What are the holidays without some serious shopping? Whether you need to find stores, organize your lists, document receipts to find advice on when to buy, these apps will help you get in the spirit of giving this season.

1. Decide

This app taps into the upcoming sales information of a product and  will advise you to buy now or wait. In essence, Decide gives you a glimpse into the future as well as a sweet way to save some dough.

2. FastMall

This unique navigation app allows you to set a course for your go-to stores in the mall, saving you time and helping you avoid unnecessary triptomphan-induced traffic jams in shopping centers. The best part of FastMall? Once you download a mall’s map, you don’t need WiFi or GPS!

3. Lemon

Nothing’s worse than surviving the holidays just to find your Christmas bonus is already gone. Lemon is here to help you keep your budget and expenses in check this season. Use the app to scan your receipts after making purchases, and the app will email them to you and scan their content so you can search within your receipts.

4. Gift List

Instead of making multiple lists that you may lose – or worse, reveal to your loved ones – use the Gift List app to make one list and check it twice! App features include price limits per person and a purchase log so you can see whose gifts have yet to be purchased, and even see how much dough is left in your budget.

The “I’m Just Here for the Food” Apps

Whether you’re planning a holiday meal, shopping for groceries, baking cookies or roasting mom’s famous ham, the following apps will help you make the most of your holiday nourishment-related adventures.

5. Simple Grocery List

The Simple Grocery List app comes in handy when planning holiday meals. Simple Grocery List is the self-proclaimed virtual version of the list on your fridge.  The app has clean functionality with all the features needed to make holiday grocery shopping a breeze.

6. Martha Makes Cookies

This app displays cookies so tantalizingly beautiful it will have you downloading New Year’s Resolution Apps before you can say “Gingerbread Man.” From the maitresse of marzipan herself, Martha Stewart’s cookie baking app will bring you and your loved ones some of the most creative and delicious cookies you could hope for this holiday season- that is, if you end up sharing any.

7. Epicurious

Wish you could carry around the award-winning recipes from Epicurious around in your pocket? Now you can, just in time for all of your winter festivities! The Epicurious app lets you browse the 30,000+ apps from Self, Gourmet, and other professionally developed recipe books. It is full of features sure to get your mouth watering, like saving your favorite recipes from the internet to your Epicurious profile. Plus, your app will automatically sync when you log off!

8. SparkRecipe

After you stock up on your groceries, bake cookies with Martha and dive into the award-winning recipes from Epicurious, your waist line might need a little break. Snag this app filled with delicious, healthy meal options to balance out all of those heavy, sit-down dinners. SparkRecipe not only offers recipes – they provide nutritional information and how-to cooking videos as well.

The “I Just Want To Get Home

For The Holidays” Apps

Winter vacations invariably mean travel-related stress. Instead of reaching for the aspirin, take advantage of our top picks for smooth and safe travels this holiday season.

9. RoadNinja 

Ever find yourself somewhere between home and the in-laws’ house when your gas light comes on, with no exit or rest stop in sight? We’ve all been there, but now the RoadNinja app can save you that AAA call. By using your current location, RoadNinja tells you what exits are nearby and what is available in terms of gas, food, hotels and entertainment at each stop.

10. TripAssist

TripAssist is your all-in-one mobile trip planner, brought to you by Expedia. It gathers email confirmations, flight alerts, interactive itineraries and even allows you to shop for flights or hotels. Even if you didn’t book through Expedia, you can still take advantage of this travel assistant app.

11. GasBuddy

Taking the Suburban to Grandma’s house? Driving up a mountain side to your friend’s cabin? Traveling to the nearest port for a tropical cruise? GasBuddy will be your new best friend. The app uses your location (or a manually entered one) to tell you where the cheapest gas can be found within a one-mile radius. GasBuddy even allows you to enter cheap gas locations to help fellow travelers on their way!

12. Flight Board

Flying during the holidays can be a nightmarish experience – unless, of course, you have FlightBoard on your phone. This app puts the live departures and arrivals board right in your hands so you can see if your flight is delayed, cancelled or on time without pushing through the crowd to see the screen.

 

Did we leave your favorite holiday app off the list? Tell us about it!