Every year, Michelle Miller-McNair asks her three children to make lists of what they want for Christmas. “Usually they write it down on a piece of paper or send me a link to a website,” she said.
But this holiday season, Miller-McNair, a comedian from Mooresville, North Carolina, received something else: an 18-slide PowerPoint presentation with photos, links and QR codes. It was made by one of her daughters, McKinley.
“I worked on it during school and also when I was at my friend's house,” McKinley, 13, said. “It took me about two hours in total.”
The slideshow included Panda Dunks (black and white Nike sneakers), makeup, and a Kendra Scott necklace. Marked high priority items with stars. Before delivering her wish list to her parents one weeknight after dinner, she practiced going over her deck.
“I thought about what I was going to say on each slide,” McKinley said.
His mother was impressed.
“She gave me reasons why she not only wants these items, but really needs them,” said Ms. Miller-McNair, 40. “She had these Uggs that are slip-on slippers and she said she needed to put them on when she left basketball practice so she wouldn't ruin her basketball shoes.”
Let's hope Santa is tech savvy. Kids have long been using Microsoft PowerPoint or Google Slides to request gifts and school projects, but this year's lists look more elaborate than ever, with links, photos, decorative themes, and QR codes. Several recent TikTok videos show teenagers explaining their gift requests to their parents in meetings that resemble corporate sales pitches.
Madison Earl of Brighton, Michigan, was recently in the audience for a 12-slide presentation prepared by her 14-year-old niece.
“I have a background in marketing,” said Earl, a medical spa director, “and this was a very high-tech presentation, with hyperlinks, color coding and everything. I was very surprised that I was able to figure out how to do all this. I thought, 'Good for her, if that's how she wants to spend her time.'”
Ms. Earl, 30, noted that her grandfather, who was also present at the presentation, was especially amused by the high-tech slide show. “He was like, 'Oh my God, kids these days,'” she said.
Alyson, a 14-year-old from Topeka, Kansas, used the PowerPoint skills she had learned in school to make a deck of cards for Christmas. “She had nine slides and they were divided into different categories, like 'jewelry' or 'clothing,'” she said. “I changed the way each slide appeared so that it came from different directions and used colorful backgrounds.”
His mother, Samantha Ralph, 33, who works in human resources at the Department of Veterans Affairs, said she appreciated the work done on the slides. “She made it so much easier, so we didn't have to guess the brands,” she said.
He also thought the presentation, which his daughter connected via Bluetooth to the family television, created a happy Christmas memory for the family. “It was so fun to see her put all that dedication into something,” she said. “She brought us all together and took a moment out of our busy day.”
Alyson seemed ready to make more PowerPoints in the future. “Maybe I'll do this again for my birthday,” she said. “Or when I apply to universities.”
However, elaborate digital presentations may not be the best way to get gifts from more analog-minded family members. Peyton Chediak, 22, a college senior in Orange County, California, said she received some criticism after presenting her Hanukkah list in a PowerPoint.
“Some of my relatives, especially my father and my cousins, were like, 'Wow, this is a lot,' or 'Wow, this is kind of ridiculous,'” he said. “I just say, 'I know, but I'm extra.'”
Ms. Miller-McNair, the mother in North Carolina, noted that her daughter's PowerPoint was not a hit with all members of the extended family.
“McKinley went to her grandparents' house and she tried to send them the presentation, but they had no idea what it was,” he said. “They were like, 'Can you write this?'”
But McKinley's strategy was generally effective.
“She was very bold and I was impressed that she came this far,” Miller-McNair said. “She'll get things off the list.”
