The 15 Best Alexa Skills for Christmas and Hanukkah
Our virtual assistants have become part of our everyday lives, so it's no surprise that they're becoming a part of our holidays as well. When the winter celebrations roll around, you can check out these Alexa skills to get your family and friends into that holiday spirit.
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Morton Brine Time
Calling the Butterball hotline for info on how to cook your turkey is so 20th century — now you can just ask Alexa. The Morton Brine Time skill — from the people who brought you, well, salt — can help you through the process of brining your holiday bird, including giving you information based on the weight of your particular turkey. Morton's skill also includes recipes if you're just starting out.
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Christmas Radio
What's a festive holiday season without musical accompaniment? If all you want is to stream seasonally appropriate tunes, enable the Christmas Radio skill and tell Alexa to fire it up. You'll get an assortment of holiday songs without having to lift a finger.
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Christmas Countdown
Instead of continually asking you when the big holiday is rolling around, kids can now ask your friendly household virtual assistant. The Christmas Countdown skill lets them inquire how many days are left before the man in the red suit shows up bearing his sack full of presents.
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Christmas Sounds
If you're looking to liven up a holiday party or other festive event, Christmas Sounds takes it beyond a simple musical soundtrack and adds other themed sounds as well. Hear sleigh bells jingling, carolers singing, hooves clip-clopping and more. Santa himself may even make the occasional appearance.
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Christmas Kindness
The holiday spirit is about giving more than anything, and if you're looking for way to spread that generosity, check out the Christmas Kindness skill. You can ask it for a suggestion of a random act of kindness that you can practice this holiday season. And if you've got an idea to bring joy into people's lives, there's even an email address to submit suggestions to.
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Santa Claus
Every kid wants to know if they've made Santa's nice list for the year, and now they can consult Alexa. Just enable the Santa Claus skill, and, upon prompting, Alexa will ask a series of questions to help determine whether the kid has met their full niceness potential.
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Christmas Jokes
A little humor helps bring joy to the holiday season, so check out the Christmas Jokes skill. It's the usual level of fare for Alexa's humor, which is to say that most adults will probably roll their eyes, but your average kid will probably be rolling in the aisles.
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Ask Father Christmas
Kids have no end of questions about the holidays, and especially about Santa Claus: How does he fit down chimneys? What are the names of his reindeer? How does he get to so many houses in one night? Rather than bombarding you with queries, they can go right to the "source" itself with the Ask Father Christmas skill. With roughly 100 questions that children can ask, there's plenty to amuse and entertain youngsters in this lead-up to the holiday season.
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Elf Yourself
File this under "One Trick Reindeer." The Elf Yourself skill takes anything you say and has Alexa repeat it in a high-pitched elfin voice. Sophisticated? Not really. But if you're looking for a quick distraction, it might do the job.
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Hanukkah Trivia
Winter is also a time for the Jewish Festival of Lights. Whether you're already celebrating Hanukkah or just want to know more about the holiday, check out the Hanukkah Trivia skill. You'll get multiple-choice questions about the history and traditions of the event to challenge your knowledge.
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Hanukkah Facts
What does Hanukkah celebrate? Why do we light the menorah? These questions and more are answered by the Hanukkah Facts skill. Learn all about the Festival of Lights by getting Alexa to tell you a random Hanukkah fact. Even if you're already celebrating the holiday, you might learn something.
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Spin the Dreidel
Speaking of Hanukkah, you can't escape without partaking in the traditional game of the holiday. The Spin the Dreidel skill lets you spin a virtual top and tells you which Hebrew letter it lands on, and what resulting action you have to take. Grab some gelt, and spin away!
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Winter Holiday Facts
Winter is a big time for holidays, and the Winter Holiday Facts skill is here to teach you about all of them. You can ask Alexa for a random fact and learn about Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa and more — and it might help you impress others at a holiday dinner.
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Christmas Screensaver
For Echo Show users looking to liven up their virtual assistant's screen for the holiday season, there's the Christmas Screensaver skill. You'll get a one-hour slideshow of holiday-themed images, accompanied by a soundtrack of classical and seasonal music.
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Santa Tracker
When will Santa make it to your house? When Christmas Eve rolls around, fire up the Santa Tracker skill and you'll get updates about where jolly old St. Nick and his team of reindeer are.
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