The Insider Picks team writes about stuff we think you'll like. Business Insider has affiliate partnerships, so we get a share of the revenue from your purchase.

If you're anything like me, you probably thought of a great "big" holiday present, but are having trouble finding a couple of smaller ones to go with it.

Don't worry, we've got you covered. If you're helping a friend or family member start their smart home with an Echo, Echo Dot, Amazon Tap, Echo Show, or Echo Plus, these are the accessories that will help them get the most out of it. 

Having trouble buying gifts for everyone on your list? Check out all of our 2017 gift guides on Insider Picks.

SEE ALSO: 15 great tech gifts for $25 or less

DON'T MISS: The 10 best tech gadgets I used in 2017

Smart bulbs

Philips' Hue smart bulbs are the perfect fun and functional Echo companion. As someone who has used them every day for nearly two years, I still have haven't gotten tired of saying "Alexa, turn on bedroom lights" every morning.

Philips Hue White and Color Ambiance A19 Starter Kit, $145.99

A smart plug

TP-Link's plugs are the perfect way to make older, perfectly functional appliances smart. Stick the smart plug into an outlet, and your appliance into the smart plug and you're good to go. After a short setup process, you'll be able to turn the appliance on and off using only your voice.

TP-Link Smart Plug Mini, $26.99

An Amazon Prime subscription

If you've had an Amazon Prime subscription for long enough, it's easy to think everyone has one. Gifting Prime will give the new Echo owner in your life access to over 2 million songs through Amazon's Prime Music library, in addition to a whole list of non-Echo-related perks.

Amazon Prime 1-Year Subscription, $99

Netflix has shared a list of the TV shows that viewers binge-watched the most on its platform in 2017.

Led by the true-crime satire "American Vandal," Netflix listed the ten series that were most popular for binge-watching (defined as watching more than two hours per day).  

The streaming service looked at the average daily viewing hours per user between November 2016 and November 2017. The resulting list of shows includes several sci-fi series and a few unexpected titles. 

Here are the top 10 most binge-watched shows on Netflix in 2017:

SEE ALSO: The biggest Golden Globes snubs of the year — from 'Logan' to 'The Big Sick'

10. "The Confession Tapes"

Netflix description: "This true crime documentary series investigates cases where people convicted of murder claim their confessions were coerced, involuntary or false."

9. "The OA"

Netflix description: "Seven years after vanishing from her home, a young woman returns with mysterious new abilities and recruits five strangers for a secret mission."

8. "The Keepers"

Netflix description: "This docuseries examines the decades-old murder of Sister Catherine Cesnik and its suspected link to a priest accused of abuse."

While the most destructive wildfire season in California's history slogs on, satellites are recording the devastation from space.

California's latest group of blazes began with the Thomas fire in Ventura County on December 4. Since then, at least six other large fires sparked across the Southern California counties of Los Angeles (Creek, Rye, and Skirball fires), San Bernardino (Little Mountain fire), San Diego (Lilac fire), and Riverside (Liberty fire).

The Thomas fire in Ventura County is by far the largest at more than 230,000 acres in size, and it's only about 15% contained as of Monday morning. It continues to burn along with four other fires that are spreading due to strong Santa Ana winds, which peak during December and January.

The new blazes have triggered the evacuation of almost 100,000 people, killed at least one person, razed some 1,000 buildings, and scorched more than 250,000 acres of land. This ongoing disaster in Southern California also joins the deadly wildfires across Northern California in October that killed 42 people, destroyed 9,000 structures, and may take the state years to recover from.

Thick smoke and intense heat make it difficult for low-flying aircraft to capture the extent of a wildfire's damage. However, a few satellites with high-power cameras and special sensors offer unique and detailed views of the evolving disaster from space.

Here's what they've recorded so far, plus a few incredible images taken by astronauts in space:

SEE ALSO: 25 photos that prove we're all stowaways on a tiny, fragile spaceship

DON'T MISS: Satellite photos show shocking wildfire damage in Northern California from space

Shortly after the fires started, satellites passing over Southern California began watching the blazes develop.

This view is from the European Space Agency's Sentinel-2 satellite. It shows Ventura County, which is about a 1.5-hour drive northwest of Los Angeles, on December 5.

Brown shows the burn scar (center), green shows plants, gray shows urban areas, and orange shows active fires.

Source: NASA Earth Observatory

The smoke from the wildfires wafted over the Pacific Ocean for hundreds of miles.

NASA's Terra satellite shows the Thomas fire in Ventura County on the afternoon of December 5.

Source: NASA Earth Observatory

Astronaut Randy Bresnik also began taking photographs as the Thomas fire developed and new blazes broke out.

Source: Randy Bresknik/Twitter

From Donald Glover being the first black director to win an Emmy for comedy to Danica Roem becoming the first openly transgender legislator in the US, there are plenty of people in their 30s who inspired us this year.

