a checklist, and tackling tasks systematically, you can ensure a smooth and enjoyable holiday season for yourself and your loved ones. Remember, the true magic of Christmas lies in the warmth of your heart and the love you share with those around you. So, embrace the spirit of the season, spread joy, and create lasting memories that will bring you happiness for years to come. And don’t forget to take a few photos and videos to cherish in your digital photo frame!

Nixplay’s Christmas Gift Guide | Nixplay

Christmas Activity Ideas: Celebrate the Season with Your Digital Photo Frame

By Nixplay Team

On November 30, 2023

In Christmas Holiday, Holidays

Christmas is a joyful time for creating cherished memories with loved ones. It’s a time to celebrate family, friends, and even strangers. There are a plethora of activities that go into making this holiday season special, and in this blog we will give you tons of creative ideas and activities to truly get in the spirit. At the center of it all will be your digital photo frame, because the best way to keep these special holiday moments alive well past the Christmas season is by documenting and cherishing them. Whether you’re celebrating with family, friends, or even strangers, there’s something here for everyone to enjoy.

Decorate Your Digital Photo Frame

Before you dive into the holiday activities, you can set the tone for the season by giving your digital photo frame a festive makeover. Create custom digital slideshows with holiday-themed images and messages. Include pictures from past holiday celebrations and family portraits. You can even update this playlist throughout your holiday preparations with snapshots of this year’s activities. Make your frame a part of your holiday decor and use it as a guide to remember the most important parts of this season — cherished time with loved ones.

Scavenger Hunt: Christmas and Digital Photo Frame Edition

Another way to incorporate your digital photo frame into your holiday activities is by organizing a Christmas scavenger hunt. You can display the list of objectives on the digital frame so everyone can easily see the list they need to complete. Get the whole family involved and use your digital photo frame to display photos from the hunt itself. You can even make taking photos a required part of the list, and enjoy the display on your digital photo frame for the entire holiday season.

Virtual Christmas Cards on Your Digital Photo Frame

Sending Christmas cards is still a beloved tradition, but sometimes it’s hard to get the physical copies in the mail. Instead, create a virtual Christmas card for you and your friends to display in a digital photo frame. This way, you can share this virtual card with friends and family near and far, spreading the holiday cheer with a personalized touch.

Plus, if you’re running out of room on the fridge for all the physical cards you’ve gotten and looking for a creative new way to display them, we’ve got you covered! Just take photos or scans of the Christmas cards you receive and put them in a playlist for your digital photo frame. That way, you can keep these treasured cards on display without taking up too much space.

Digital Photo Frame Recipe Swap

During holiday celebrations, food brings everyone together. Host a recipe swap where each person shares their favorite dish and a digital copy of the recipe.You can create a shared playlist for the recipes and display them on your digital photo frame throughout the evening. Plus, you can take photos of the evening and add those to the shared playlist as well. Anyone who has a Nixplay account can add their photos to the mix and enjoy the playlist – and delicious recipes – when they return home.

DIY Ornament Crafting + Digital Photo Frame Displays

Unleash your creativity with a festive DIY ornament crafting session! You can even create an ornament inspiration playlist on your digital photo frame to get the ideas flowing. Include friends and family, and after creating your ornaments, capture their (and their creator’s) beauty with photos. Add the pictures to your digital photo frame as a lasting memory of the day (and share the playlist with loved ones who have a frame as well)!

Tree Decorating Contest (Make a Digital Photo Frame Playlist)

Compete with your friends or family in a Christmas tree decorating contest. After the trees are decorated, capture their magic with photos and display the images on your digital photo frame for everyone to admire. You could even create a shared playlist for the occasion, so everyone can upload and update photos of their tree for everyone to see. You could even include the judgment criteria in the playlist and hold a vote after everyone is finished decorating. Decide on a prize for the winner — maybe a digital photo frame of their own!

The magic of Christmas lies in the moments we create with our loved ones. With the help of a digital photo frame, you can make this holiday season even more special. From decorating your frame to enjoying festive activities, the possibilities are endless. Embrace the spirit of Christmas by sharing laughter, joy, and precious memories that you can revisit year after year. So, fire up your digital photo frame, get into the holiday spirit, and make this Christmas unforgettable.

Staying Connected During a Coronavirus Christmas

By Nixplay Team

On December 9, 2020

In Holidays, Special Moments

With Christmas fast approaching, many of us are starting to think about how to celebrate the holiday season amid a global pandemic. ‘Tis the season for binge-watching holiday movies, attending magical light displays and exchanging cards and gifts with your loved ones, but what if you’re spending Christmas alone this year? Or with less family than usual? Things may not seem so merry and bright, but it’s important to remember that alone doesn’t necessarily mean lonely. As the past year has shown us, there are now more ways than ever to stay connected, and Christmas doesn’t have to be any different.

How to Celebrate a Coronavirus Christmas in 2020

Wondering how to celebrate the holiday season in the “new normal”? From virtual movie nights to soaking up some self-care, we’ve compiled our top tips for being home and alone for Christmas this year.

