10 APPS can streamline holiday tasks, shopping
Whether you’re hosting a large gathering or simply accommodating your immediate family, the holiday season can add extra stress with all the tasks and duties that come with it. Fortunately, mobile and online technology, specifically applications, can help
Here are the top 10 picks, all available on iOS or Android, to help you breathe more easily this holiday season:
Amazon or Prime Now
If you already regularly shop on Amazon.com, and especially if you’re a Prime member, having this app on your smartphone or tablet is a must. You can easily check if a gift on your shopping list is available or on sale and arrange for a quickly arriving purchase within a matter of minutes.
Cartwheel by Target
Target is a one-stop shop for many city dwellers, as you can find such things as electronics, clothing, wrapping paper, ornaments and food. This app is useful both before and during your shopping trip, as you can pull up sales and coupons tailored specifically to your shopping needs.
Flight Tracker
If you don’t want to keep consulting your email or handwritten notes of what times friends and family members are supposed to arrive, this app can help you quickly check their flight status information so you avoid spending unnecessary time waiting at the airport if they end up delayed. TaskRabbit
If there’s something you just don’t have time to do yourself, or you just want to give yourself a well-deserved break, this app can help you enlist someone to do a task for you, whether it’s wrapping presents, doing your shopping or returns for you, or even cleaning your house.
Waze
There’s nothing worse than nearly over-scheduling during the holidays only to end up stuck in traffic. Pull up this app as soon as your get in the car to immediately go down the most efficient route possible to get to your destination on time.
Arrive — Package Tracker by Shopify Inc.
Ever all but bust your tail to get home from work in time to collect a package delivery, only for it to be sent to a storage facility, or worse, returned altogether? This app syncs with your Gmail account to track your online orders from retailers such as Amazon, Walmart and Urban Outfitters while also providing updates from carriers including UPS, USPS, FedEx and DHL. It can be a life saver in such cases, allowing you to track exactly when your package is set to arrive, and possibly make other delivery arrangements if need be.
Christmas Photo Effects – Elf Yourself by Israt Jahan
Many people are moving away from the Christmas card trend altogether, thanks to the tasks of addressing and mailing out hundreds of envelopes. This app comes with hundreds of graphics options such as typography, frames and filters. Once you’ve edited your photos with the app’s various tools, you can share holiday greeting creations on your social media channels or in a mass email to your close friends and family.
ShopSavvy
If you live to find sales when shopping, this app can help you find the best deals at various popular stores. You can even use your phone as a barcode scanner in one store to compare prices on the same product at other retailers. If you put a particular item on your wish list, the app will notify you when prices drop.
Santa’s Bag
Oftentimes, one of the most stressful parts of the holidays can be wanting to get your loved ones the best gifts while still staying within a tight budget. This app can help you create and manage a gift budget for everyone you’re shopping for and easily keep track of where you stand on a given day.
Find My Car
Whether you’re at a massive shopping center or at a large holiday event, you don’t want to deal with the pain of not being able to locate your car when it’s time to leave. This app will show the GPS location of your car, ultimately saving you the guesswork and time spent circling large parking lots when your hands might be full of heavy packages.