5 Essential Apps To Get You Through The Holidays

Make sure your festivities run smoothly with the perfect apps for Christmas time.

While many of us are winding down for the holidays already with gifts safely wrapped up and under the tree, there are a select few among us who have yet to even jot down a Christmas list. That’s right, the last minute shopping brigade will be out in force over the coming week, so be sure your website can handle the strain of any traffic spike and clearly state when orders need to be completed by to receive your services before Christmas.

For more information on how to best equip your website to handle holiday traffic visit this blog post.

As with most things, there’s a range of apps on the market designed to help you out over the festive period. From gift ideas to last-minute digital Christmas cards, the internet – of course – has the answer.

Below are five essential apps for making it through the holidays, which could be helpful for in your business or personal life, or both:

Gift It. This handy little app is ideal for anyone who is yet to become an organised Christmas shopper. This handy little assistant will keep track of your budget, provide you with a countdown to the big day (which will also be your deadline) and also lets you know who you have yet to buy for, so nobody misses out. You can even collaborate on the app, sharing your list with others who may be coordinating with your gifting.

Pinterest. Very much billed as the social media of creatives, Pinterest is a great port of call for anyone needing some gift inspiration. It’s crammed full of do-it-yourself style projects to cut the cost of your presents this year and add the personal touch, so for those on a budget this app is an essential. You can “pin” your inspiration to boards too, and these can be kept private so you can store your very own electronic indie-crafts gift list in your pocket.

NORAD Tracks Santa. An essential for those with a young family over the festive period, this app is a counterpart to the popular NORAD Tracks Santa website, which follows Mr Claus on his journey from the North Pole around the globe and down the chimneys of every household from here to Timbuktu. You can explore the North Pole and play games on the app, so it could be a good iPad go-to for restless youngsters who may be getting in the way during Christmas dinner preparations!

Just Eat. Not everybody celebrates Christmas with a huge roast dinner, and for those who would rather put their feet up and have someone else arrange the catering on Christmas Day – or indeed any day – Just Eat boasts a range of take away alternatives to the traditional spread. While not all takeaways will be open on December 25th there will be a select few willing to fill you up at short notice!

Inkly Cards. While sites such as Moonpig and Funky Pigeon can handle our festive post with a click of a button, the cards they produce can make your holiday messages seem impersonal as they lack your individual handwriting. Inkly Cards is tackling this issue: you can choose your card from 1300 designs, and then photograph your handwritten greeting, inserting it into the inside of your card. It’s the personalised card app of the digital age!

Whether or not you’ll be celebrating Christmas this year, the Holidays is likely to be a time of rest and appreciation of family and friends. Here at UK2 the Holidays is a time to reflect on the past year in our business and look forward to what we can do in 2016. If you are a business owner you too should be taking stock of how your business has fared over the year and be planning how you’ll improve on your performance as we head towards 2016.

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