Decorate the Christmas tree on the desktop
A Christmas without a decorated tree is not a real Christmas, it is well known. The first thing to do is, therefore, to download a free software that reproduces one on the computer desktop. You ask me what are the programs that allow you to do this? Well, you will find listed below what I believe to be the best in the category. Have a good download and have fun!
Usando FREE Christmas Tree
If you want to place a virtual Christmas tree on your desktop, I strongly suggest you turn to FREE Christmas Tree. It is a nice executable file at no cost and working on all versions of Windows that allows you to view a Christmas tree on the PC screen complete with a countdown to December 25th in tow and themed music that is proposed at regular intervals .
To download it immediately on your computer, connected to the relevant download page and presses the button DOWNLOAD present on the same. When the download is complete, the executable file obtained and click on Si dopodiché premium pulsating Next per quattro volte consecutive, his install come on Finish, to finish the installation process.
In a few moments you will see a beautiful Christmas tree appear on your virtual desk. Below you will find the countdown that tells us how many days before Christmas, as anticipated.
To change the settings of FREE Christmas Tree instead, just right-click on it and choose one of the items in the drop-down menu that appears: Show / Hide to hide or make the tree reappear, Skins to change its appearance, Sounds to choose the sounds and their cadence, Due Date to set the countdown date (for example New Year instead of Christmas) and finally Settings for the other settings (for example, you can choose whether to display the Christmas tree automatically when Windows starts, whether to keep it always on top, etc.).
If, on the other hand, what you want to do is move the Christmas tree to a different point on the desktop than where it is at the moment, left click on it and, continuing to hold down, position it where you deem most appropriate.
Using Get Xmas Christmas Tree
As an alternative to the above resource, you can download one of the Christmas trees you find on the website of Get Xmas. There are so many, all free and usable on any version of Windows! Identify what you like the most and click the relevant button download for free to immediately download it to your PC.
What you will get is a ZIP archive that you can extract to any location on your computer. Inside you will find a file in .exe format to start by double clicking on it. Then press on Run in the on-screen window and you will immediately see a Christmas tree appear on your PC desktop.
To adjust the display settings, animations and to make various other adjustments, right-click on them and press the items attached to the menu that opens (eg: you can put the check mark next to the item Ontop to keep the tree always in the foreground, up Startups to make it start automatically with Windows, you can adjust its transparency level, etc.). If you want to make the tree disappear from the desktop, select the item Exit, always attached to the menu.
If what you want to do is move the Christmas tree to a different point from where it was automatically placed, left click on it and, continuing to hold, drag it to the desired point and “release the grip”.
If you want, you can also download eight different Christmas trees at the same time by clicking on the item All Desktop trees in single file which you find on the left side of the Get Xmas website, under the red writing Download.
When the download is complete, extract the compressed archive obtained in any location on your computer, then go to the folder trees that was contained within it and starts all the files in .exe format that you find in it to immediately see the eight different virtual Christmas trees appear on your virtual desk. Beautiful, is not it?
Change system sounds to Christmas sounds
I don't know about you, but I find Windows startup and shutdown sounds un-Christmas. How about changing those too? Yup? Optimal! Then follow the instructions on what to do that you find right below. It's very simple.
Where to find them
To find some beautiful Christmas sounds with which to replace those of your PC, I strongly suggest you turn to the website Freesound. By connecting to the latter and performing a keyword search (Christmas) you can in fact find many fantastic sounds at no cost and in various audio formats that are particularly suitable for the purpose in question.
To listen to the ones you think you might like, first click on the relevant title and then press the button Play. To download it instead, click on the button Login for download, register for free on the site and then click on the appropriate button. Once the download is complete, if you have not changed the default settings of the web browser you will find the sounds in the folder Download of Windows.
How to edit them
At this point, surely you are wondering if it is not the case to "cut out" just a small piece of these songs to avoid having to hear them entirely every time the PC is turned on and / or closed. A fast, practical and above all free solution is constituted by Audacity (if you remember correctly, I told you about it in depth in my guide dedicated to this software), which can allow you to modify your audio files with just a handful of clicks.
To use Audacity, all you have to do is download it from this web page by clicking on the button Download and install it by starting the .exe file obtained and following the quick wizard proposed on the screen.
In the main window of the program that you will later see appear on the desktop, click on the item apri on the menu Fillet and select, by double-clicking on it, the audio file you want to cut out and use as the Windows startup or shutdown sound.
Once the audio file has been loaded into the program, select the part you want to extrapolate from the graph and save it in .WAV, selecting the item Export selection as wav from the menu Fillet.
How to apply them
After you get the Windows startup and shutdown sounds you want in .WAV format (the only usable format), you need to set them to Windows. To do this, follow the instructions on what to do below. The procedure varies slightly depending on the version of Windows being used.
- If you are using Windows XP - Recalls Control Panel from Start menuclick sulla voce Sounds, voice and audio devices in the window that opens and then click on Change the sound combinations. Select the Windows sound you want to change, click on the button Sfoglia ... and select the Christmas sound to use. Then press the button OK per salvare i Cambiomenti.
- If you are using Windows 8 / 8.x, Vista and 7 - Go to the desktop, right click where there are no icons and select the item Customize from the menu that appears. In the window that opens, click on the item Sounds located at the bottom right, select the Windows sound you want to change, click on the button Sfoglia ... and choose the Christmas sound you are going to use. Then click on the button OK per salvare i Cambiomenti.
- If you are using Windows 10 - Go to the desktop, right click in a place where there are no icons and select the item Customize from the menu. Click on the item Temi which is on the left, select the wording Sounds at the bottom, click on Advanced audio settings, select the Windows sound you want to change, click on the button Sfoglia ... and select the Christmas sound to use. Then press the button OK to save the changes made.
Decorate the Start button
Let's face it, the Windows Start button (yes, the one at the bottom left of the screen) clashes with the rest of the computer dressed up for the holidays. How about changing it to make it more Christmas? Yup? Optimal! Find out how to do this below.
Download TClock Light
To decorate the Start button by replacing the classic Windows logo with a Christmas icon of your choice, you need to resort to the use of free software TClock Light which, in fact, allows you to apply various customizations to the system in a very simple and fast way. It works on all operating systems of the Redmond company (but not on Windows 10, unfortunately) and is free.
To download it immediately on your computer, connected to the download page attached to the Softpedia website, click on the button Download placed at the top left and then presses the button Softpedia Mirror (US) in the box you see appear on screen. Once the download is complete, extract the ZIP file obtained in any location on your computer and start the file tclock.exe that was present inside.
Then click with the right mouse button on the clock in the Windows notification area and select the item TClock property from the menu that opens. Click on the button Run and then on the voice Start button that you find in the left part of the window that appeared and put the check mark next to the item Customize the Start button.
At this point, replacing the original one, you can set by clicking on the button [...] located next to the text bar next to the item Icon, any icon next to the button wording Home, customizable in turn via the text field located next to the item Text and through the other related fields character type e colore.
Find the icons to use
If you don't know where to find the appropriate icons to insert next to the Start button, take a look at the dedicated section of the website Unconscious. There are beautiful packages to choose from, all completely free.
Try to find the icon pack you like best and, on the page that will open, click on the button corresponding to the format in which you want to download to download it immediately on your computer. Again, if you haven't made any changes to your browser's default settings you'll find icons in the folder Download of Windows.
Let's dress up the PC for the holidays: let's decorate the tree, customize Start and Windows sounds