Here are 30 public figures who challenge the rest of us to try harder, do better, and give more.

Colin Kaepernick, 30, chose to kneel during the national anthem at a football game, sparking a nationwide debate on racial injustice.

With his decision to take a knee instead of stand for the national anthem to protest police violence against African Americans, Kaepernick thrust himself into the middle of a nationwide debate on racial injustice. While thousands of Americans screamed at him to stand, claiming that he was disrespecting the flag and veterans, Kaepernick held his ground. Slowly, more and more people joined the movement.

Kaepernick was one of the runners-up for Time's Person of the Year, and named GQ's Citizen of the Year this year in response to how powerful his movement became.

Ashley Graham, 30, continued to push back against unrealistic body expectations.

Ashley Graham has been changing the face of modeling since she first appeared in a controversial Lane Bryant commercial in 2010. And while 2016 might have been her breakout year, after being the first curvy model to appear on the cover of the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue, Graham is still effecting change in 2017.

Graham has proven herself to a strong voice for body positivity. She hosted Miss USA 2017 and asked why someone who is not stick-thin hasn't won the pageant yet. She also called out Victoria's Secret for not having any plus-sized models in their annual fashion show.

Matt McGorry, 31, is an active feminist who spoke out about how men can "actively be part of the solution."

Matt McGorry is best known for his roles on "Orange is the New Black" and "How to Get Away With Murder." But he's also a vocal feminist and a social justice advocate.

Recently, McGorry has been speaking out against the climate in Hollywood towards women. He spoke at a CNN town hall event where he said men have to re-educate themselves so they can "actively be part of the solution." He also wrote an essay for Medium in October where he details his personal relationship with feminism, becoming a better ally, rape culture, and education. 

Anyone who celebrates Christmas will tell you that it's a magical time of year.

And while it can be fun to spend the holiday at home, Christmas is also a great time to travel and see how the rest of the world celebrates.

We rounded up 18 destinations whose Christmas traditions are worth traveling for.

From festive Christmas markets in Europe to incredible light shows in Hong Kong, here are the places that should be on your bucket list during the holiday season.

Strasbourg, France

Strasbourg is known as the capital of Christmas — and for good reason. The city's Christmas market is one of Europe's oldest and most popular; it dates back to 1570.

Today, its 300 stalls are filled with everything from hand-painted ornaments to beautiful wooden cuckoo clocks to local delicacies and wines. The town itself is a must-see with its quaint cobblestone streets, colorful dwellings, and intriguing mix of both French and German influences. 

The Maldives

The Maldives are ideal for travelers who are in search of a true getaway far from the holiday bustle. December marks the start of the islands' dry season, so while there might be some rain at the beginning of the month, it usually tapers off at the end, and otherwise temperatures hover in the mid 80s.

No matter which island you end up on, you'll encounter bright blue lagoons, stunning coral reefs, and pristine sands.

Quebec City, Canada

Quebec City's French speakers and striking colonial architecture will make you feel like you've time traveled back to 17th century France. And while this atmosphere is appealing year round, it's especially alluring around Christmas, when the shops and bistros that line the city's stone streets are adorned with holiday decorations.  

For outdoorsy types, there's skiing, snowmobiling, and snowshoeing nearby. For a real rush, speed down the icy toboggan run at Château Frontenac on a wooden sled.

Co-stars from "Big Little Lies" and "Feud" are going toe-to-toe at the 75th Golden Globe Awards.

HBO's hit drama "Big Little Lies" has two sets of actresses competing against each other in two categories, while FX's drama "Feud" has its lead actresses battling it out with each other. 

Fans can tune in to see who takes the awards home on January 7 on NBC at 8 p.m. ET. 

In the meantime, here's who should win. 

Best actress in a TV miniseries or movie: Nicole Kidman vs. Reese Witherspoon from “Big Little Lies”

Nicole Kidman and Reese Witherspoon were both stunning on HBO's "Big Little Lies." Their roles as mothers, wives, and friends were full of riveting moments and both deserve their nominations.

But Kidman's powerful portrayal as a victim of domestic abuse was emotionally vulnerable. Her gut-wrenching performance already earned her the Emmy for outstanding lead. She should get the Golden Globe as well.

Winner: Nicole Kidman 

Best supporting actress in a TV miniseries or movie: Laura Dern vs. Shailene Woodley from “Big Little Lies”

Both Laura Dern and Shailene Woodley also stunned in their roles on the female-centric "Big Little Lies." The two play protective moms — Renata and Jane, respectively — who battle it out when Jane's son is accused of bullying Renata's daughter.

Woodley's performance was great, but it's hard to forget Dern's thrilling meltdown in front of her pool as she's trying to figure out who is hurting her daughter. 

