Rushing around, fighting your way through a crowded shopping centre on Christmas Eve to frantically find your loved one’s Christmas presents is no one’s idea of fun. As the big ‘C’ day approaches, the festive season is fraught with many stress-inducing situations which make you want to tear your hair out.

Organising group dinners or joint gifts are just two of the activities which are often over complicated by friends or family not coughing up their share, leaving you out of pocket, when you need it the most. Helpfully, there are a range of smartphone apps that can help you collect money, quickly and easily in just a few taps of your smartphone meaning you will never have to pay for more than your share ever again.

Never fear, here are seven top life hacks aimed to provide you with helpful, time-saving tools to make the lead up to Christmas less painful and reduce your blood pressure.

FELI
Find the perfect gift

Need to purchase some gifts, and fast, yet stuck for inspiration on what to buy your loved ones? Feli is your personal gift assistant. She helps you find the perfect gift for everyone, tailored to the recipient’s personal taste. With Feli's help, you'll be the most popular gift giver. 

TILT
Collect money from a group

Put an end to hassling friends for cash and use Tilt for gifts, holiday rentals, Christmas dinners and anytime you are collecting money with your friends or family. With Tilt you can invite friends to chip in, track who has paid, and receive funds directly into your bank account. Tilt applies a healthy dose of peer pressure too so you won't be going into debt this Christmas from picking up your friends' tab.

UberPOOL
Get home easier and cheaper than ever

Getting home from your Christmas party is now cheaper thanks to UberPOOL which matches you with another rider heading in the same direction. It adds only a few minutes, and you both make large savings on the cost of the journey. Trips are up to 50% less than uberX, leaving you more cash for Christmas shopping. ?You can now schedule a ride up to thirty days in advance and you can split the fare without using cash. After requesting a journey, tap the arrow icon next to your driver's name, choose 'Split Fare,' select your friends, and tap 'Send.'

TIME TO ROAST
Avoid a dry bird

This handy app allows you to calculate the cooking time for your Christmas dinner by simply entering the weight of the meat. It is much simpler than digging out a book and messing around with weights. Allows you to set alarms for all phases of cooking and takes the stress out of cooking a large bird with all the trimmings.

GIFT SWAPP
Swap unwanted gifts

This gift exchange app is ideal for those who are tired of playing Secret Santa or settling for an unwanted gift. Gift SwApp is a fun alternative to exchanging gifts with friends and family. Ask everyone to wrap up a mystery gift beforehand. You decide whether the gifts should be serious, silly, cheap, or dirty. Then choose between the two Gift SwApp games and let the swapping begin.

TOUCHNOTE
Digital Christmas cards

Who has time to sit writing piles of cards nowadays? Most of us don’t, so why not download Touchnote, an app which allows you to print and send your photos as personalised postcards. Saves you money on the cost of a stamp too.

SANTA'S BAG
Never forget another gift
  
Afraid you’ll forget someone on your present list? Santa’s Bag shopping list manager usefully tells you who you need to buy presents for, along with your budget, and helps you stay organised with the gifts you’re still yet to buy.

Updated November 2016