Google is encouraging people to use Google+ Hangouts during the holidays, and has partnered with the creators of Wallace and Gromit to offer special invitations builders and a holiday effects app.

If you go here, you can schedule a holiday hangout, and Google will send invitations out with a Wallace and Gromit video.

“Since hangouts let up to 10 people video chat at once, right from Google+ or Gmail, you can invite the whole family to join—and maybe a few friends too!” says product marketing manager Kevin Maguire.

You can check out the holiday effects app here. It requires you to install a plugin, but then you can look like this:

This is just the latest in Google’s holiday festivities. I guess they have to make up for losing Santa to Bing.