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There are certain things that become staples in your holiday season: dad forgetting to bring an axe every year when you chop down a Christmas tree, grandma force-feeding you more cookies than any mortal should eat, and the annual viewing of an embarrassing home video of you dressed as Rudolph. But with smartphones and tablets taking over, there’s always room for more Christmas fun, which will hopefully be less embarrassing. Here are 10 Apps That Will Bring Your Christmas to Life, available on Windows Store.
Burning Fireplace
Price: Free
Not every home has a hearth. People who live in apartment buildings don’t have access to a fireplace. Dorm dwellers don’t have access to candles, and only regulation hot plates, for that matter. For the holidays, you should at least have the option to pretend that you can roast chestnuts on an open fire. The Burning Fireplace app is a yule log for your mobile device, with full crackling effects. Get some cocoa and snuggle up.
Cocktail Flow
Price: $2.99
Don’t embarrass yourself in front of your significant other’s grandpa. If he asks for an Old Fashioned at the family holiday party, look up the perfect way to craft one on Cocktail Flow. The app allows you to enter the bottles that you have on hand and offers hundreds of drink recipes accordingly.
Spotify
Price: Free
What are the holidays without a little Christmas music? Spotify lets members listen to entire albums on their mobile devices, and offers personal recommendations for new music to discover. Put on some Bing Crosby classics while wrapping presents or jam out to Mariah Carey while baking cookies.
Mint
Price: Free
There are two extremes to how people handle their finances: One type will ignore it and hope for the best, while the other type will obsess. The latter is probably the smarter in terms of how to handle money, and the Mint app is perfect for it, especially during the gift-giving season. Making sure that your loved ones are spoiled doesn’t have to break the bank.
Hulu Plus
Price: Free
Nothing brings greater joy than gathering around a tablet to watch a Christmas classic while you wait for St. Nick to drop off the goods. Hulu Plus has all of your old favorites, like A Charlie Brown Christmas, and new ones, like the stop-motion Community episode, “Abed’s Uncontrollable Christmas.”
Allthecooks Recipes
Price: Free
Before the New Year forces everyone that you know and love to start a diet, treat them to something delicious. Make them truly feel like they did all that they could before their resolution to eat healthy goes into effect. Make them have no regrets about eating asparagus wrapped in bacon, drizzled with melted butter and maple syrup, because, hey, asparagus is healthy. Allthecooks Recipes makes cooking easy, so you can scour the app for delicious meals, and its walkthroughs are so simple. In fact, it’s almost easier than boiling water and adding ramen noodles.
INRIX Traffic
Price: Free
Showing up fashionably late to a holiday party is fine, you classy gent. Showing up four hours late to Christmas dinner because the roads were bad and traffic built up is inexcusable. INRIX Traffic updates with real-time traffic info, covers accidents, police, and construction. So you can get to where you need to go, efficiently.
SantaTrack
Price: Free
Avoid the constant barrage of questions from your cousins. “When’s Santa coming? Where do you think he is right now? Is he truly all powerful and all knowing?” SantaTrack is an adorable app that shows where the big man in red is and his estimate time of arrival, so the kids can get to bed, and you and the grown-ups can spike the eggnog.
Netflix
Price: Free
Netflix is an app that you should have on your tablet or smartphone anyway, but especially during Christmas. Just a few titles to peak your interest if you haven’t downloaded it yet: Bad Santa, The Muppets Christmas Carol, and Love Actually. We could go on, but the time that you save here could be spent watching something to help get you into the holiday spirit.
Skype
Price: Free
Obviously, the most important aspect of the holidays is who you spend them with. Unfortunately, with careers, school, and other forces spreading you and your loved ones around the globe, it’s not always easy. Skype lets you chat and make group video calls for free, no matter where in the world you are.