Have you been out lately? A giant tree in the office lobby, tinsel on trees, garish and/or twinkly lights, sudden appearances of the native tundra creature (the reindeer!) in tropical Singapore, glitter, glitter, glitter, and loosely-based Christian imagery — what is this visual madness? Yes, it must be Christmas time again.
Your eyes are already being assaulted by the gaudiness of mall decorations, and you really have no say when you’re minding your own business in Cold Storage and a Christmas medley fills the air via the speakers. You’ve already involuntarily immersed yourself in the spirit of Christmas, so what’s a few more Christmas-themed apps?
Here are some helpful, and some playfully festive apps to utilise as you greet the yuletide:
1. Amateur Surgeon: Christmas Edition
A desktop game that is sure to bring the festive cheer, you play a surgeon with the simple task of saving Christmas’ characters — an elf, a reindeer, etc. And if you’re familiar with the Surgeon Simulator series (or maybe the actual profession itself), you’d know that it’s no easy task trying to save lives. A bit macabre perhaps, but it’s heaps of fun as well.
2. Elf Yourself
Did you ever wake up one day and think “Hey, I really want to be a Christmas elf” and then go back to sleep? No? Yeah, me neither. But this mobile app allows you to turn yourself and your friends into dancing elves immortalised in the medium of video. You can even choose your poison — by that I mean the music genre — and then choose to share it on your social media platforms. Makes for a brilliant laugh.
Download: App Store or Google Play
3. Fireplace 3D
It blows that we have no snow and weather for those puffy jackets and thermal turtlenecks from Uniqlo. But we can always imagine, can’t we? Every Christmas song seems to pay tribute to the fireplace, and because we can’t own one, the next best thing to do is to download it.
It’s apparently life-changing too, as one fan said: “When I downloaded this app, my life changed forever. After it had finished downloading, I immediately opened it in excitement for the amazing 3D fireplace and I heard the Gods calling to me. They said to me ‘now that you’ve downloaded Fireplace 3D Lite, your life will never be the same. I didn’t know what this meant, so I shrugged it off, but within the weeks following that day, I began to use this app more and more.”
Download: App Store
4. Inkly
How many times can you say ‘Merry Christmas’, and how many variations of those words are there anyway? Fight normal, and make your own card! You can even do it right on your phone.
This app lets you add photos, upload your own handwriting and create unique designs to put together something more personalised and one-of-a-kind. If you prefer a ready-made design, choose from the ones sourced from designers all around the world. In some countries, Inkly even accommodates the printing of cards.
Download: App Store or Google Play
5. Christmas Gift List
It’s easy to slip into overspending and going over your budget during the Christmas season, what with all the seasonal sales going on and sock fillers you have to purchase for ‘acquaintances’ at work. Track your expenses so you don’t fall into the ‘too much Christmas, too little money’ trap. This app also comes with other nifty functions like letting you indicate who you have bought gifts for already and how many presents you haven’t wrapped.
Download: App Store or Google Play
6. My Fitness Pal
“Just eat,” they said, “After Christmas can exercise what,” they said. Regardless of whether you’re gonna be going for seconds at Christmas parties or not, you can feel safe (or not) by logging in the stuff you’re stuffing yourself with, so you know exactly how much you’ve had for the day. The truth hurts, but data is always king.
Download: App Store or Google Play
7. Spotify
They’ve proven to be really good with curating playlists, so you can trust Spotify to soundtrack your Christmas mood. From the classics to the covers to the indie Christmas songs, we reckon it shouldn’t take too much time until you find a Christmas tune to your liking. And even if you don’t, there’s Christmassy songs for people who hate Christmas too — try this one.
Download: App Store or Google Play
8. Google Santa Tracker
Every year, Google impresses everyone when it comes to Christmas. 2014’s Santa Tracker was a masterpiece, with quirky graphics, interactive games (like giving Santa a haircut), and the countdown to Santa’s flyover around the world itself. We can’t wait for the 2015 campaign to kick off.
Download: Google Play