Thanksgiving: a time for food and family (and football!) But Turkey Day can also be stressful — for travelers, for hosts, for people visiting extended family and pretending they have anything to talk to them about. Thankfully, we have smartphones to make our lives easier and take the stress out of the holiday season. Whether it’s booking a hotel so that you don’t have to stay with your in-laws or finding that perfect stuffing recipe, we have 15 app recommendations to download for a fabulous (and stress-free) Thanksgiving!
#1. Blue Apron
Offered to host a Thanksgiving or Friendsgiving this year, but forgot one small detail: that you can’t cook? Blue Apron’s got your back. It’ll walk you through the steps to deliver some solid dishes and allows you to skip the grocery store. Probably for the best, because this time of year those pumpkin pies you pass by en route can be all too tempting. The Blue Apron culinary team features in-season recipes each week and delivers the ingredients for the meals you want to make, straight to your doorstep! It’s always nice to not have to think about what you’re cooking, but even nicer during a busy time like Thanksgiving.
Price: Free (but you pay for ingredient delivery)
#2. BigOven
Want that perfect recipe for candied yams? Or want to plan your grocery shopping and menu for the week? BigOven has all that and more. With over 350,000 recipes for you to choose from, and great features like “Use Up Leftovers” which helps plan meals from leftover ingredients in your fridge, BigOven helps you organize your meals and ingredients to make you a master in the kitchen. Once your dish is ready, go ahead and upload a picture on the app itself. This Thanksgiving, you should have one single agenda – to make your friends drool.
Price: Free
What’s Thanksgiving dinner without a nice glass of wine? (Answer: Nothing.) If you don’t know the difference between a Merlot and a Pinot Noir, Vivino Wine Scanner is the app for you. Wine, by the way, also makes an excellent topic for dinnertime conversation. You can discuss tasting notes and food pairings with your relatives. So, just head to your local wine supplier and scan wine labels to get pricing information, ratings, and food pairing suggestions. Ditch the bottle of bubbly and pick a wine that goes well with turkey!
Price: Free
#4. Mixologist
Not maximizing that liquor cabinet as you should be? Or looking for some creative drinks to wind down after a close football game that kept you on the edge of your seat? Mixology to the rescue. With nearly 8,000 drink recipes and a “Liquor Cabinet” feature that lets you enter all the liquor and mixers you have, Mixology will spit out clever drink suggestions for you (that you won’t spit out!) And if you run out of booze, use the Liquor Store Locator on the app to find the nearest one to your house.
Price: $0.99
#5. Venmo
Arguing over who will pay the Thanksgiving food bill? Trying to split the cost of a hotel with your sister-in-law? Venmo is here to help. Owned by PayPal, Venmo is a secure, simple, and free way to make money transfers. You can charge and pay your friends and family for everything from apple cider to turkey-shaped cookies with Venmo, and transfer it straight to the bank! So when the time comes to split the bill, be cool and say – “Just venmo me.”
Price: Free
#6. Waze
Over the river and through the woods, to grandmother’s house we go… but ugh, now you’re stuck in traffic. The horse may know the way to carry the sleigh, but Waze knows how to get you there faster. Waze is a smart, crowd-sourced navigation app; users can report accidents, construction, and police in real time so that you can be more aware of what’s happening on the road around you. In addition, you’ll get precise directions, estimated times of arrival, and alternate routes —so you’ll be able to learn when it’s actually more efficient to take the scenic route.
Price: Free
#7. Sygic Travel
Have a long road trip ahead of you? Want to know what you’ll be passing along the way? Sygic Travel allows you to discover hidden gems you otherwise would have driven right by. And its features include everything from weather forecasts to offline navigation, too. Internet or no internet – you’re all set to hit the road with this app. Remember: holidays are a time when you don’t have to be so rushed, so stop and smell the roses!
