Surviving the holiday season requires a little super power, a little creativity and a lot of organization. While it wouldn’t hurt to have Martha Stewart’s number in your phone contacts, most of us are not that lucky. Instead we have come up with 15 must-have apps that will make your holiday more organized, more helpful and more fun. Check it out!
1. Elfster. If you are doing a Secret Santa gift exchange between friends, coworkers or family, this app is for you! Simply add your groups’ emails and it randomly chooses your exchange. It also includes wish lists, so you know everyone’s preferences. This free app is available on iOS and Android.
2. justWink. If holiday cards have become a chore, download to justWink app on iOS or Android. This app, developed by American Greetings, offers cards sent directly from the app as email, text, social media greeting and even snail mail. Bonus features include voice recordings and gift card attachments.
3. The Advent App. Available on iPhones, this app allows you to create personalized Advent calendars to family and friends for 99 cents and they can receive them for free. Every day they will receive a personalized photo, text or a gift selected by you.
4. Elf Yourself. Make silly dance videos of up to five people with images from your phone or Facebook. The app is free, but to download and share the videos will cost 99 cents to $6.99.
5. Amazon Shopping. Wouldn’t it be great to do all your shopping from your phone? With this app, you can. It’s also great for price comparisons while shopping locally. With a subscription to Amazon Prime, you can also get free shipping and free access to Prime Video and Music.
6. Allergy Eats. This is a great guide for checking how allergy friendly restaurants are in your area. Simply type in the allergen and your location in the search. The results are ratings based on actual experiences by other families. You have the option leave comments, too.
7. One Today. This generosity app showcases a non-profit cause daily with a video and story. You can also browse for causes close to your heart and make a donation of at least $1 (with all proceeds going to the cause). Inspire others by encouraging them to match your donation or pay it forward by matching theirs.
8. Pinterest. Looking for a last-minute recipe while you are shopping? Pinterest offers millions of ideas for the recipes, crafts, games and so much more. Pins will take you directly to the recipe or directions, so you will have everything you need while at the store.
9. SignUpGenius. It takes a village to get through holiday planning and SignUpGenius is a great way to divide up the tasks. Use it for bringing food to a potluck, driving the carpools or shift schedules at work.
10. Christmas Ringtones. Get into the spirit of the holidays by assigning Christmas ringtones to your frequent callers, texts and other alerts. There are several versions available for free on iOS and Android.
11. Capture the Magic. This is a great app for kids who are questioning Santa. Take a picture of a room in your house and add Santa, elves or reindeer to the picture to “prove” they exist. Free app available on iOS or Android.
12. Heads Up. This fun app will be the hit of your holiday party. Hold the phone up on your forehead facing the other players. They give you hints as to what word or phrase is on the screen and you have to guess.
13. Arrive. With all the online purchases going on, it is hard to keep track of the packages. Download Arrive, which syncs your email with Amazon, eBay, Walmart and many other online stores, to track all your package deliveries in one place.
14. Shutterfly. What do you do with all those photos you took during the holidays? Get them off your phone and store them on Shutterfly for free. In addition, get free 4 x 4 or 4 x 6 pictures through the app version only.
15. Mint. Keep track of your spending with this budget app. By having all your financial information in one place, you can track spending, investments and create a budget. Mint is made by Intuit, the creators of Turbo Tax and Quickbooks.
