New Devices at Christmas — Set Them Up the Easy Way

There’s a special kind of joy in unwrapping a new phone, tablet, or laptop… followed by the “now what?” moment. A calm setup turns that box of excitement into something that just works.

Start slow. Plug new devices in and let them charge while you enjoy the morning. When you’re ready, walk through the setup screens without rushing. If you’re moving from an older device, say yes when it offers to transfer your stuff. These days it’s surprisingly smooth — photos, messages, apps, even your wallpaper usually come along for the ride.

When it asks how you want to sign in, choose the easy options: fingerprint, Face ID, or Windows Hello. Those aren’t gimmicks; they’re the best way to log in without remembering anything. If you already use a password manager, sign into it right after setup so it can fill in your logins. And if a site offers passkeys, go ahead and turn that on — approving with your face or fingerprint is the future of “no-password” passwords.

Take two minutes to make the device feel like yours. Bump the text size up a notch if your eyes prefer it. Move your most-used apps to the front (email, photos, video calling). On a TV or streaming stick, sign into the services you actually watch and hide the ones you don’t; fewer tiles means less hunting later.

Do your future self a favor: open your technology notebook and jot down the basics — “iPad 10th Gen, Christmas 2025,” which Apple/Google account it’s using, and any little gotchas you’ll forget in a month (“Netflix signed in with janedoe@…,” “Ring app on page 2”). The next time the TV asks for a password, you won’t be digging through emails.

If you’d rather unwrap and enjoy while someone else handles the nuts and bolts, I offer a simple post-holiday Device Setup & Tune-Up. We’ll get everything updated, secure, and organized so it just works — and you can get back to the hot cocoa.