Christmas is a time to wrap up warm, put up your tree, and await the arrival of Santa Claus. To help get you into the festive spirit, we've rounded up a whole host of ways to customize your Windows 10 or Windows 11 computer for the holidays.

Your options include snow falling down your desktop, a snow globe that counts until the big day, Christmas sound effects, and much more. Let's get your Windows 10/11 system in the holiday spirit.

1. Change Your Wallpaper

One of the easiest ways to get some Christmas cheer on your desktop is by changing your wallpaper.

If you're after some Christmas wallpapers, check out websites like Wallpaper Stock, HD Wallpapers, and Alpha Coders. Once you've found the perfect image, right-click it and save it to your system.

christmas wallpapers

Then, to apply the wallpaper:

  1. Press Windows key + I to open Settings.
  2. Navigate to Personalization > Background.
  3. Use the Background dropdown (Windows 10) or Personalize your background dropdown (Windows 11) and select Picture. Alternatively, select Slideshow if you want to rotate between a selection of images.
  4. Click Browse (Windows 10) or Browse photos (Windows 11) to locate the image or slideshow folder on your computer.

2. Make Your Screen Snow

Depending on where you are in the world, snow at Christmas might be impossible or a rarity. As a consolation, make your desktop snow using a small executable called Desktop Christmas.

snow falling on desktop

Download the ZIP, extract it, and open the program inside. Your screen will automatically fill with the magic of falling snow. To alter the program's settings, right-click the snowflake icon in the taskbar tray.

You can adjust the Speed of snowflakes, choose to Start when I start Windows, and go to Options > Transparent to change the transparency of the snow. If you only want the snow to appear on your desktop, rather than over every window, go to Options and uncheck Always On Top.

3. Theme With Christmas Colors

Another simple tweak is to change the color scheme of your system. To get started, press Windows key + I to open Settings and go to Personalization > Colors.

windows 11 colors setting

It's the season, so beneath Windows colors pick a festive red or green. If none of these options suit, click Custom color (Windows 10) or View colors (Windows 11).

Once done, enable the following options to apply the color to more places:

  • Windows 10: Check Start, taskbar, and action center and Title bars and window borders.
  • Windows 11: Toggle Show accent color on Start and taskbar and Show accent color on title bars and windows borders.

4. Countdown to Christmas With a Desktop Widget

A lot of the excitement for Christmas lies in the build-up, counting down until the big day. You shouldn't skip on a chocolate advent calendar, but why not have a countdown on your computer too?

desktop snowglobe

Get Xmas offers different desktop snow globes that sync to your system clock and display the number of days left until December 25. These include Live Christmas Globe, Snowman Snow Globe, and Christmas Globe. Have a browse and see which design you like best.

Once you've decided, download the ZIP, extract it, and launch the program. Right-click the snow globe to adjust its settings, like whether it launches automatically and if it should always remain on top of other windows. It also lets you change the date to January 1 (New Year) and January 7 (Orthodox Christmas).

5. Make Your Cursor Snow

If you want your cursor to sprinkle snow from its trail as you move it, you need a utility called Cursor Snowflakes. Head to the page, download the ZIP, and extract it.

snow falling from cursor

Open the EXE within and snow begins to fall from your cursor. To customize it, right-click the snowflake icon in your taskbar tray.

Here, you're able to alter the Speed of snowflakes, adjust the transparency via Options > Transparent, and make the snow fall no matter what window you have open with Options > Always On Top. Finally, check Start when I start Windows to avoid opening the application each time you sign in.

6. Apply Some Christmas Sounds

Christmas songs get played too early in the year, but don't let that stop you setting some festive sounds for your computer. You can change the sounds for your calendar reminders, system notifications, and more. Get away from those default Windows noises and enjoy some jingle bells!

  1. Press Windows key + I to open Settings.
  2. Click System > Sound.
  3. On Windows 10, beneath the Related Settings heading, click Sound Control Panel. On Windows 11, beneath the Advanced heading, click More sound settings.
  4. Switch to the Sounds tab. Here you can make your changes.
  5. Select the Program Event you want to change, then press Browse.
  6. Choose the WAV file (and it must be in that format) and press Open.
  7. Finally, click OK to confirm.
windows sound control panel

If you're on the hunt for some Christmas sounds to download, check out Freesound, Free-Loops, and Sound Bible.

7. Turn the Taskbar Festive

This one is a little garish, but when else can you embrace the cheese if not Christmas? An application called Christmas Taskbar makes snow and colored circles float on your taskbar.

Download the ZIP, extract it, and open the EXE to kit your taskbar with the festivities. A snowflake icon appears in your taskbar tray; right-click it to start adjusting the settings.

christmas taskbar windows 11

Uncheck Animation if you don't want the colored circles, check Start when I start Windows if you want the application to run automatically when you sign in, adjust the Speed of snowflakes, and set transparency via Options > Transparent.

If you change the size or position of your taskbar, this can cause display issues with Christmas Taskbar. If this happens, right-click the snowflake icon, click Exit, and relaunch the application.

8. Apply a Christmas Screensaver

Screensavers originally prevented screen burn, but now they exist to have something on your monitor while you're not using the computer. Perfect for Christmas customization!

Screensavers Planet has a great selection of mostly free festive screensavers.

screensavers planet christmas

Browse the site for something that takes your fancy, then download and run the executable. Follow the installation wizard; at the end you'll be taken to Windows' screensaver settings. Here, use the Screen saver dropdown to select your download (if it isn't already selected) and adjust the Wait time to set how much inactivity should pass before the screensaver comes on.

To get back to this settings window at a later date, press Windows key + I and go to Personalization > Lock screen > Screen saver settings (Windows 10) or Screen saver (Windows 11).

'Tis the Season to Be Jolly

You can never have too much Christmas spirit, so hopefully this fun list of Windows 10 and Windows 11 customization options has proved useful for you. Now all you need to do is pop on your Santa hat and you're good to go!

Once your computer is suitably festive, don't forget to send out your Christmas cards. You could even try making your own for that personalized touch.