Winner: Laura Dern 

Best actress in a TV miniseries or movie: Jessica Lange vs. Susan Sarandon from “Feud: Bette and Joan”

Jessica Lange and Joan Crawford channeled Hollywood icons Joan Crawford and Bette Davis to portray their infamous feud both on and off set on this FX limited series. But while both women nailed their parts, Sarandon's performance was a tad more dynamic and memorable. 

Winner: Susan Sarandon 

The Insider Picks team writes about stuff we think you'll like. Business Insider has affiliate partnerships, so we get a share of the revenue from your purchase.

• Most people have a Flexible Spending Account through their employer, but completely forget it exists.
• Money from that fund can be spent on many everyday items, but it doesn't roll over so you have to act soon.
• We rounded up 20 unexpected items to buy with FSA dollars to help you best spend yours before the end of the year.

With the holiday season underway, you're probably spending more than you normally would. You still need to get everyone on your list a gift, but at the same time you should be looking to save money any way possible. Beyond using Insider Picks' 2017 Holiday Gift Guides to make every dollar count, you can get many everyday items you need with money you may have completely forgot about.

If you're a working professional, there's a good chance you've set up a Flexible Savings Account through your employer to use on certain out-of-pocket healthcare costs. While many people take that to mean copayments at doctor visits, FSA dollars are good for much more than that. Expensive necessities like glasses, contacts, first aid kits, heating pads, bandages, acne treatments, sunscreens, heating pads, and family planning products are just some of the many items FSA dollars can be used on.

Using FSA dollars on items you need regardless of a sale or special occasion can free up some of your hard-earned cash, but there is one catch. Flexible Savings Accounts operate on a "use it or lose it" basis, meaning you must spend it or it will expire at the end of the year. With 2017 coming to an end very soon, now is the best time to spend your leftover FSA bucks.

Whether you want to treat yourself to prescription sunglasses, or decide to stock up on useful healthcare products, we rounded up some of the best choices below.

Spend FSA dollars all glasses at GlassesUSA now.

Shop all FSA-approved items at Walgreens now.

Check out the best items to spend your FSA dollars on before 2017 ends, below:

SEE ALSO: 20 brilliantly simple and cheap upgrades that improve your everyday life

Glasses

Buy one pair of glasses and get one free by using the promo code "ellen" at checkout. 

Shop all glasses at GlassesUSA now.

Band-Aids

Band-Aid Flexible Fabric Bandages, $8.79

Heatwraps

ThermaCare Air-Activated Heatwraps, $7.49

• Glassdoor published its list breaking down the best companies of 2018.

• If you want to land a job at one of these organizations, you're going to have to bring your A game to the interview.

• Using data from Glassdoor, Business Insider took a look at what it's like to interview at these beloved organizations.

Considering the generous perks and envy-worth office environments of some of the companies Glassdoor listed in its annual Employees' Choice Awards, it's understandable why you'd be tempted to submit your résumé to a few.

But how easy is it to rock a job interview at these places?

Business Insider looked at Glassdoor's numbers on the percentage of interviewees who reported a positive experience, as well as the difficulty level of each company's interviews for the top 25 best companies to work for.

Glassdoor asks reviewers to score the interview difficulty out of four, with four representing the hardest possible interview.

Here's what we found:

SEE ALSO: How Mark Zuckerberg runs Facebook, the best place to work in America

DON'T MISS: The 50 best places to work in 2018, according to employees

No. 1: Facebook

Interview difficulty: 3.2 out of 4

58% of interviewees had a positive experience.

Sample interview question: "Tell me about a complex sourcing strategy for an ambiguous hybrid role."

No. 2: Bain & Company

Interview difficulty: 3.6 out of 4

76% of interviewees had a positive experience.

Sample interview question:"Walk me through your résumé."

No. 3: Boston Consulting Group

Interview difficulty: 3.7 out of 4 

71% of interviewees had a positive experience.

Sample interview question: "We have a company which is seeking to improve its profits on whiskey, which have declined in recent years. How can we improve our client's market share?"

Christmas is one of the most celebrated holidays on earth. But that doesn't mean that conflicts simply freeze every December 25th.

Important events in both of America's most formative wars — the Revolutionary War and the Civil War — took place on Christmas. British and German troops even celebrated the holiday together on Christmas Day during WWI.

Here's a look at some of the major military events that have fallen on Christmas, a date with a surprisingly rich history.

Pierre Bienaimé wrote a previous version of this post.

1776 — George Washington crosses the Delaware River

Washington led his troops across a 300-yard stretch of the Delaware River in the dead of night between December 25 and 26, 1776.

The surprise move would put Washington's men a 19-mile march away from a garrison of Hessians (German mercenaries hired by the British to help them in their effort to retain a hold on the rebelling colonies) that the Continental Army took completely by surprise.

The Hessians' quick surrender at the Battle of Trenton would be the first of two rebel victories in New Jersey (the other being the Battle of Princeton a week later) as the Continental Army regained control of the colony. This effectively reversed the British drive that had pushed the rebels across New Jersey in the previous months. The daring crossing of the Delaware ended up being one of the turning points of the war.

