10 Google tools to use for stress-free holiday hosting

4. Organize your to-do lists with Keep

Google Keep is a perfect place to jot down thoughts and ideas, create to-do or shopping lists and save links and other bits of information. When you're in party-planning mode, you can use it as your catch-all, and even use its time- and location-based reminders to nudge you when needed - if picking up a wreath is on your list, Keep can remind you when you're out and about. And if you're a Workspace Labs user, you can sign up to try Keep's experimental AI feature, which takes your prompts and uses generative AI to come up with to-do, shopping lists and more.

5. Get creative with Google Slides

Want to add some ambiance to your holiday party? Try using Google Slides to quickly and easily come up with festive visuals that you can display as a slideshow while your guests mingle. You can even ask Gemini in the side panel of Slides for image inspiration (try something like "cozy winter fireplace" or "snowflake background").

6. Get quick cooking help from Google Lens

Holiday food prep always comes with lots of questions. What's the best way to season steak? How much stuffing will 12 people eat? What's a substitute for heavy cream? With Google Lens, you can take a photo of ingredients sitting in front of you and ask your question out loud. For example, you can take a photo of your onions and ask "exactly what kind of onions are these and what's the best way to cook them?"

7. Make sure your hot cocoa is hot with your Pixel thermometer

If you're cooking or serving food, your Pixel thermometer is super handy. All you have to do is open the app and point it at your dish, drink or whatever else; that way you'll know if that coffee, tea or hot cocoa is hot enough (or too hot!).