With the festive season in full swing, the party invites are rolling in and the joys of Christmas cheer are almost upon us.
But that doesn’t mean December isn’t also a teeny bit stressful. There’s a lot to do, gifts to buy and the overwhelming feeling that there’s just not enough time to do it all – or money to fund it.
So here are some Christmas hack apps to provide you with helpful, time-saving tools to make the lead up to the 25th smoother and cheaper.
Need to purchase some gifts, and fast, yet stuck for inspiration on what to buy your loved ones? Feli is your personal gift assistant. It helps you find the perfect gift for everyone, tailored to the recipient’s personal taste, so you can say bye to shopping stress.
Put an end to hassling friends for cash and use Tilt for gifts, holiday rentals, Christmas dinners and any time you are collecting money with your friends or family. With Tilt you can invite friends to chip in, track who’s paid, and receive funds directly into your bank account. The app applies a healthy dose of peer pressure too so you won’t be going into debt this Christmas from picking up your friends’ tab.
Getting home from your Christmas party is now cheaper thanks to UberPOOL which matches you with another rider heading in the same direction. It adds only a few minutes, and you both make large savings on the cost of the journey. Trips are up to 50% less than uberX, leaving you more cash for Christmas shopping. Boom.
Time to Roast allows you to calculate the cooking time for your Christmas dinner by simply entering the weight of the meat, which sounds much simpler than digging out a book and messing around with weights. You can set alarms for all phases of cooking and takes the stress out of cooking a large bird with all the trimmings. So no more dry turkey for you!
This gift exchange app is ideal for people who are tired of playing Secret Santa or receiving gifts they wish they hadn’t. Gift SwApp is a fun alternative to exchanging gifts with friends and family. The idea is you ask everyone to wrap up a mystery gift beforehand, decide whether they should be serious, silly or cheap. Then choose between the two Gift SwApp games and let the swapping begin.
Who has time to sit writing piles of cards? Most of us don’t, so why not download Touchnote, an app which allows you to print and send your photos as personalised postcards. Saves you money on the cost of a stamp too.
Afraid you’ll forget someone on your present list? Santa’s Bag shopping list manager usefully tells you who you need to buy presents for, along with your budget, and helps you stay organised with the gifts you’re yet to buy.