The Microsoft desktop apps aren’t just for use in the workplace. In fact, you can use them at home to create personalized Christmas paraphernalia, keep yourself organized, and stay in touch with loved ones during the festive period.

I recently wrote aboutdesigning and printing your own Christmas Cards on Microsoft Word, and here are a few more ways you can make the most of the Microsoft suite this festive period.

The Microsoft Word desktop app Welcome screen, with ‘New’ selected, and ‘Gift tags’ typed into the template search.

Design Gift Tags (Microsoft Word)

We’ve all been there—despite thinking you’ve planned for Christmas meticulously, you’ve run out of gift tags. Well, Microsoft Word has you covered! Not only can you create an endless supply of gift tags from your computer, but you can make them more personal than the generic ones you buy from the shop.

Open Microsoft Word, click “New,” and scroll to the search bar. If you see it, select the “Office” tab before you type anything. Then, in the search bar, typeGift tags, and press Enter.

A gift tag template in Microsoft Word.

At the time of writing, Microsoft Word only offers one gift tag template, but that’s fine—this template will do the trick, as it contains lots of designs within the one template. If you see others (lucky you!), go for the one that looks the most Christmassy. Whichever one you choose, double-click it to get started.

The template that loads already has placeholder text for you to overwrite. You can see that they’re placeholders by selecting one of the words and seeing it turn gray. It’s important you don’t delete these, as when used correctly, the text you add to the placeholders in the top-left design will be duplicated in the remaining designs on the page.

An Excel sheet containing a list of names and addresses.

When you add text to a placeholder, the remaining gift tags will update only once you’ve clicked away from that placeholder. They don’t update as you type.

By default, the template assumes you want to add a name and address. However, in my case, I want to tape my gift tags to presents I will deliver by hand, so I’ve used the four lines of placeholder text to create a personalized message instead. After filling in one placeholder line, I selected the next one and filled that in, and so on.

A Word document with the Mailings tab opened, the Start Mail Merge drop-down expanded, and Labels selected.

When you’re done, press Ctrl+P, select the correct printer, make sure you’re set to print one-sided and in color, and click Print!

Produce Postage Labels (Microsoft Excel and Word)

The best way to create postage labels for mailing your gifts is throughMicrosoft Word’s mail merging tool. This means adding the details to an Excel sheet, and then pulling them across to Microsoft Word.

Open Excel, and create your list of names and addresses, making sure to insert column names along the top row and not leave any blank cells in the data.

Word’s Label Options dialog box, with 30 Per Page selected, and OK being clicked.

When you’re done, save and close the Excel workbook, and open a new, blank Microsoft Word document. There, click “Mailings,” then “Start Mail Merge,” and choose “Labels.”

Now, choose an appropriate label size (for example, if you’ve put label paper in your printer, select the type that matches the labels' measurements). In my example, I’ve chosen a 30-page label layout. Then, click “OK.”

Word’s Select Recipients button, with Use An Existing List selected.

The next step is to import the address list you created in Excel. To do this, with the Mailings tab still open, click Select Recipients > Use An Existing List.

If you already have a contact list in Microsoft Outlook, check “Select From Outlook Contacts” instead, and follow the steps to import that list.

The Select Table dialog box in Word, which enables the importing of an Excel table in mail merge.

Use the Select Data Source window that opens to locate your Excel file, and click “Open.” In the Select Table dialog box, check the checkbox that tells Word you’ve used headings in your Excel table, and then click “OK.”

Now, with your cursor on the first line of your first label, click “Insert Merge Field,” choose the detail to sit on the first line, and press Enter.

Word’s Insert Merge Field drop-down, with the different fields having been added to the Word document.

Turning on the Show/Hide (¶) optionin the Home tab will help you see the layout and positioning of the text you’re adding to your labels.

When you have inserted all merge fields, click “Update Labels.” This will apply the merge fields you just added to each of the labels in your document.

The Update Labels button in Microsoft Word.

Now, click “Preview Results” to check you’re happy with how your labels look.

To complete the process, click Finish And Merge > Print Documents.

A Word document containing address labels, previewed by clicking the Preview Results button.

Then, ensure “All” is selected, and click “OK” to launch your print dialog box, where you can adjust your settings as necessary and click “Print.”

Design Festive Social Media Posts (Microsoft Designer)

Is your business open as usual over Christmas? If so, use Microsoft Designer to create a professional social media post and let everyone know! Go to theMicrosoft Designer website(you can also use theDesigner desktop appif you wish), and typeSocialinto the search bar on the homepage. When “Social Posts” appears as a suggestion, select it.

Then, in the Description field, use plain English to describe what you want the post to contain. Also, use the Images section to upload photos, and click “Size” to determine whether you want to create a square or portrait Instagram post, or a landscape Facebook ad. When you’re ready, click “Generate.”

When you find a design that works for you, click it to show the Download and Edit buttons. If you’re happy with exactly what the AI tool offers, download it. On the other hand, to change the text or design, click “Edit,” and download it when you’re done.

Open Microsoft Word, click “New,” and scroll to the search bar. Then, type, and press Enter.

This template has four pages, which is great for choosing the layouts that work for you if you only need one or two pages. Click any of the text placeholders to type there, or right-click any of the images and hover over “Change Picture” to select an image from another destination.

Manage Your Budget (Microsoft Excel)

As well as using Microsoft 365 to design things at Christmas, you’re able to also use it to keep yourself organized. More specifically, with the inevitable emptying of one’s purse that comes with the festive season, it’s important to keep on top of your budget using an Excel spreadsheet.

Whether youcreate a personalized budget spreadsheet from scratchusing functions such as SUM, SUMIF, MIN, MAX, COUNT, DAYS, NETWORKDAYS, and TODAY, oruse one of Microsoft Excel’s budgeting templates, the program can help you balance the bucks.

Here’s an example of a budget in a spreadsheet.

I used checkboxes in column C to mark an item as purchased, and then in column D, I usedan IF formulato determine how much I still need to spend based on whether the corresponding checkbox is checked. This is what I typed in cell D2, beforeusing the fill handleto apply the formula to the other cells in column D:

In column G, after typing my budget in cell G1, I usedthe SUM functionto work out the total cost, how much I’ve spent so far, the total I have left to spend, and whether I’ll have any money left at the end of the holidays.

Other Ways to Use Microsoft 365 This Christmas

The ideas above are just a handful of the ways you can use Microsoft 365 this festive season. Here are some others you can try:

Whichever apps you decide to use, the key is to be creative and have fun!

While using Microsoft’s apps at home to help you along your way this Christmas, it’s also important toturn off notifications in any work-related Microsoft appsso that you can fully switch off and give yourself the break you need.