Have a White Christmas With Google Maps, YouTube

There are still a couple of days left before Santa delivers on all our gadget gift wishes, which means there's still time to use technology to have some fun with the holiday. In that spirit we bring you two new tools to show you how to use Google to give yourself a white Christmas.

The first is the easiest and requires no effort other typing in random search terms into YouTube. When you find a video you like, look for a tiny button next to the gear-shaped button that allows you to change the viewing quality of a video. That should be easy because this new button is actually shaped like a snowflake.

When you click that button you'll start to see intricately designed snowflakes fall in front of your video during playback. You can even move the snowflakes with your cursor, and if you get tired of the effect, you need only click the snowflake button again and the snow disappears. It's a nice way to bring a bit of holiday cheer to some of the more interesting videos you find on YouTube.

The next is a bit more interactive in that it actually allows you to create a personalized holiday card. Created by Joe Palasek, a developer based in Boston, Snowify.me allows you to enter any address and then create a personalized holiday card using the Google Street View image of the location as realistic snowflakes fall across the image.

The site also lets you add other animated elements like holiday messages, a large menu of funny characters, and even a Christmas tree that lights up. You can place the elements anywhere you wish and scale them to fit the image, giving the scene an even more customized look with elements like icicles and gifts that actually cast a shadow on the ground of your real world location.

The best part of this holiday hack is that you can either send a link to a recipient, allowing them to see an animated version of your card in their browser, or you can simply take a screen shot and use the static image as an e-card. The site is also integrated with Facebook, Twitter, and Gmail, allowing you to easily send a link to your customized creation to a friend. And if you need any inspiration, just visit Snowify.me's gallery of global holiday cards showing animated creations located everywhere from Japan to England to the beaches of California.

Last week, Google unveiled a new holiday-themed Easter Egg: (without the quotes) into Google.com produces some snowy search results. Searching for Hanukkah and Christmas, meanwhile, adorns your search results with some holiday lights.