An Xbox or a Playstation is a pretty sweet gift, and if you’re planning on giving one for Christmas, chances are, the recipient will want to open it up and play right away. To make this doable, download any necessary software and updates before wrapping the console.


Redditor wellingtonbear suggests this over at Reddit:

Xbox Live and Playstation Network notoriously slow to a crawl and sometimes go down completely on Christmas from thousands of newly connected consoles all trying to download at once. Not only will system updates be unavailable or painfully slow, but most pack-in games are vouchers for 30GB+ downloads that already take hours to complete, and will take all day if not longer to download on Christmas Day...Added bonus is you’ll make sure the console is in working order ahead of time so if you’re unlucky enough to get a defective console there is time to exchange it before the holiday.


It’s kind of along the same lines of making sure you pack batteries with any electronic gifts. It’s just a nice thing to do so the gift is ready to enjoy.

Gifting a new console for Christmas? | Reddit