This Holiday Season, Streamline The Festivities With Microsoft Edge

To put it mildly, everything has felt extremely ... different this year. From how we spend our work and leisure time to how we get our groceries and watch movies, everything has been subject to a substantial and, at times, cataclysmic shift. Our world is becoming increasingly remote, with newer terms like “contactless delivery,” “remote learning,” and “touchless payment” dominating the year’s lexicon.

As for the holidays, yes, they will be different too. But while holiday traditions might have to adapt to a “new normal,” this doesn’t mean they can't be as festive as ever, perhaps even streamlined for ease and convenience through modern digital tools.

To help our readers in their holiday party planning, shopping, and even philanthropy, BDG Studios put together this handy cheat sheet for adding convenience, savings, and even a dose of goodwill to the festivities all through the power of Microsoft Edge.

Optimize Shopping

Shopping has never been easier with Microsoft Edge and Bing. Stash notes and links to the greatest gifts for the loved ones on your list, all while Price Comparison in Microsoft Edge helps to find you the best deals for what you are looking for. When searching, Microsoft Edge allows you to easily save your frequent searches alongside links, images, and notes so you can pull up the latest news and info related to each search. And sharing has never been easier, as Edge lets you sync your collections with Pinterest to discover and save ideas across apps and devices, making your season even brighter.

Let Microsoft Edge and Bing’s pre-made features take the guesswork out of your hunt for the perfect gift. By using their browse and discover tab, you can peruse curated categories like home décor, clothing, tech, and jewelry on the Microsoft Bing shopping hub. Shopping in Microsoft Edge even alerts you to relevant coupons on sites you're already browsing and autofills discount codes at checkout. You can even earn some “extra jingle,” as Microsoft Edge helps you to discover rebates and score cashback offers with a simple sign-in to Microsoft Rewards.

Stay Organized

For some, the holidays can feel like a full-time job, between keeping track of everyone’s gift lists and sizes while simultaneously planning meals, trying to find the best deals, and maybe even discovering new gift ideas in the process. With tools like Microsoft Edge and Bing, the stress of list-making is virtually nonexistent, as Microsoft Edge helps you to organize your lists, find the perfect gifts, and discover coupons, rebates, and the best prices all from the same place. By using Collections in Microsoft Edge, you can seamlessly strategize gathering images, links, notes as well as wish lists, to-do lists, and recipes all in one easy to use location to thoughtfully plan your family’s holiday experiences. You can even share and send list details to friends and family so you can all celebrate together, whether near or far.

Give Back

Speaking of “extra jingle,” this year’s hardships have made it more apparent than ever who in our lives deserves a bit more holiday cheer. By using Give with Bing, it has never been easier to support your favorite nonprofit organizations. Just enroll in Microsoft Rewards and start using Bing to convert points earned from your searches and purchases into donations that do good for people who have helped you get through the year. Microsoft Edge lets you choose from over a million nonprofits to support with your points. Simply stay signed on while you shop, start earning, and let the giving begin.

Simultaneously, you can also support some of the restaurants and delivery people who helped to keep you fed and happy all year long. Microsoft Edge helps you go all-out with takeout, letting you create collections of items from local restaurants to build your menu, support the community and give yourself a much-needed break in the kitchen.

Nix The Naughty

While the holidays are filled with cheer for many, they also signal the busiest time of year for cyber criminals. Using a secure browser like Microsoft Edge can help keep malware and phishing attacks at bay by helping you control how your data is stored and shared, as well as customizable options for clearing your history. InPrivate Search in Microsoft Edge further streamlines privacy to keep search activity and holiday surprises safe from prying eyes – whether criminal or curious gift recipients – by removing data from your session every time you close your browser.

Microsoft Edge makes it easy to manage what kind of data can be collected about how you browse, offering three levels of tracking prevention including Basic (which blocks some trackers while still allowing personalized content and ads), Balanced (which keeps out trackers from unvisited sites), and Strict (which prevents the most trackers but limits functionality on some sites). Personalized settings allow exceptions for trusted domains, while built-in Microsoft Defender SmartScreen fends off malicious sites and downloads from your very first search.

The holidays have never been easier thanks to Microsoft Edge with Bing. Check out Microsoft Edge today to ensure that this holiday season is anything but “normal.”

This post is sponsored by Microsoft.