Christmas Browser 99 - Home
By Retro Techie
Did you know that in the late 90s, there was a dedicated Christmas Browser? 🎄 Learn more at retrotechie.net
Posted on December 16, 2025
Christmas Browser 99 was a festive, holiday‑themed web browser for Windows 95/98/NT, built on top of Internet Explorer 4. It featured falling snow, MIDI Christmas music, draggable icon shortcuts, and a string‑light‑style browsing history. Microsoft Agent characters like Merlin added spoken feedback and playful personality to the experience.
Maximized Software, the developer behind it, operated from the mid‑1990s through at least 2010. Christmas Browser 99 followed earlier releases (’96 and ’97) and used a $20 shareware model that unlocked extra icons, backgrounds, and songs while supporting future updates.