1868 — US President Andrew Johnson pardons former Confederate soldiers

Nearly a century later, on Christmas Day of 1868, US president Andrew Johnson extended a full pardon and amnesty "to all and to every person who, directly or indirectly, participated in the late insurrection or rebellion."

The internecine war had ended more than three years earlier, taking more American lives than any other conflict in history. But Union General Ulysses S. Grant's scorched earth tactics late in the war left much of the South in ruins, and the country emerged from the war in a state of deep division.

Johnson had been a Tennessee congressman, senator, and governor before joining Abraham Lincoln's presidential ticket. He was tipped in part to attract southern votes. Yet at war's end he seemed bent on imposing harsh conditions on the defeated half of the country.

The day after being sworn in as the nation's president, he asserted that "treason must be made infamous, and traitors must be impoverished."

But according to the History Department at North Carolina State University, Attorney General James Speed tempered Johnson's punitive intentions: "Mercy must be largely extended. Some of the great leaders and offenders only must be made to feel the extreme rigor of the law," Speed advised.

Southerners enjoyed only conditional and limited pardoning (depending on their station during the war) — at least until this blanket amnesty on "the 25th day of December, A. D. 1868."

1914 — German, British, and French soldiers make temporary peace to celebrate Christmas together

On Christmas Day in 1914, the first Christmas of World War I, soldiers left their trenches to observe the holiday in peace.

In the midst of war, soldiers laid down their arms to sing Christmas carols, play soccer, and barter with the cigarettes and sweets they'd received in care packages from the nations they served.

In some places, the truce was limited to an occasion for each side to bury their dead strewn in no man's land, the stretch of earth between opposing trenches that too often served as a killing field. In others, the skirmishing continued.

But some made the Christmas Truce of 1914 what it was: An odd yet heartening case study in how people react to the pressures of war.

• Asking for a raise is notoriously nerve-racking. So it helps to be as prepared as possible.
• Below is a series of questions you'll want to ask yourself before petitioning your boss for more money.
• Those questions focus on timing, job performance history, and other potential perks to negotiate.

Asking for a raise isn't something you want to botch. It's one thing to prepare thoroughly and still not get the salary you want — it's another to wing it and wind up convincing your boss that you're delusional, or nervy.

Before you head for the hot seat, it helps to ask yourself a few questions, about things like your job performance and your boss' constraints. Your answers to these questions will help guide the conversation, so you have a better shot at impressing your boss — and hopefully getting what you want and deserve.

SEE ALSO: The bestselling author of 'I Will Teach You To Be Rich' explains exactly what to say to get the raise you want

Have I talked to my boss about money before?

Your request for a raise shouldn't come as a total shock to your manager.

Ideally, you should be having regular, open conversations with your boss about your future at the company.

"Talk about what you want with your boss," Toni Thompson, vice president of people and talent at The Muse, previously told Business Insider. "Make sure that they know what salary you want eventually and the title you want or more opportunities that you want."

That way, your boss can help prepare you to score that title bump and/or raise.

Is this the right time to ask for a raise?

Think carefully before you schedule an appointment to talk to your boss about your salary.

Jacqueline Whitmore, an international etiquette expert and author of "Poised for Success: Mastering the Four Qualities That Distinguish Outstanding Professionals," previously told Business Insider that the best time to ask for a raise is three to four months before your annual review. That's typically when budgets are being decided.

"Try to approach your boss when business is flourishing if at all possible," Whitmore told Business Insider, "not following a company layoff or right after a few clients end their relationship with the company." 

How long have I been in this job?

According to Alison Green, the woman behind the "Ask a Manager" column, you should generally be in your job for one year before asking for a raise.

"Exceptions to this are if the job changed dramatically or if your responsibilities have increased far beyond what was envisioned when you were hired," Green writes on US News & World Report.

• People tend to make irrational decisions with money. 
• Behavioral economist Richard Thaler, who won the 2017 Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences, studied and identified why people make illogical financial decisions.
• He found that there are a few mental biases — such as the endowment effect, mental accounting, overconfidence, and status quo bias — that determine how people spend.

Traditional models of economic behavior assume that people will make logical money decisions to achieve the best outcome.

But in many real-life situations, people tend to make irrational decisions with money. Consumer behavior that makes people feel happy often does not add up to the best move for them in terms of dollars and cents.

Understanding irrational decisions when it comes to money can be useful, not only to predict illogical choices that people make, but to influence economic behavior. This is something behavioral economist Richard Thaler, winner of the 2017 Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences, has studied at length.

Thaler's understanding of the quirky thought processes that result in irrational spending can help us make smarter financial decisions for ourselves.

Here are some of his key insights into the thinking that drives people to defy logic when it comes to money.

