8 Ways ‘Alexa’ Can Make Your Christmas Merrier

Christmas is just a few quick weeks away, and I do mean quick. The time is going to fly and there's lots to do. If you're not careful, you can forget to enjoy the holiday season. This is a good time to make technology work for you.

Use Amazon's Alexa to make your Christmas merrier with these holiday hacks:

Start your holiday countdown - Enable the Christmas Countdown skill and then your kids can ask Alexa how many more days you have until Christmas any time they need to know.

Get organized - Keep everything straight this holiday season by having Alexa help you create and add to lists. Just tell her what to add and which one to add it to, like your holiday shopping list or travel checklist.

Channel your inner-Clark Griswold - With Alexa-compatible smart lights or smart plugs, you can ask Alexa to turn the Christmas lights on and off for you.

Find holiday recipes - Enable any of the hundreds of recipe skills available for Alexa and she can tell you step-by-step directions so you don’t have to use a cookbook or your phone.

Set timers for your Christmas cooking - Alexa can set multiple timers with ease and you can keep them all straight by asking for specifics, like a cookie timer.

Shop, shop, shop - After you enable Alexa’s voice purchasing feature, she can help by adding gifts to your Amazon Prime shopping cart. WARNING: If your kids know about this, be sure to check your cart before paying.

Play Christmas trivia - Alexa knows everything about this festive time of year with the Winter Holiday Facts skill.

Crank up the Christmas music - Just say, "Alexa, open K104.7."