Virtual Movie Nights

Settling down to a classic Christmas movie is one of the biggest highlights of the festive period, and there’s no reason why you can’t still enjoy watching them with family and friends this year. Many popular streaming services now offer the option to watch movies or TV shows as a “party”, meaning that members of your group can watch along at the same time. Want to take your viewing experience to the next level? Why not set up a group chat on your preferred messaging app to talk as you watch? Pour yourself a glass of mulled wine, put on your favorite Christmas pj’s and you’re ready to go!

Christmas Care Packages

Being alone at Christmas doesn’t mean that swapping gifts has to stop, but why not make it a little more personal this year? If you know someone who is going to be home and alone for Christmas, sending a care package can show them how much you care, while also being a great alternative to the usual chocolate and bath-sets. Your package might include treasured mementos of times spent together, some of their favorite foods or even a gift card for their favorite place to shop.

Family Photos

Just because your family live in another part of the country, or even on the other side of the world, it doesn’t mean that you can’t keep them close. It’s understandable to feel down about not being able to spend the holiday season with your loved ones, but if you’re looking for the next best thing, check out our Nixplay smart photo frames. That way, you and your family can spend the day together, virtually. No matter where you are, simply send snaps of your day right through to the frame to bring you all together.

Taking Time to Talk

While we’ve all been caught up with the power of Zoom over these last few months, many of us have forgotten the simple act of picking up the phone. It’s natural to feel a range of emotions during the festive period and sharing how you’re feeling with other people can help to lift spirits and keep you connected. Some people will find it hard to know how to cope alone at Christmas, but you can provide a lot of comfort by listening with compassion and understanding.

Soak in Some Self-Care

Pandemic or no pandemic, many of us lead busy lives, and the holiday season is the perfect time to take a step back and give yourself some much-needed pampering. We all know how stressful big family get-togethers can be, and this is the perfect way to start the new year feeling completely refreshed. So, stock up on your favorite candles, treat yourself to some warm knitted socks and take some time to unwind!

So there we have it, our top tips for staying connected during a Coronavirus Christmas! If you’re looking for a way to stay close to family and friends this year, why not pick up a Nixplay Wi-Fi frame? As the bestselling digital photo frame in the US, it will allow you to share and display your photos easily, instantly and privately, making it easy for you and your family to stay connected during the holiday season. Browse the collection online and order yours in time for the festive period today.

Even more fun & frugal family activities

Our friends over at MoneyCrashers.com have even more grand ideas to get you through the Season. Take a look.

How are you celebrating Turkey Day? We’ve got a play-by-play of the most popular Thanksgiving traditions for you to tick off your list. Learn more.

Thanksgiving Traditions Through The Years

By Nixplay Team

On November 18, 2020

In Digital Photo Frame, Holidays, Thanks Giving

In some way or another, American families have been celebrating Thanksgiving since the 1600s. And now, families come together to celebrate Turkey Day. Picture this: it’s the fourth Thursday of November. The bird is roasting in the oven, the mashed potatoes are creamy, and the cranberry sauce is bitterly sweet. The table is set for a feast and it’s time for the Thanksgiving traditions to get underway!

But a successful Thanksgiving Day takes lots of planning – which is why we’ve pulled together a list of the Thanksgiving family traditions that you won’t want to forget.

Timeless Thanksgiving traditions

Thanksgiving Day has been around for centuries. It started out as a harvest festival, and to this day the center of Thanksgiving traditions remains to be the dinner feast. But the popular national holiday hasn’t always been the way that it is now. The earliest Thanksgiving traditions were much longer than those of the modern day, and celebrations often lasted multiple days. And while the first Thanksgiving likely featured a cooked bird of some sort (and probably more than one), it’s unknown whether one of these was turkey. But what do the Thanksgiving traditions look like now? Find out below.

Fun Thanksgiving traditions for families

Unlike other traditional holidays, like Fourth of July and New Year’s Eve when people opt to head out to celebrate, Thanksgiving is typically spent at home with family and friends. But what are the Thanksgiving Day traditions that people use to celebrate? From family Thanksgiving games, to foodie feasts and Thanksgiving photos, hosts have a lot on their plate before it comes to actually filling the plates with food. And every family is different, of course, but here are some of the common fun Thanksgiving traditions to follow.

People Playing Family Thanksgiving Games

Travel

Thanksgiving is one of the busiest travel days of the year, because the most important Thanksgiving tradition is spending time with family and friends. And with many families being separated across the country, lots of people travel to spend the holiday period with their loved ones – be that by car, train or plane.

Thanksgiving dinner

Possibly the most obvious of the Thanksgiving traditions is the feast – a great section of foods and dishes that are indigenous to the Americas. Combining turkey with potatoes (typically mashed), stuffing, corn, yams, green beans, cranberry sauce and not forgetting the all-important pumpkin pie.

The turkey pardon

Every year, the president of the United States is gifted two live turkeys. One of the most well-known Thanksgiving Day traditions is “pardoning” these turkeys in a White House ceremony so that they can live on a farm.

The wishbone

A big part of the turkey Thanksgiving tradition is the wishbone. Two people receive the honor of grabbing a side of the wishbone and breaking it apart while making a wish – and whoever breaks off the larger part gets their wish!

