Things To Ask Your Smart Assistant This Christmas
Smart assistants help to make those day-to-day tasks easy, but alongside being a useful tool in the home, they're also great fun. Keep yourself and the loved ones around you entertained this festive season by asking Alexa, Siri and Google Assistant some of these Christmas-themed questions.
Christmas cooking made easy
The kitchen can feel a little chaotic at Christmas, especially when there's so many people to cook for. However, there's no need to get flustered when following a new recipe. With the help of a smart assistant, Christmas cooking is guaranteed to feel much less stressful.
Google Assistant, can help you follow a recipe hands-free - if you have a Google Home Hub, you can even view a clear step-by-step on screen. Simply find a recipe on your smartphone, or ask Google to find one for you, and you'll have your own personal assistant ready to read out instructions to you.
Just start with "Prepare ingredients" and you'll hear exactly what you need for the entire recipe. Once you've gathered all your ingredients up, simply say "Start recipe". Google Assistant will then guide you through each step, and as you go you can ask it a huge range of recipe-related questions. From "How much butter?" to "Repeat step" and "What's the next ingredient?", you'll never have to panic about messing up the turkey, roast veg or even the cranberry sauce again.
Merry Christmas, Ya Filthy Animal
For a bit of fun, why not activate a Home Alone-style skill on Amazon's Alexa. Say the phrase "goodnight you" in any sentence and you'll receive a response with "ya filthy animal" included.
Christmas Countdown
Something to add to your morning routine in December, all three smart assistants can answer the question: "How many sleeps until Christmas?".
It's the perfect way to create some Christmas excitement at home, and it'll help you to keep track of how many days are left until the 25th December - handy if you're still shopping for present.
Switch on the Christmas Lights
Sometimes it can be tricky to reach around the Christmas tree to switch on your lights, but as long as they're plugged into a compatible smart plug, you'll be able to do this with a simple voice command. The same goes for any other fairly lights or light-up decorations you have in the home.
For example, all you need to do is name the plug 'Christmas lights' in the Google Home app if you're a Google Home user, and say "Hey Google, turn on the Christmas lights".
Naughty or nice?
The question everyone wants to know the answer to. Find out if you'll find a lump of coal under your Christmas tree this year by asking Alexa, Google Assistant and Siri: "Have I been naughty or nice?"
Answers vary, but people have reported the following responses.
Alexa tactically replies: "Only Santa gets to make the final decision."
Siri follows suit, but leans towards the kinder side with: "Nice. But don't take my word for it… go ask the big man."
And Google Assistant gives some very wise advice: "You're the nicest, and besides, we leave Santa cookies just in case."
Updates from the North Pole
Find out all the latest news and updates from the North Pole with Google Assistant. Check in and ask, "What's new at the North Pole?" and you'll hear elf news anchor Dimplesticks reporting for the North Pole Broadcasting Channel.
Changing daily, the broadcast will let you know what's being going on in the North Pole. You'll also hear Christmas jokes, something Google call Good Sleigh Today and the latest Reindeer Report.
It's fun for all ages, and if you have a screen on your smart speaker, you'll even be able to watch Christmas animations too.
Is Santa Claus real?
A question anyone with young children around may be concerned about, how truthfully do smart speakers respond to "Is Santa Claus real?"
Luckily, all three smart assistants keep the magic alive. Neither say yes or no, but the responses are all something any believer would love to hear. They vary - because kids tend to ask more than once - but here's a few example responses.
Google Assistant says "I ho-ho-hope he's real.", Siri is shocked and warns "That's something I'm not allowed to dis'Claus - I mean disclose." and Alexa says, "All I know is that someone has been eating all of my cookies."
Santa's Hotline
If you've already asked Alexa how many days there are until Christmas, you'll also be able to reach Santa's hotline after you've heard the answer. You'll be asked if you want to hear an update from Santa himself, and the response will be a range of festive messages.
Sing along to a Christmas Carol
Fancy a Christmas singalong, but have nobody to sing with? Just ask Alexa, Google Assistant or Siri to "Sing a Christmas Carol", and they'll all launch into the Christmas spirit with their favourite songs.
Alternatively, your smart speaker can start up your favourite Christmas playlist for you instead. Simply say "Alexa, play the Driving Home for Christmas playlist on Spotify." to begin listening to some festive tunes. You can make your own playlists too for upcoming Christmas parties, or choose any pre-made playlist - just make sure you say the full title of the playlist when instructing your smart speaker.
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