SEE ALSO: 9 money mistakes to avoid in your 40s

1. Endowment effect

Raising the price of a good when its value goes up is logical from the perspective of classical economics. But people see price increases as unfair, and consumers may decide not to make the purchase. In the 1991 paper "Anomalies: The Endowment Effect, Loss Aversion, and Status Quo Bias," Thaler, along with Daniel Kahneman and Jack L. Knetsch, explored a few examples of this particular phenomenon, dubbed the "endowment effect."

Research showed that people found it unfair for a car dealership to raise the list price of a new car by $200. But people thought it would be fair to remove a $200 discount that the dealership has always offered for that car. The cost of the car is $200 more either way, but raising a price makes people feel like something they already had was being taken away, while removing a discount is less of a barrier to making the purchase.

Thaler demonstrated this tendency of not wanting to give up something that you already have with coffee mugs. Half the students in a class received a coffee mug. The randomly selected students who received mugs valued the mug at a much higher price than students who did not receive a mug would be willing to pay to get one. The drive to value what you already have more than something you could obtain is one of the factors that drives illogical human behavior with money.

One way to use the endowment effect to your benefit is to synchronize pay raises with increased retirement fund contributions. That way, the increased contribution to a retirement fund does not reduce take-home pay and is not viewed as a loss of something you already had.

2. Mental accounting

Money is fungible — in other words, dollars are interchangeable, with one dollar being equal in value to any other dollar. But people's mental accounting systems do not treat all dollars as equal, and this can result in people acting in ways that defy simple math.

People tend to categorize funds and use them for their intended purpose even if this is not efficient. Thaler presented an example of this type of mental accounting in his 1985 paper, "Mental Accounting and Consumer Choice." A couple had saved $15,000 for a vacation home that they planned to buy in a few years, and put the money in an account earning 10 percent interest. At the same time, they bought a new car with a three-year loan for $11,000 at 15 percent interest.

Simple math dictates that the couple would have come out ahead using their vacation home fund to buy the car, paying themselves back instead of paying the bank at 5 percent higher interest than they were earning. But people tend to label money with a purpose and assign value to their keeping dollars in the proper categories in their mental accounting system.

Even the source of funds can trigger people to put their money into different mental categories. Would you spend $500 of lottery winnings in the same way you would spend a $500 raise? People would probably use the lottery winnings to buy something fun, but use money from a raise to pay down debt or boost savings. It's the same $500 either way, but people attach different purposes to money based on their mental accounting system.

3. Overconfidence

In a 2005 study analyzing NFL first-round draft picks, Thaler (along with Cade Massey) found that teams often pay too much for early picks based on their perceived ability to spot the next "superstar" player. Second round picks are generally a better value. So why do teams keep paying sky-high prices for first-round draft picks?

One explanation is that teams spend a lot of time studying and analyzing the high draft picks and become overconfident in their ability to pick a winner. Overconfidence can lead consumers to buy the latest and greatest new tech products at top dollar, and investors to confidently buy stocks at prices that are not in line with their assets and earnings.

When it comes to dating, there are few things more painful, confusing, and altogether soul-crushing than being ghosted. Everything can seem totally fine, and then, suddenly, it's over. The texts stop coming, the hangouts completely dwindle, and you’re forced to furiously rack your brain to figure out what might have gone wrong.

INSIDER spoke with relationship expert and sex educator Logan Levkoff about the best ways to move on after the object of your affection pulls a disappearing act. And, no, none of these suggestions include watching every season of "Friends" on Netflix and eating all the ice cream in your freezer.

Figure out if you’ve actually been ghosted.

So the person you've been seeing hasn't gotten in touch for a few days and you're starting to feel hardcore waves of panic. Before you write the relationship off altogether, check back in with them over text. You'll be able to tell a lot from their response.

"There's a difference between someone replying, 'Oh my God, I'm so sorry, I totally spaced out. Let's get together' versus 'Oh yeah. Hey. What's going on?'" Levkoff told INSIDER.

Even if you do end up getting that vague text, at least you know where you stand.

Plus, you should give yourself lots of applause for putting yourself out there and trying.

Examine the relationship honestly.

It can be extremely difficult to be objective about your relationship — especially if you're dealing with all those icky, post-ghosted feelings.  Do your very best to take a step back.

"I think there's a reality check that needs to take place," Levkoff said. "If most of your interactions are by text or maybe hooking up late at night once every other week, is that really a relationship? Is it really a substantial thing? Are we asking someone for a little bit too much?"

In the end, it might not be the worst thing if your casual romance peters out. Just think about all those lackluster conversations you guys had when kissing wasn't involved.

Ghosting says far more about the ghoster, than the ghostee.

Getting rejected is the pits. Your ego is crushed and your self-esteem can completely plummet. Instead of beating yourself up, though, try and turn your attention around to your ghoster: is this really the type of person you want to depend on and date?

