The Christmas spirit is showing up everywhere, even in the iTunes App Store. Looking for some apps to make your 2013 holidays jollier? This joyous selection should get you started. It’s a great mix of useful, playful, and just… well… pointless.
Mobile Bandit (Free)
All-day shopping runs can cost you a lot of money and energy. The last thing you need is to spend all of your Christmas money on food and drinks while walking around and shopping. Mobile Bandit allows you to find and claim coupons for shops and restaurants near you. Just download the app from here: Mobile Bandit App, open it up while shopping and it will find all the deals and coupons offered by shops and restaurants near you.
Rudolph’s Kick n’ Fly (Free)
Imagine you’re Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, and one of Santa’s elves is standing behind you. What’s you’re first thought? If it’s to kick the elf,Rudolph’s Kick n’ Fly should be right up your alley. In this casual game, you must kick an elf to send him careening across the map, bouncing and scoring points as he picks up snowflakes and candy canes on the way. The longer the elf bounces against walls and clouds, the more chance he has to earn more points. It’s a fun way to take a break from the Christmas rush.
Christmas!! (Free)
The Christmas countdown calendar gets a digital incarnation in the Christmas!! app. Once December begins, you’re able to start opening windows, one for each day. Every window has a surprise: jokes, songs, and Christmas wallpapers all help build the holiday spirit. You even get a few toys! If something spurs an idea for a Christmas present, add it to an in-app gift list. Finally, in a real example of Christmas generosity, the app will continue to work year after year, with free annual updates.
Best Christmas Recipes (Free)
What’s Christmas without your family gathered around a delicious, home-cooked meal? Unless you have an established family meal tradition, though, choosing what to cook can be a daunting task. The Best Christmas Recipes app saves the day, with 150 fabulous pre-chosen dishes and 150 meals. Each recipe includes an ingredients list, simple directions, and a final presentation picture to show how everything should look. The dishes and meals are grouped logically for easy finding. Then, if you’re hoping for a white Christmas, give your iPhone a shake, and snow will fall on your screen as music plays. Food, family, music and snow — nothing is missing for the best Christmas ever.
Is It Christmas? (Free)
Certainly the simplest Christmas-themed app ever, and perhaps the simplest app, Is It Christmas answers one question: “Is It Christmas?” The app icon is a Christmas tree next to a question mark. Tap the icon and the app opens, and displays only “Yes” or “No.” On just one day of the year will the app display “Yes.” Guess which day that is? It’s the perfect app for settling holiday arguments, and for providing visible evidence to the kids that no, today is not yet Christmas.
The Christmas List ($1.99)
There needs to be at least one productivity app on any top five app list, and this is the one. The Christmas List makes gift planning and shopping easy. You can create a gift list for each recipient, quickly add several gifts to a list at once, or put the same gift on the lists of multiple recipients. Add stores of your choice, or use the default list, and track your shopping progress as you go. Lists sync to email, and password protection can keep your gifts secret. Print out your lists, and track the progress of each gift (bought, in transit, or wrapped). It’s a practical way to reduce holiday stress.
