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Mornings in my house are chaotic, hurried and filled with last-minute reminders no one wants to hear — especially from me, the mom. Brush your teeth. Pack your lunch. Don't forget your homework. I can say the same things five times and still get blank stares.
So instead of repeating myself yet again, I tried something different: I repurposed an old hotel key card and an old Chuck E. Cheese game card, and turned them into a physical “button” my kids could tap to trigger Alexa+ reminders. I've used an old hotel key for myself, but I decided to use a similar trick with my kids. It sounds complicated, but it's not. And it’s now part of our daily routine.
What’s actually happening here
If you're like me, you have that one junk drawer that fills up with things like old hotel keys and arcade cards. Most hotel card keys and arcade cards — including Chuck E. Cheese game cards — have an NFC chip inside them. It’s the same technology used for contactless payments, transit cards and smart tags.
When you tap the card against a phone, it can trigger an automation. So, in my case, that single tap kicks off an Alexa+ routine that announces a short sequence of reminders on our Echo devices around their house, in the kitchen and in their rooms, that I plan the night before.
Reminders include updates to their typical schedule like an early pickup for a dental appointment or a reminder about a math test. The key difference here is that my kids control it. One tap in the morning, and Alexa takes over — not me.
What you need
You don’t need to buy any new smart home gadgets to make this work. Here’s exactly what I used:
- From traveling and going to arcades with my kids, I have a bunch of old NFC cards, but if you don't, you can buy NFC cards on Amazon; they are pretty inexpensive.
- A smartphone with NFC support, which inclused iPhone XS or newer, or most modern Android devices
- The Alexa+ app and at least one Echo device
- iOS Shortcuts (on iPhone) or an Android automation tool
That’s it. No smart buttons, no subscriptions, no extra hardware.
How to set it up
Step 1: Create an Alexa routine
Open the Alexa app or Alexa+ on the web and create a new routine with the reminders you want Alexa to announce.
I kept it simple with spoken announcements, but you can add music, sounds, or pauses between reminders if that works better for your household
Step 2: Link the card using NFC
Now you’ll connect the NFC chip inside the Chuck E. Cheese card to that Alexa routine. I use iPhone, but I'll include the steps for Android users, too.
On iPhone:
Open the Shortcuts app
Create a new automation
Choose NFC as the trigger
Scan the game card
Set the action to run your Alexa routine
On Android:
Use your phone’s built-in automation or an NFC app
Scan the card
Assign it to trigger the Alexa routine
This is a one-time setup.
Step 3: Put the card somewhere obvious
I placed the game card and my phone near where my kids already stop in the morning — the bathroom. Once this is set up, your kids won’t need their own phones — they’ll just tap the card on a parent's device. Each one of my kids has their own card with their own reminders.
Now the routine is simple: Wake up, tap the card and Alexa+ takes it from there.
This is seriously cut down on morning craziness, yelling and works better than Alexa reminders alone. As someone who has used Alexa reminders for years, this trick solves the problem of engagement.
This works because it’s physical, not just a voice command. The kids feel like they’re starting their day themselves and there are no screens involved. They don't even have to unlock my phone. They just tap it.
So far, the novelty hasn’t worn off. And even if it does, it still beats me shouting from the kitchen.
Who this is actually useful for
This setup is ideal if you:
- Already use Alexa+ at home
- Have kids who tune out voice reminders
- Want a low-cost smart home upgrade
- Prefer automations that quietly do their job
And if you don’t have kids, the same idea works just as well for:
- Morning routines
- Medication reminders
- Chore check-ins
- Bedtime wind-downs
The takeaway
As a mom of three, I'm used to getting creative, but this hack for easier mornings is an absolute no-brainer. I didn’t buy a new gadget or download another parenting app. I reused something we already had (and may have otherwise thrown away) and turned it into a small but meaningful smart home upgrade.
Sometimes the best Alexa+ automations aren’t about adding more tech. They’re about using the tech you already have in smarter ways.
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