A Few Apps to Help You Get Through the Holidays

Whether you are a religious person, or not, everyone seems to get into the spirit of the holidays. It is a time of giving, and with a couple of new iPhone providers in the market this year, there are sure to be a number of iPhones under the tree.

For those of us who already have an iPhone, I thought it would be a good idea to show you a few iPhone/iPod Touch applications that might help get through the holidays this year.

You know how Christmas always seems to sneak up on you? Here’s an app to help you keep track of the countdown to Christmas. It’s called “Sleeps to Christmas“. This one is quite simple, but affective. When you open the app. you immediately get a cartoon Christmas character holding a sign showing how many more days until Christmas, with some animated snow falling, and Christmas music playing in the background. You can also share the countdown with friends via email, or by updating your Facebook status, from right in the app. This one is free.

Next is something to help you get your shopping done. It is called “The Christmas List“. With this app, you are able to add as many people to your list as you want, and put them into groups, (like Family, Friends, etc) so you can find them easier. There are many stores built in to the app, but you can add as many of your own as you need. Plug in the gifts and how much they cost, for each of the lucky people on your list, and The Christmas List will automatically tell you how much you’re spending. Just put a check mark next to the gift, when you’ve purchased it, and your totals get updated. You can also choose a priority for the gift and add a photo. This one is also free.

Lastly, an app to keep the Christmas tunes flowing, 24/7. “Christmas Radio“. This app has a bunch of pre-programmed Christmas radio stations available to stream over the internet. Works on WiFi or 3G. “Christmas Radio” asks for your location, and attempts to find stations close to you. The user interface leaves a little to be desired, but for free, it does the job.

That’s it for this week. I hope these few free apps will help guide you through what can be a tough and stressful time of year. Don’t forget to add that special someone to your list! Please feel free to check out my blog Green Candy for more iPhone related articles, and you can also follow me on Twitter: @rorypiper.