ICYMI: A few stocking stuffers from around Google

Between last-minute gift shopping, airport pickups, cookie baking, and ugly-sweater parties, there’s a lot to do this season. So you may have missed a few updates from around Google that can actually make your holiday season a little brighter (or at least make your to-do list go a little faster. Won’t make your sweater any less ugly, though). Here’s a look at what we’ve unwrapped recently:

Add this one to your to-do list: Reminders in Google Calendar
Whether it’s “send holiday cards” or “use up FSA,” you can now add Reminders to Google Calendar to help you complete your to-do list. These aren’t like those calendar entries you create yourself that you plain-old ignore completely and that then disappear. With Reminders, if you don’t complete the task and dismiss the Reminder, it’ll pop up on your calendar again the next day. And the next. And the … until you can’t take it anymore and just send those holiday cards already. You’ll thank us when your list is checked off. Twice.

Now on Tap gets handier for the holidays
Now on Tap helps you get quick information without leaving the app you're using by tapping and holding the home button on Android phones—and new updates make it even handier for the holidays. So if you get a text with your cousin’s flight number, you can tap and hold to see the flight’s status, then respond without having to juggle between searching and texting. If you ordered a gift online and want to know if it will make it down the chimney and under the tree on time, tap and hold your confirmation email to get tracking info. Consider it your own personal Santa’s Little Helper.

Tell the family when to expect you with trip bundles
There’s probably a lot going on in your email right now if you’ve got an upcoming trip home or holiday getaway planned. From your flight confirmation to rental car details, Inbox by Gmail already groups these emails into trip bundles so you can find everything you need for your trip quickly. Those bundles just got even more useful—you can now access them offline (good for on the plane), share the trip summary with friends or family, and add other pertinent emails (like that message with your aunt’s new address) to the bundle.

Templates in Google Docs go mobile
If you’re collecting family recipes or planning a trip, templates in Docs, Sheets and Slides help you get started faster, so you can spend more time concentrating on the words you’re writing and less time worrying about how it looks. These pre-made templates are now available on Android and iOS so you can do more while on the go. Ho, ho, ho!

Posted by Abbi Tatton, Google Editorial Elf IMAGE URL Abbi Tatton Editorial Elf Google