SALT LAKE CITY (ABC 4 News) - For Pam Rice, it isn't the holiday season without her family's favorite dishes. But Pam's trips to the grocery store aren't always merry.
"Often, i would write down my list on a piece of paper and then hop in the car, and leave it on the counter."
Now Pam's smartphone helps keep her grocery list in check. From bagging food to bagging discounts, technology expert Jennifer Jolly says a slew of smartphone applications can help prevent holiday headaches.
"With smartphone applications you have all kinds of tools right in the palm of your hand, so not tapping into those tools is crazy!"
One of Jolly's favorites is Shop-N-Tella, a social media shopping app. It rounds up product reviews and recommendations from industry experts, the Shop-N-Tella community, and sites like Facebook and Twitter.
"Say you want to buy a new smartphone. You ask it a question, and it sends it out to your entire social media base, to cell phone and smartphone experts, and you get a real time answer."
Or, try the Gift Plan app. You can easily keep track of what you need to buy, and jot down notes on gift ideas, personal tastes, and clothing sizes.
After a long day of shopping, find your car in the packed parking lot with Carfinder, a navigation app.
Then, plan your holiday menu with Ziplist, a digital grocery list.
Erin Gifford, one of the creators of Ziplist said, "it automatically sorts everything by aisle. You can also start searching for recipes and add everything you need to your shopping list with one click."
Pam likes the sharing feature on Ziplist.
"Say i'm out running errands and my husband thinks of something that he needs, he can actually add something to the list."
Burned out from cooking? Alfred is lke your personal butler, serving up restaurant recommendations based on your likes and dislikes.
Share memories with family and friends using Keek, which lets you upload video status updates.
Jolly said, "You take a little video with your smartphone, about 30 seconds or less, and you can push one button, and it sends it out to your Keek network."
When you need to unwind, "tap" into Relax, an app that helps you do just that.
"It's got all kinds of different music, it's got all kinds of ambient sounds, and it has video that goes along with it."
Pam says that her favorite app will help her have a holly, jolly holiday.
"The last thing you need is to hang out in the grocery store extra time. It's really made it easier for me."
So if this is the kind of thing you'd be interested in, they're also pretty affordable.
All of these apps range in price from free, to no more than 3-dollars.
