Electronics

[gardenman]

If you're giving a game or gaming console (X-Box One, Playstation 4, Nintendo Switch) or both to someone for the holidays, it's smart to set it up sometime before the gift wrapping to update the software. Modern consoles all typically need updating before they can be used the first time and even games often need substantial updates before they're playable. Unless you want to sit around and watch anxious gamers pacing the floor for quite a while, setting up the console and installing/updating the games beforehand is wise. Also the servers handling the updates get a tad busy on Christmas morning, so if you can do it in advance, it's smarter.

By doing it in advance, you can have the gamer in your life up and running almost as soon as they unwrap the present. To update a console all you typically need do is plug it in, connect it to an HDTV using an HDMI cable and then connect it to your WiFi and the console will download the necessary updates. Inserting the game discs or cartridges (for a Nintendo Switch for example) will allow the games to do whatever updating they need to do. (I recently bought the "Legend Of Zelda, The Breath fo the Wild" for my Wii U and the game itself took almost thirty minutes to update before it could be played, and that's over a fast 100 mbps Internet connection.) 

Sometimes the updates for a console can take an hour or more and then if each game needs an update besides, you could have some very frustrated gamers desperately waiting for an overworked server to finally send them the data they need.

Charging the wireless controllers is also a good investment in time a few days to a week ahead of the holiday. With the console and games updated, and fully charged cotrollers ready to go, your gamer can be up and running in minutes rather than hours with little to no downtime. It's a smallish thing to do, but it can save you a lot of frustration Christmas morning, or any other holiday for that matter.

[Still Raining]

All of the OP is too true.  The grands got one last Christmas and it took forever.

The extended family also coordinated gifting games so each child had some and none of the titles were the same. 

[Mz iMac]

Also if necessary, supply a bunch of batteries.  It's no fun running around on Xmas day looking for a 7-11 and/or WaWa that may or maynot be open.