The parade

The annual Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York is the world’s largest parade – complete with giant character balloons, floats, street performers and the man himself, Santa Claus! Whether you’re watching street-side or from the comfort of your own home, it’s one that you definitely won’t want to miss.

Giving thanks and helping others

It’s in the name – but Thanksgiving is a time to be thankful for what you have. Which is why it’s a great time to help out those who aren’t quite as lucky. Some people choose to spend their days volunteering at homeless shelters or food banks, while others donate. Many families also like to say a few Thanksgiving prayers, poems or blessings to give thanks.

Thanksgiving photos

To get into the holiday spirit, many people opt to take Thanksgiving photos of the family and feast to commemorate the occasion. From taking group photos and behind-the-scenes shots of the Thanksgiving prep, to snaps of the festive table and casual candid’s, Thanksgiving photos are a great way to document the holiday. They’re also the perfect Thanksgiving tradition for families who are separated and can’t travel. If you have a family member or friend who can’t be with you this year, sharing snaps of your day is a great way to make them feel a part of the celebrations.

Wishing you were spending the holiday with your loved ones, but can’t? If you’re looking for the next best thing, why not pick up a Nixplay smart photo frame? That way, you and your family can spend the day together, virtually. No matter where you are, simply send live snaps of your day right through to their frame and it’ll bring you all together. And as the bestselling digital photo frame in the US, the Nixplay Wi-Fi frame allows you to share and display your photos easily, instantly, and privately – making it easy for families to stay close during the holiday season. Browse the collection online and order yours ahead of the Thanksgiving period today.

Happy Thanksgiving!

How To Celebrate Veterans Day In 2020

By Alice Murray

On November 11, 2020

In Digital Photo Frame, Holidays, Special Moments, Veteran's Day

Following the end of World War I, Veterans Day was marked as a national holiday, dedicated to all of those who served in the war. Since then, Veterans Day celebrations have been in full swing, in honor of patriotism, the love of the country and the sacrifices that were made.

Each year, Veterans Day celebrations involve large parades and community events, as well as parties and smaller, personal touches. But in 2020, things might look a little different. While the Veterans Day parade may not be happening this year, it doesn’t mean the celebrations are put to a halt. There are plenty of Veterans Day celebration ideas that don’t involve large groups of people, or even leaving your home. From Veterans Day photos to patriotic touches, find out how to celebrate Veterans Day in 2020 below.

Alternative Veterans Day Celebrations

Wondering how to celebrate Veterans Day in the “new normal”? Make the most of the occasion and check out our Veterans Day celebration ideas for 2020 below.

Home Gatherings

Missing the traditional Veterans Day celebrations? As long as you’re following the official guidelines, an at-home celebration with your loved ones will do the trick. Decorate the house with stars and stripes, bake a special cake and play some music – but most of all, make sure you’re safe.

Gift Giving

It’s no secret that sending a thoughtful gift is a great way to give thanks, whether it’s a box of candy or a digital photo frame. There are army keepsakes, hat pins and other treasured pieces that are designed for veterans to show off their army pride.

Donating

Want to give a little something back to veterans? There are a huge number of organizations to make donations to, focusing on everything from assistance for veterans to specific charities targeted to Special Forces soldiers. So while donations can be made all year round, this is one of the very special Veterans Day celebration ideas.

Flying the Flag

Parades might be off the cards, but you can still show up by flying the flag. Veterans Day celebrations just wouldn’t be the same without it – but make sure you’re observing the proper rules. Check out Military.com’s US flag code for clarification. Better yet, get the whole neighborhood involved and adorn the streets with stars and stripes.

Neighborhood Posters

Arrange with your neighbors to adorn your streets with homemade posters – the perfect way to get your kids involved with the Veterans Day celebrations. An activity that can be completed in the comfort of your own homes, display your poster in your front window and turn it into a friendly neighborhood competition. You could even contact the local papers and invite them to photograph the winning entries.

Writing to a Veteran

What better way to show them you’re thinking of them? Get in touch with a veteran and organize for you and your new pen pal to share your stories and stay in touch throughout the year. You’ll learn a lot from their experiences, and they can learn from you, too. Or, send a few one-off letters without the commitment, because you never know how much your words could brighten someone’s day.

Family Photoshoots

Got a veteran in your family? Whether they’re long-distance or down the road, set up a family photoshoot to share with them on this special occasion. Sending a distant loved one a family photo is a great way to show them that you’re thinking of them. And as long as you can keep six feet between you, get them involved in the shoot! So take some happy Veterans Day photos and share them with the family to spread the joy and celebrations.

The best way to share your Veterans Day photos with your loved ones? Near or far, your family can stay close with a smart photo frame from Nixplay – the ideal gift for every family member. Helping you see the bigger picture, the Nixplay App means you can share your favorite memories straight from your phone to your smart frame.

And that’s how to celebrate Veterans Day in 2020. Check out the New York City Veterans Day plans for this year here – including processions and virtual broadcasts.

Make this Veterans Day one to remember with Nixplay, even if it’s a year you want to forget.