This is a magical time of year, and if you got your loved ones a phone, a tablet, or a video game console, I hope I caught you before you wrapped it and placed it under the tree because there are three things you are going to want to do to save your Christmas morning.

First, make sure the device is charged!

Imagine it is Christmas morning and you get a Nintendo Switch and thinking you are going to play some fun games only to discover that you get to plug it in and charge it for hours.

That’s no fun. Charge the devices beforehand!

Second, and this is even more important to do before Christmas morning, is to make sure you’ve updated any operating system, firmware, or software updates before Christmas Day.

You might think that it shouldn’t be a problem to wait, that these updates sometimes only take minutes, right?

Wrong!

It’s Christmas morning! EVERYONE is trying to update their brand new devices! All at once!

The Internet pipes will be clogged, servers will be overloaded, and you’ll wish you had thought to update these devices beforehand.

Third, and this goes hand in hand with the previous tip, is to find some quality software to put onto the device now.

Generally these devices aren’t enjoyable by themselves. It’s the apps and software that makes them fun, so it makes sense to find some to pre-install before there is a rush to the app stores, right?

Again, no one wants to sit there with their cool new game console or phone and find out that they can’t download anything because everyone is using up all the Internet!

You’ll want your loved ones playing happily with their new devices instead of feeling frustrated, right?

So get some apps now! May I suggest my game Toy Factory Fixer? It’s fun for the whole family, it doesn’t feature any ads, it doesn’t do any data tracking or other invasions of privacy, and it is free.

I hope these three tips got to you in time and that your Christmas morning will be full of curiosity and wonder and not frustration and disappointment.