Community Corner

Here's Some Apps to Ease Holiday Hassles

Bloomingdale-Riverview Patch has put together a list of apps to help you navigate the holidays.

I sometimes wonder how I ever survived before the advent of the iPhone. That little black box has become my lifeline, enabling me to track the comings and goings of kids and friends, preserve precious moments, stay on schedule and perform my job from virtually anywhere.

I especially love all the apps and am constantly exploring new ones to make my life easier. Here are some of my favorite apps for the holidays.

Black Flyday

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Get ready for the biggest shopping day of the year with Iconosys' newly released Black Flyday 3.0, a Facebook-integrated Smartphone app.

This app empowers die-hard shoppers to take advantage of the latest deals around by enabling them to know the exact whereabouts of those "Black Friday" bargains as those great deals are being announced.

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Black Flyday 3.0 provides shoppers with a comprehensive, big-picture view (including a map) of the particular shopping deals within a pre-set local perimeter from their designated location.

The 99-cent app also allows users to maintain communication with fellow deal-hunting Facebook friends and with your deal hunting team members.

In the spirit of the holiday hubbub, when you open the free Epicurious app, its home screen is dedicated to holiday-related topics like Turkey and Gravy, Thanksgiving Sides and Fall Desserts.

When you open up a specific recipe, you get the recipe itself, details on servings and prep time, a photo of the finished product, and reviews from people who’ve made the dish.

To make sure you don’t forget anything when you hit up grocery store, the app lets you add recipes to your shopping list, itemizing the ingredients by grocery department (e.g., fresh produce or dairy), and giving you the option to check items from the list once you’ve picked them up.

Martha Stewart Makes Cookies

This free app features more than 90 recipes, instructional videos, baking tips, packaging ideas and shopping lists for cookie lovers.

Cards

This is a must for busy people. The free app from Apple can help you send stylish, custom cards. Use pre-built templates and photos from your iPhone to create your own cards and then address them using the contacts in your address. For $2.99 each, the cards will then be printed and mailed using high-quality paper stock and letterpress printing.

The Christmas List 

If you are overwhelmed with holiday shopping each year, the Christmas List app is for you. It helps you track your purchases, budget your funds, check gift recipients off as you purchase their gifts and check the shipping status of your packages.

The Ultimate Holiday App

The free Ultimate Holiday iPhone app by Hallmark Channel lets you manage your gift giving with easy-to-use organizational tools, add seasonal flair to your photos and send e-Greetings to friends and family from your iPhone.

Fake Call From Santa

Another free app, this helps you to help your kids behave all year long.

Elf UR Face

This one's strictly for fun. Select or take a new picture of your friends and family, and decorate them with holiday stickers. Then send them via email, Facebook and Twitter.

Martha Stewart Makes Cocktails

Forgotten what goes into a Manhattan? This free app lets you whip up a variety of cocktails.

Where is Santa?

This free app allows you to track Santa's every move.

Christmas Radio

This popular free app lets you access thousands of holiday songs.

Black Friday Survival Guide

This app delivers the latest Black Friday news, the best sales and the best deals right to your phone.

Sing Along Christmas Carols

This handy free karoake-style app helps you to remember the words to favorite Christmas songs while you're out caroling.

Do you have a favorite holiday app? Let us know in the comments section below.


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