Christmas is just around the corner and, with the expansion of technology, the holiday period can be seen through the medium of smartphones with a number of apps getting you into the Christmas mood. Here are some of the best.

Elf Yourself

It’s the most popular Christmas app, with over 1.5 billion elves being created since the app’s founding in 2006.

Uploading your face onto a Snapchat-like filter, you can be the main character in a series of personalized videos with your face on the body of a dancing elf.

Naturally, you’ve got to be careful when downloading apps and ensure that you have a secure antivirus for iPhone or Android in order to ensure your phone still runs smoothly as the number of your apps and exposure to harmful viruses increases.

Christmas Dance – Happy Moves

Two characters can star in Christmas Dance – Happy Moves, though you will have to watch out for the plethora of ads that come your way on this app.

A Santa and an elf are the two characters and once you have added the faces, click dance and enjoy the routine.

Tappy Video Editor

Though not a Christmas app in itself, Tappy Video Editor allows you to change videos that you have already taken by adding Christmas features.

Animated stickers feature at different points in your video, with the majority of addons having sound effects with them to liven up the recording.

Jib Jab

Rather similar to Elf Yourself, Jib Jab allows you to be the star of the show, presenting your face on various videos and GIFs.

Unfortunately, videos can only be made if you are a member – with a monthly cost of $3.94, which isn’t exactly extortionate. There are a number of Christmas videos to go along with as well as a multitude of songs to accompany you including Brenda Lee’s Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree.

PicCollage Grid and Photo Editor

One for the photo lovers, PicCollage Grid and Photo Editor allows you to take an image and decorate it with superb effects. A wide variety of frames are available with a number of effects and filters.

Even better, you can even make a gift of the picture with products such as a phone case able to provide a memory all-year-round.

Christmas Countdown

Of course, everyone loves a countdown to a special occasion, and, people are forever wondering how long there is left until Christmas. Well, look no further.

Christmas Countdown tells you how many days, hours, minutes and even seconds there are until the big day comes with characters such as Santa, a snowman, a reindeer, a robin, and even a skater available on the countdown screen.

Santa Video Call and Tracker

Children are obsessed with Santa, and what better way to make their Christmas than a call from the big man himself. It’s not just an unrealistic video recording either; put your child’s name, age, favorite color, favorite sport, and favorite fruit and veg into the child setup, and Santa will call your child as if he really knows her/him.

The app also comes with a tracker so you can get to know where Santa is in the world and at what time.

The Christmas List

Almost everyone’s main trouble when it comes to Christmas is organization. Well, The Christmas List enables you to set a budget and list of gifts for each person. From that, you can track your gifts under the titles ‘shipped,’ ‘received’ and ‘wrapped.’

Although its price of $2.99 may be a bit over the top for a Christmas app, it could certainly save you time and effort in the long run.