"If a person falls off the face of the earth, they're probably not someone you'd really care to spend more time with,” Levkoff told INSIDER. "They didn't even have enough integrity to say, 'Listen, this was fun but I don't think it's going anywhere and I hope you're okay with that.'"

With a year as impactful and chaotic as 2017 finally coming to a close, it's time to look back on all of the people whose work and art have made a mark on us over the past months. 

From stars to politicians to CEOs, here are all the people in their 50s who have made a lasting impression on us this year. 

Ellen DeGeneres gave back to her audience this year.

Ellen DeGeneres, 59, is one of the funniest people on TV, but her kind heart and giving personality are a big part of why she inspired us this year.

DeGeneres featured heartwarming stories on her show, and even gave her entire audience a trip to Dubai. She also announced she'd be hosting a new reality competition show. 

Michelle Obama spoke out for what she believes in.

Though her stint as FLOTUS has ended, that hasn't stopped Michelle Obama, 53, from continuing to give back. She spoke out against sexual harassment allegations in Hollywood, continued her mental health initiative, and shared her secrets for success. 

Viola Davis won big for her role in "Fences."

Actress Viola Davis, 52, had another impressive year in an amazing career. From a moving Oscar speech following her win for "Fences," to standing up for diversity on-screen, she made headlines for all the right reasons. 

• MealKitt founder Julian Gaine took a series of photos that show how much you should eat for Christmas dinner depending on your weight goal.
• The photos show portion sizes according to if you want to lose, maintain, or gain weight.
• According to Gaine, portion control is the easiest and most fundamental way to achieve your weight goal.

Who doesn't love the holidays?

It's a time full of celebrations, gifts, and delicious food.

Unfortunately, though, all of that delicious food can lead to some unwanted weight gain.

Julian Gaine, the managing director and founder behind MealKitt, wants to combat those extra pounds through portion control.

Gaine recently released a series of photos that show how much food you should eat during a typical Christmas dinner, depending on if you're looking to lose, maintain, or gain weight.

INSIDER spoke with Gaine about the photos and portion control in general. Keep scrolling to see what he told us.

The photos depict three courses of a Christmas dinner: a smoked salmon appetizer, an entree consisting of turkey, vegetables, stuffing, and potatoes, and pudding for dessert.

The photo above depicts how large an entree you should eat if you're looking to lose weight. Gaine said the photos were created under the assumption that a Christmas meal is going to account for around 60% of your calories for the day.

He said that it's common for people to have a small breakfast, then eat a large meal, and "nibble" for the rest of the day.

Gaine said the photos are geared towards an average man who's between the ages of 20 and 50, is anywhere between five foot six inches and six feet tall, and weighs between 200 to 220 pounds.

According to Gaine, the average man who gets around 30 minutes of brisk exercise per day needs about 2,500 calories per day to maintain weight, whereas the average woman needs around 2,000 calories per day to maintain weight.

The portion pictured above is broken up into about 30% protein, 30% fat, and 40% carbohydrates, a ratio Gaine said is ideal for weight maintenance.

He said that since the difference between a man and a woman's daily caloric needs aren't all that different, these photos can apply to women as well.

The difference between weight maintenance and weight loss or gain is around 600 calories per day, according to Gaine.

Gaine said that the main culprits behind weight gain are carbohydrates and sugar. When a client wants to gain weight, Gaine ups their carbohydrate intake, which is why the gain photo includes more potatoes than the maintain and lose photos. 

From this disconcerting photo of a dog to the second coming of The Dress, 2017 was a great year for optical illusions.

Below, we rounded up the most baffling images and mind-boggling designs that went viral and stumped the internet over the past 12 months.

One quick note: We've included explanations for all of these illusions, so scroll down slowly if you want to figure them out on your own.

This photo of wavy and zigzag lines is confusing the entire internet.

This image, which recently went viral, shows a mind-boggling illusion created by Japanese psychologist and researcher Kohske Takahashi. The image shows 12 pairs of lines, made up of light gray and dark gray segments, on top of a white, gray, and black background. Some of these lines appear to be wavy while others appear to make sharp, zigzag turns.

Despite what you see, all the lines are actually curvy.

Takahashi, who wrote about the illusion in the journal "i-Perception" in November, calls this phenomenon "curvature blindness." As he explains in his paper, the lines we perceive as zigzags are the ones that change color (from light gray to dark gray or vice versa) at the high and low points of the curve. Against the white and black backgrounds, these lines appear wavy. But against the gray background, they appear as zigzags. In contrast, the lines that stay consistent in color at the high and low points of the curve remain "wavy" in our eyes across the entire photo.

While he plans to research this effect further, Takahashi proposes that our brains are more likely to perceive something as a corner, rather than a curve, when there's ambiguity over which one it is. Or, in his words, our perception of corners "might be dominant in the visual system."

There are 16 circles in this image — can you figure out where?

This photo went viral in August after Reddit user i124nk8 posted it on the subreddit r/interestingasf---. When you first look at it, you probably only see a bunch of black and white lines and beveled rectangles. But if you look closely, and take your time, you'll see that there are actually 16 circles in the image. 