Price: Free
#8. Airbnb
Need a place to stay for Thanksgiving weekend, but don’t want to head to a hotel? Craving the warmth and comfort of a home and not the opulence of a star hotel? Airbnb allows users to stay at all kinds of accommodations for low prices. Users may rent out their homes so that it’s easy for travelers to find last minute accommodations. Want to make a little extra cash while you’re away for Thanksgiving? You can become an Airbnb host as well! Airbnb is easy to use and makes it easy to save money on holiday accommodations.
Price: Free
#9. KAYAK
KAYAK is the ultimate travel app. It parses through hundreds of travel sites to find the best deals on flights, hotels, and rental cars. KAYAK makes it easy to travel for the Thanksgiving season without breaking the bank. If you think you can find these rates on a website, you’re wrong. The app offers rates that are applicable only for mobile app users. So, book your tickets before they’re all sold out.
Price: Free
#10. Musi
No party is ever complete without music. On Thanksgiving, if you want to stream music, but don’t want to pay for a service? Musi makes that possible. Musi is a free app that enables you to stream any song from YouTube. You can create infinite playlists that keep the Thanksgiving party rocking all night long! Musi is also AirPlay enabled, so you can play music from any AirPlay enabled device. Download the app and play the famous Bing Crosby number on Thanksgiving – ‘Count your blessings.’
Price: Free
#11. Felt Cards
Thanksgiving kicks off the holiday season, and it’s time to start thinking about those holiday cards again. Want to send handwritten notes but it’s always too much of a hassle? Enter Felt Cards. A Shark Tank company, you can send your friends and family printed messages with your own handwriting (from a stylus) on Premium Mohawk paper. No, this is not an e-card – you write it on your phone in your own writing. It also takes away the dreaded step of standing in front of the greeting card aisle and picking anything that kind-of-sort-of applies to your recipient. Felt Cards are customizable and personalized.
Price: Starts at $3 (including postage)
#12. Nextdoor
It would be a shame to throw away your leftovers, especially after you have spent 6 hours and $100 on your Thanksgiving meal. Why not use the Nextdoor app to share your leftovers with your neighbors? A great way to earn neighborhood brownie points and have company to share your leftover turkey and pumpkin pie with come Black Friday. Use this app to bring back the true spirit of Thanksgiving – appreciation, sharing and togetherness.
Price: Free
#13. Save Local Now
When Thanksgiving is here, can shopping be far behind? Absolutely not. If you are going deal hunting on Small Biz Saturday, please go prepared. Download the Save Local Now mobile app to locate the best deals on health, beauty, food, drinks, travel and shopping. The app uses GPS-based savings features to automatically display offers and deals in your immediate vicinity. Just look for the green SAVE icon.
Price: Free
#14. Best Buy
Prefer shopping from your bed? No problem. Stay put and find killer Cyber Monday deals on the Best Buy app. Grab the newly released iPhone 7, trade your old TV in for a brand new one or get the GoPro you have always wanted. In your pajamas.
Price: Free
#15. CARROT Fit
Stuffed yourself silly on Thanksgiving? Time to work it off. Carrot is an artificial intelligence construct that threatens, inspires, ridicules, and bribes you — whatever it takes — to get you moving. Its “7 minutes in hell” workout requires you to do 30 seconds of 12 punishing exercises and berates you if you don’t — just the post-Turkey Day motivation you need!
Price: $2.99
Hopefully these app ideas will make your Thanksgiving celebration fun and hassle-free. Enjoy, and Happy Early Turkey Day from July Rapid!
About the Author:
Prachi Gupta is a Content Writer and Tech Blogger at July Rapid, a San Francisco based mobile app design and development studio of July Systems Inc. July Rapid team assists Retail & E-commerce companies to conceptualize and build custom native iOS and Android applications.
Prachi Gupta
Latest posts by Prachi Gupta (see all)
- Top 5 Trends Shaping iOS App Development in 2017 - February 9, 2017
- Why M-Commerce Should Be Your Number One Priority in 2017 - February 2, 2017
- 15 Apps To Download This Thanksgiving - November 18, 2016