‘Tis the season to cram gift buying, wrapping and travel into your already crazy busy life. Oh, and to be jolly.
You want to rock around the tree, deck the halls and otherwise enjoy the holiday season, but it can be stressful. To help out, we (at WhatArmy) rounded up the best holiday apps for list tracking, present purchasing, traveling and just unwinding with some elfin fun.
It’s time for less stressing and more wassailing. Check out our list of best holiday apps below.
MAKING A LIST
We’re marketers. We love lists. Lists are kind of our thing.
With these apps, you can apply the same expert list-making abilities to your holiday lists as you do to your marketing lists.
- Christmas Gift List: This Android app does it all. Track gift ideas, set budgets per person, send lists by email, Twitter, Evernote and more, mark gifts as purchased, wrapped, etc.
- Santa’s Bag: This iOS app also does it all when it comes to creating holiday lists. Plan gift ideas, simplify group gifting, set budget, backup your data (we’re all about that at WhatArmy), Christmas countdown, create reports (OMG, a marketer’s dream), and share your lists with friends and family.
- Giftster: Here’s a free, private gift registry for your family. Create wish lists, rate items based on what you want the most, include store links, add color preferences and sizes. There’s also a public list option and you can have Giftster randomly draw names for a gift exchange.
- Checked Twice: Here’s another gift registry for families. It has a lot of the same features as Giftster, so compare the look and feel for your preference. Clicked Twice also has a surprise gift feature that lets you add a surprise gift that all group members except the recipient can see.
YOU DON’T HAVE TO BE A SCROOGE …
… TO SAVE LIKE ONE
Now you can save like Scrooge – without the attitude!
Jingle all the way to the bank with the savings from these discount-driven apps.
- Ebates: You’ve probably heard of Ebates, but if not, or if you haven’t tried it, you might want to give it a shot to keep more of that silver and gold in your pocket during your seasonal shopping. A bizillion stores participate to offer discounts and coupons.
- NowDiscount: Available on Android and iOS, this app compares your local retail price to online prices, so you can shop local while getting a better price.
- ShopAdvisor: ShopAdvisor partners with magazines to keep shoppers up-to-date on trends, let you know which retailers carry what you’re looking for and notify you when your product goes on sale.
‘TWAS THE NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS …
… AND YOU’RE JUST CHILLAXIN’ ‘CAUSE YOUR GIFTS ARE READY TO ROLL
This year, you’re gonna hang out under a mistletoe, you’re actually gonna roast some chestnuts on an open fire, you’re gonna dash through the snow in a one-horse open sleigh. Or, like me, maybe you’ll just lay around more.
Whatever you choose to do, you’re gonna get to do it because you’ve “wrapped up” your holiday gift shopping early. Here are some apps to help.
- Elfster: This gift-giving app started with the Secret Santa game. You can quickly, easily and funly (sure, that’s a word) set up a Secret Santa with anyone anywhere. Since the game feature, Elfster has expanded to include wish lists, community gift giving, charity gifts, Hanukkah gift exchanges and more.
- Wanelo: Users post things that they want, so follow your friends and family for great gift ideas. Wanelo also has unique gifts, like this Gummi Bear Skeleton Candle (who wouldn’t want that?), since everything on there is shared by users.
- Fancy: This is another app full of unique gift ideas, like this desk foot hammock, curated by users. BONUS: Fancy has a “fancy” button that you can click when you (or your holiday gift recipients) fancy something.
YOU’LL BE HOME FOR THE HOLIDAYS –
OR WHEREVER YOU’RE GOING – WITH HELP FROM THESE TRAVEL APPS
Whether by planes, trains or automobiles (OK, more of a Thanksgiving reference, but whatevs), you’ll be home for Christmas – and not only in your dreams – with help from these travel apps.
- TripIt: As the app proclaims; here are all of your travel plans in one place! TripIt holds all of your receipts and travel itinerary – and you can access it anywhere.
- Waze: Avoid wayward reindeer, and always get the best road-travel route with crowd-sourced navigation tips.
A FEW OF OUR FAVORITE THINGS – JUST FOR FUN!
Whew! You’re all set with gifts and travel – or you just need to take a break. Either way, here are some apps just for holiday fun.
- JibJab: Create fun holiday cards – starring you!
- Santa Tracker: This app is more than the name implies. Not only can you track Santa on Christmas Eve; you can watch videos and play games for each day of the Christmas countdown.
- Elf Yourself: Create elves of you and your friends with your photos – and even make mini videos to share.
For more holiday help, Google compiled a full page of tips to thrive this holiday season using a bunch of its apps.
Enjoy the apps, and we hope you have a fun and safe holiday season.
Speaking of safe: So you don’t have to worry about hackers and data loss while merrymaking, download our Website Management Checklist. (You might wanna check it twice before heading outta town!) I just had to get one more in there.
