The Top 12 Most Valuable Holiday Resources
Forget about partridges, turtle doves and French hens. This year, ROAR! team members have scoured the Internet to help ease your way through the holiday season by compiling our very own special tribute to the “Twelve Days of Christmas” – an essential list of the very best time-saving and fun-making holiday resources available that would even make Clark Griswold envious!
Whether you’re seeking eclectic holiday movie or music suggestions, the perfect holiday cocktail to serve your guests, the best ways to hide your purchases, essential apps for shopping lists or managing your gift cards, and much more, you’ll find it all right here!
We hope these holiday tips (each of which was thoroughly researched by a ROAR! team member) help enhance your joy and reduce your stress this holiday season. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from all of us at ROAR!
1. Best Holiday Movie Reviews – By Anthony
Time to get your popcorn and hot chocolate ready, it’s Christmas movie time! As a self-proclaimed cinephile, I know there are a lot of options to choose from. There are the classics like Home Alone, It’s A Wonderful Life and Elf. Looking for something new this year? You have the Horror-Comedy Krampus, or the action-packed thriller Die Hard. One thing is for sure, there is a holiday movie for everyone! Check out Vulture’s list for the top 40 Christmas movies of all time for some more great holiday options!
Read the List
2. Best Holiday Cookie Recipes – By Mandy
My favorite tradition every holiday is baking cookies for my friends and family. This year I wanted to try some new recipes. I searched high and low to find new exciting cookie recipes and I found this incredible site. It has 100 of the Best Christmas Cookie Recipes! It has pictures, videos, the recipe AND the shopping list!
Check Out the Recipes
3. Best Gift Wrapping How To Video – By Courtney
Wrapping Christmas gifts – do you love it or hate it? You either have perfect, smooth seams with matching bows and ribbons, or you put the gift in a gift bag and call it a day. Whatever your preference, these 10 gift-wrapping hacks are sure to teach even the most seasoned gift-wrapper a thing or two.
Watch the Video
4. Best App for Shopping Lists – By Pam
Not sure what to get for that Secret Santa or your in-laws, check out elfster. It’s a simple to use app that lets you know what others want without them having to tell you directly. Great for offices and families that are spread out. It’s like having your very own elf right on your phone!
Check Out Elfster
5. Holiday Drink Recipes – By Brooke
Looking for the perfect holiday cocktail to serve your guests? Here are the favorites by state. Some states know how it’s done. Does yours? I’m not a fan of my state’s drink, but also think craft beers and wines are moving up on everyone’s list. Less ingredients to buy along with all the presents!
Read the List
6. Best Holiday Decoration Storage Ideas – By Dorothy
When the holidays wind down and all the decorations need to be stashed away for another year, here’s 20 Clever Holiday Decor Storage Ideas | How to Store Ornaments, Lights, Wreaths and More.
7. Best Ways to Hide Your Purchases – By Courtney
Need to hide your holiday Amazon purchases from your curious family members? Check out this helpful article on how to archive orders and conceal the goods. Want to go a step further? With Amazon’s Household feature, each family member can create their own personal account to access shared Prime benefits. Orders and tracking information stay separate, so you won’t accidentally spoil gifts coming to you!
8. Best App to Track All of Your Online Purchases – By Pam
If you’re like me, you do a majority of your holiday shopping online. Sometimes it’s hard to keep track of everything and know when it is arriving. I love the SHOP app to let me know when to expect deliveries and make sure that everything ordered is actually received.
9. Best Apps to Manage Your Gift Cards – By Matt
You know that feeling when you realize you accidentally threw away a gift card along with the envelope it came in? You never have to feel that way again. Several apps make it easy to organize your gift cards and make sure that they don’t expire. Some even allow you to buy and sell gift cards from within the app. This article by popular tech guru Kim Komando summarizes the best gift card management apps available.
10. Best White Elephant Gifts – By Whitney
My favorite white elephant gifts combine elements of both usefulness and comedy. Get family and coworkers fighting for your gift with the white elephant suggestions on this list. Because who doesn’t need a throw pillow with Nicholas Cage’s face hidden in sequins?
11. Best Holiday Zoom Backgrounds – By Devin
11. Best Holiday Zoom Backgrounds – By DevinThis holiday season with streaming video calls like Zoom and GoToMeeting becoming a larger part of family gatherings, office parties for those that work from home, and other holiday get-togethers having a festive background for your calls can add a touch of holiday spirit for everyone! Even if your own living room background isn’t keeping up with the Joneses. Hallmark Channel is giving free access to over 30 backgrounds to choose from for free! If you want to show off your sense of humor, here is a list of sillier holiday backgrounds to choose from!
12. Best Holiday Playlist – By Rich
My taste in holiday music runs the entire gamut from established seasonal classics like Bing Crosby’s “White Christmas” and modern interpretations such as U2’s cover of “Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)” to truly eclectic tunes like “Fairytale of New York” by legendary Celtic punk band The Pogues. That’s why I’m thrilled to share this amazingly diverse list of Essential Holiday Classics from the good folks at uDiscoverMusic for your Yuletide listening pleasure. Enjoy!