Scroll down and keep reading if you still can't find the circles.

• Senate and House Republicans must agree on a final version of their competing tax plans before it can move forward.

• So far, both plans have attracted plenty of criticism.

• Career site Zippia broke down how the Senate tax plan could affect take-home pay in 2018 for people in various occupations.

• Business Insider honed in on how the plan could impact physicians.

Take-home pay is set to rise slightly under both tax plans put forward by congressional Republicans.

But most Americans shouldn't expect to collect a ton of extra pocket money, Business Insider's Lauren Lyons Cole reported. And, so far, the feedback from the public and experts regarding the plans has been overwhelmingly negative. According to a recent CBS poll, only 35% of Americans approve of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.

Career site Zippia provided Business Insider with data breaking down how different occupations fare under the Senate's tax plan.

Business Insider's Elena Holodny reported Americans "making around $200,000 to $500,000 would benefit less so from the proposed changes to the tax brackets and deductions." That also happens to be the income range many physicians fall within.

Business Insider specifically looked at how medical doctors fared under the new tax plan. The estimated federal tax savings below are for a single, childless taxpayer who claims the standard deduction.

Here's a look at how medical doctors, from pediatricians to anesthesiologists, could see their taxes change next year if the Senate's tax plan becomes law:

SEE ALSO: Here's what Trump's tax plan means for people at every income level from $20,000 to $269,000 a year

DON'T MISS: Here's what Trump's tax plan means for people making between $300,000 and $10 million a year

Pediatricians

Average salary: $184,240

Current tax: $41,657

Tax under the Senate plan: $36,856

Percent tax cut: 11.5%

Psychiatrists

Average salary: $200,220

Current tax: $46,131

Tax under the Senate plan: $41,970

Percent tax cut: 9.0%

Family and general practitioners

Average salary: $200,810

Current tax: $46,297

Tax under the Senate plan: $42,159

Percent tax cut: 8.9%

• Senate and House Republicans must agree on a final version of their widely criticized tax plans before it can move forward.

• Career site Zippia broke down how the Senate tax plan could affect take-home pay in 2018 for people in various occupations.

• Business Insider looked into how the plan could affect people working in finance.

People aren't happy about the tax plans put forward by congressional Republicans.

According to a recent CBS poll, only 35% of Americans approve of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. While the plan may increase take-home pay for most people, Business Insider's Lauren Lyons Cole reported, the increase in pocket money will be minimal for most people.

Career site Zippia provided Business Insider with data breaking down how different occupations fare under the Senate's tax plan.

Business Insider specifically looked at how financial professionals fared under the new tax plan. The estimated federal tax savings below are for a single, childless taxpayer who claims the standard deduction.

Here's a look at how people working in finance, from accounting clerks to financial managers, could see their taxes change next year if the Senate's tax plan becomes law:

SEE ALSO: Here's what Trump's tax plan means for doctors making between $184,000 and $270,000 a year

DON'T MISS: Here's what Trump's tax plan means for people at every income level from $20,000 to $269,000 a year

Bookkeeping, accounting, and auditing clerks

Average salary: $40,220

Current tax: $4,007

Tax under the Senate plan: $3,196

Percent tax cut: 20.2%

Accountants and auditors

Average salary: $76,730

Current tax: $12,321

Tax under the Senate plan: $10,180

Percent tax cut: 17.4%

Budget analysts

Average salary: $77,170

Current tax: $12,431

Tax under the Senate plan: $10,277

Percent tax cut: 17.3%

From fidget spinners to feminism, 2017 was a year unlike any other.

And although it's hard to find a single word to sum up the entire year, there are certain words that popped up time and time again, shaping the way we talk about current events and enriching our conversations.

Several dictionaries have crunched the numbers and revealed their "words of the year," the words that were looked up more than any others and enjoyed a moment in the spotlight in 2017.

Here are your 2017 words of the year:

SEE ALSO: 'Snowflake,' 'unicorn,' and all the other words that changed meaning in 2017

'Fake news'

Collins dictionary named "fake news" its 2017 word of the year for what it called the term's "ubiquitous presence" over the past year.

A favorite of President Donald Trump and other right-wing politicians, "fake news" is defined as "false, often sensational, information disseminated under the guise of news reporting."

However, as political observers and linguists have noted, Trump often uses the term to describe news coverage that is critical of him or the White House, regardless of its accuracy or truth.

According to the dictionary, lookups for the word shot up 365% this year compared to 2016.

'Complicit'

Dictionary.com's word of the year was "complicit," meaning "choosing to be involved in an illegal or questionable act, especially with others; having partnership or involvement in wrongdoing."

The word soared in popularity in 2017 thanks to two key moments. The first was a "Saturday Night Live"satirical ad for an Ivanka Trump-branded perfume called "Complicit"— "the fragrance for the woman who could stop all this, but won't."

