Thanksgiving has come and gone. Today we’re taking advantage of all the Black Friday deals while we look forward to going to work on Monday to spend all day taking advantage of the Cyber Monday deals. Soon thereafter thoughts will turn to the upcoming holidays. Hanukkah is next week, so this post is likely too late for those of us celebrating Hanukkah (Come back and read this post again next year). There's still time, however, to make your Christmas plans. Fortunately, you can always turn to the Internet to help you.
There are plenty of ways to use the web to put together the perfect Christmas Dinner. With a website that gives you menu ideas and food recipes, you are on your way to creating a feast the entire family will enjoy. And it can even help you handle the tough stuff, like picking the perfect Christmas station on Pandora feeding your vegetarian guests and decorating your house for the holiday.
Maybe you want to share the joy of cooking for Christmas with your guests and prefer to plan a potluck Christmas dinner. The Internet can help you here too. Check out SignUpGenius or GroupSched to create interactive online sign-up sheets so your guests know what they should bring. Evite also has a wide selection of potluck-specific invites, and there’s even an entire website devoted to helping you put together the perfect potluck party.
Don’t be shy about asking for some help from your local Safeway, Whole Foods, King Soopers, or send someone a helping hand with a meal via Send A Meal’s Christmas specials, all of which have online ordering and home delivery.
You may also want to take advantage of the Internet to save a little money on the meal so you have more for the presents. Check out budget dinner plans and other Christmas coupons. Then again, if you decide you don’t want to cook at all, websites like Yelp help you find restaurants serving the traditional Christmas meal.
Of course, if you’re not celebrating Christmas at your house, then you might be thinking about getting your travel plans in order. There are plenty of ways the web can help you save on fall travel in general, from websites that help you find cheap airfare to the GasBuddy app for iPhone and Android, which helps you locate the cheapest place to fill up on that long trip over the river and through the woods.
BeatTheTraffic is another online travel service helps you determine what the congestion looks like on your travel routes, and there’s a companion app that will give you updated traffic info on the go. Similarly, the Airport Flight Delays app will let you know in advance when to expect a delay. You may also want to use HopStop to help you find online public transit directions for many cities, which you can also access on the go via an iPhone app or by using its SMS feature.
No matter what you do this Christmas, don’t forget to give thanks for the Internet, and be sure to remember, and do something for those who are less fortunate than you.
