Alexa can count it down for you!
Spring may have just started, but I can’t help but look forward to warmer days.
The How Many Days feature is great for that, whether you want to know how long until summer, or a specific holiday like Memorial Day.
Just say, “Alexa, how many days until Memorial Day?” She’ll respond with the holiday date and day of the week (a nice touch for things like St. Patrick’s Day or Fourth of July, that aren’t fixed to a Monday), and tell you how many days to go.
Creating custom queries
You can also create a custom query, looking forward to a certain day like Grandma’s birthday (which should be a holiday in my book!).
- Say, “Alexa, open Birthday Countdown” to set it up as a new skill. She’ll ask you to tell her the name and birthday date, and she’ll set it up as a new note.
- Then ask, Alexa, how many days until Grandma birthday, and she’ll give you the count, along with a random fact on things that will statistically happen between then and now. (Who knew there were so many ER visits based on pillow injuries?)
Pro Tips
Pro Tip #1
While you can just say, “Alexa, how many days” to find out a holiday, you’ll need to say “Alexa, open Birthday Countdown” to access a custom date. Otherwise you may ask for your friend Susan’s birthday and get a countdown for Susan B. Anthony’s birthday.
Pro Tip #2
When asking Alexa how many days until someone’s birthday, leave off the possessive s at the end of the name, or she may confuse Ira’s birthday for Iris.