Three weeks later, Trump herself attempted to redefine the word in a CBS interview, saying, "If being complicit is wanting to be a force for good and to make a positive impact, then I’m complicit."

From people speaking out against sexual harassment to NFL players protesting the treatment of minorities, people who refused to be complicit were at the center of some of the biggest news stories of the year, the dictionary said in a blog post.

"In the face of oppression and wrongdoing, this refusal to be complicit has been a grounding force of 2017," the dictionary said.

'Feminism'

"Feminism" was Merriam-Webster's word of the year, the dictionary announced on Tuesday.

Lookups for the word increased 70% in 2017 over the previous year, the dictionary said, and spiked after key events like the Women's March on Washington and during the "Me Too" movement.

The dictionary defines feminism as "the theory of the political, economic and social equality of the sexes" and "organized activities on behalf of women's rights and interests."

Many movie theaters are looking for new ways to enhance the theater experience after a mediocre year at the domestic box office. But a focus on attention to detail and the overall experience beyond just the theater screen is something that the world's most luxurious theaters have strived for from the beginning.

With newly placed technology that extends beyond the theater screen and into the seating itself, movie theaters offer a range of innovations on the age-old theater-going experience.

Beyond upgrades to the projectors themselves, the most dominant trend in the evolution of modern movie theaters is the ability to order food and drinks from the comfort of your seat. But some theaters have innovated upon that concept even further — Cinépolis Luxury Cinemas installs buttons on every seat allowing you to silently call over staff when you're ready to order, for example.

There's even a theater in London that gives every moviegoer a tray filled with various mystery boxes, each designed to be opened and enjoyed at specific points in the movie, containing one-bite treats and mini cocktails that connect to various elements or scenes. Others, like the Alamo Draft House, offer the luxury of not having to worry about disruptive guests, with a zero tolerance policy on talking that's actively enforced by kicking out obnoxious guests. In India, one theater pumps a floral scent through the air conditioning.

With theaters competing for the best luxury amenities, moviegoers have more options than ever to choose from.

Here are the 1o most luxurious theaters in the world:

SEE ALSO: 19 movies you need to see this holiday season

Edible Cinema in London, England

Every guest at an Edible Cinema screening is given a tray filled with numbered "mystery boxes," each containing either a bite-sized morsel, or a mini cocktail that connect to specific moments in whatever film is being screened.

Rajmandir Cinema in Jaipur, India

The Rajmandir is one of the most beautiful theaters in the world. The lobby of the Rajmandir is adorned with chandeliers, custom-made wooden tiles, and glass inlay.

And to further enhance every guest's experience at the Rajmandir, the air is scented with a floral aroma that is pumped through the air conditioning. 

Nitehawk Cinema in Brooklyn, NY

At Nitehawk Cinema, guests can order unique and delicious cocktails, dinner, and snacks (including the signature truffle oil popcorn) while they catch the latest indie flick of their choice.

There was a lot of TV this year, and thankfully, a lot of it was great. 

In fact, there was so much great TV in 2017 that putting together a list of the best shows was tough — and a bit stressful. So many new shows were worth including, like "American Vandal" and "Big Little Lies," and so many returning shows broke ground like "The Good Place" and "Crazy Ex-Girlfriend."

One of the best things about TV in 2017 was the number of shows with female-driven stories (that women liked), from Hulu's Emmy-winning "The Handmaid's Tale" to Freeform's "The Bold Type."

And there were many shows that didn't make the list that are still worth noting. For example, Comedy Central's "Nathan For You" went places you'd never be able to imagine in its fourth season. Netflix, which dominated this list both in new shows and returning shows, also delivered some notable shows that didn't make the cut, like "Alias Grace" and "Big Mouth."

Here are the best TV shows of 2017, categorized into new shows and returning shows:

SEE ALSO: The worst new TV shows of 2017, ranked from bad to completely unwatchable

New shows:

"American Vandal"— Netflix

"American Vandal" is a poignant and funny reflection on true-crime entertainment (specifically "Making a Murderer" and the podcast "Serial"), social media, and teen culture. The show is a fictional documentary about a high school student who is trying to uncover whether or not his classmate Dylan spray-painted a bunch of penises on a teachers' cars.

"Glow"— Netflix

"Glow," based on the 1980s show "Gorgeous Female Ladies of Wrestling," is a fictionalized story of the casting and making that show. "Glow" debuted on Netflix in June, and has been the biggest surprise of 2017. It's hilarious, heartfelt (but not in a cheesy way), and filled with complicated women from many backgrounds. It's like a ten-episode, female-centric sports movie that's also about friendship and forgiveness. Wresting is just a bonus. Alison Brie (who was nominated for a Golden Globe for her performance), Betty Gilpin, and Marc Maron work so well because they fit perfectly into the world of 80s Los Angeles.