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Our Top Picks for the Best Holiday Apps of 2017

It’s easy to lose yourself in holiday season prep. You get lost trying to keep track of what needs to be done or bought. You get lost searching for the best price on a holiday gift. You may even literally get lost – in a traffic jam or a crowded airport. If you have a need, chances are an app exists to help you manage it. If you find yourself prepping for holidays over the next month, it’s likely you’ll need an app for three reasons:

1. Maintaining Order
Structuring your holiday preparation makes all the difference in preventing you from feeling overwhelmed. Use the task management app Orderly to create and prioritize your to-do lists and set location-based notifications (so you won’t forget that one thing you really needed from the store). If you’re in charge of dinner – or are sharing the dinner-making responsibilities with others – use List Ease to organize ingredient lists and share with other users to divvy out ingredient-shopping and meal-planning responsibilities. If getting gifts with little to no guidance is a nerve-wracking process, Giftster lets your family and friends create and share wish lists and links to purchase their gifts from anywhere on the internet. Track your shipped packages with Slice to make sure they reach your or your loved ones safely. With these apps, prioritizing tasks and holiday shopping won’t have you feeling overwhelmed and without holiday spirit.

2. Travel
Reduce your holiday travel headaches with a few key apps. Add your travel dates and destination to the Packpoint app for an itemized packing list based on the weather forecast and your planned activities, to minimize unnecessary clothing and maximize space for gifts in your luggage. Waze is a favorite app used by daily commuters by car, but if you’re driving this holiday season, use the community-feedback-based app to alert you to real-time traffic incidents and pick your best route. Hopper, an app that tracks prices on flights to your selected destination, will alert you to the best time to buy the cheapest tickets for a flight home. If you’re traveling out-of-country for the holidays, Rome2Rio will search its database of 4,800 transport operators from 158 countries to find your best route from Point A to B. If you’re looking for smooth travel over the next month, look to your app store to keep your next trip from going off the rails.

3. Saving Money and Shopping
For the first time ever, online shopping is expected to outpace in-person retail purchases this holiday season. Amazon and eBay are the classic online retailers, with millions of daily users and daily special offers on popular products for Prime subscribers. Track the best deals on your wish list items by linking your Amazon account to Paribus, an app that tracks price drops on items you’re following or interested in and refunds money on already-made purchases when the asking price drops. Shopular, a coupon-tracking app, uses geo-location technology to find coupons online the minute you arrive in your favorite stores. Finally, as you shop this holiday, monitor your holiday spending budget with Mint, the popular spending app that will help you keep track of your finances and keep you from going over-budget. Saving money, whether with refunds, coupons, or good old-fashion budgeting, is always in season.

Staying on top of the holidays is easy with the help of the right apps. Maintain control over your holiday by organizing tasks and shopping lists and sharing them with the entire family. Manage travel-related stress by planning your packing and monitoring prices on flights, or determining the best routes by car or any other transportation method. Find savings online and in-store, while also staying on top of your holiday spending. Using these apps, you’ll survive the most stressful time of the year and come out on top as a holiday superstar.