Better Christmas List App Review for the iPhone and iTouch

The Better Christmas List app by Andrew Grant offers many features to help you get and stay organized with your Christmas lists, shopping, budget, and wrapping tasks. If you come from a large family or buy a lot of gifts for a lot of people, the Better Christmas List app promises to keep you focused, on task, and within your Christmas shopping budget.

Main Page

The main page of the app is decorated in festive red, bells, little Christmas trees, and stockings. Across the top of the page, the Better Christmas List app tells you how many more Christmas shopping days remain before Christmas. Standard categories included in the app are "Details" and "Groups" such as "Family," and "Friends." At the top of each group is a total of the gifts you need to buy (for the people you listed in that group) followed by a total of gifts you need to "wrap/mail." Across from those totals is a "Spent" figure, which reflects the amount of money you have spent for the people on that particular "list." Underneath the"Spent" figure is the "Budget" figure, which corresponds to the total amount that you input that you would like to spend for all the loved ones in that particular category.

The interface of the Better Christmas List app is pretty and oh, so Christmas-looking. It is bright red and has bells, stockings and Christmas trees. It's handy because your Christmas listees are found on the main page of the app. Very accessible and quick.

Entering Names on your "Group" Christmas Lists

Making up your Christmas Lists in the Better Christmas List App is pretty simple. You simply tap the name of the "group" you want to work on and begin typing in names. It took one hour for this writer to enter in all the "group" categories she planned to use and 64 names of people on her Christmas list. Also in that one hour period, this writer calculated and assigned "total budget" amounts for each "group" of individuals. The named groups used were "Family," "Friends," "Office/Work," "Nieces & Nephews," and "Friends Up North."

The advantage of using groups is that you can focus on one particular group at a time when shopping. For example, you could assign the budget amount of $500 to your "Family" group. As you purchase gifts for family members, you simply open the app, tap the person's name you bought a gift for, quickly enter the gift and the price, and you are done. The app will automatically show the amount of that group's budget you have spent.

Allows you to Import Contacts from your iPhone

You may also import names from your Contacts list to your Better Christmas List app list. When you tap the name of someone on your list, you will see a place for his/her picture, which you may import from your iPhone/iTouch pictures. Having a loved one's picture on your Christmas list is such a fun feature to include in this app.

Notes Feature

The "Notes" feature of the app allows you to make any notes you like about someone on your list. You might want to enter ideas for gifts she said she would like or that you think she might like. You could even list more specifics about a gift you purchased. The Notes feature is helpful and essential for those who get in to the specifics of Christmas shopping.

Budget Feature

The budget feature is by far one of the best features on this app. Plus, other Christmas list apps available at iTunes do not appear to include a budget feature. This app allows you to set an overall budget and budgets by group. Then, the app automatically totals the amount you have spent for each "group" of people on your list and also provides an overall total of the budgeted amount you have spent.

Progress Feature

Another interesting aspect of the Better Christmas List app is the "Progress" feature. This feature, found at the bottom of the screen includes 4 icons. The first icon, an empty shopping cart, means you haven't purchased a gift yet. Once you have, the next icon, a filled cart, will be highlighted. The third icon, a wrapped gift, allows you to "check off" the gift as wrapped once it is ready to go. The final Progress icon looks like a brown-wrapped package with a shipping sticker on it. You can tap this icon after you ship or deliver the packages.

When you look at your overall Christmas list on the home page of the Better Christmas List app, you will notice a faint picture of a stocking by each person's name. This icon is really cool-it's a visual to let you know just how much more work you need to do to complete that person's gift. The stocking icon's colors will become "solid," depending on how much progress you have made with Christmas shopping. When you purchase and enter a gift, the stocking will slightly darken beside a person's name. After you wrap the gift and mark it as wrapped, decorations on the stocking icon will appear. So, with a simple glance down your list, you can tell whose gifts you have purchased and whose need to be wrapped. And that's what makes the Better Christmas List app one of the most usable, convenient apps out there for your iPhone.

Archiving Your Christmas List

The Better Christmas List app for the iPhone/iPod even allows you to archive your lists and gifts after the Christmas holiday is passed. This means you can, each year, look back on your lists and see what you bought for each person so you don't duplicate gifts from year to year and see what you spent from year to year. What more does an avid Christmas-shopper want, anyway?

Cost of Better Christmas List App by Andrew Grant

$1.99 on iTunes. You must get this app immediately.

ITunes Reviews

The current version of the Better Christmas List app has 139 reviews on iTunes as of this writing. The average review was 4 1/2 stars out of 5 stars. Most of the reviewers of the Better Christmas List app were quite positive about it; stating it is "great" or helped them stay organized or was "fun" as well as functional. One lone reviewer rated it 2 stars stating the app was "user unfriendly." Overwhelmingly, other reviewers stated quite the opposite and found the app to be quick, useful and convenient.

Recommended Users

Anyone who buys Christmas gifts for people could use the Better Christmas List app to keep all their lists, gifts, budgeting, wrapping, and mailing tasks organized.

Disadvantages

The only disadvantage is that some of the additional Christmas holiday themes to change how the screen of the Better Christmas List app looks that are available on iTunes must be purchased, which a few iTunes reviewers found annoying. Additional themes for the app oniTunes are available free of charge.

Final Words

The Better Christmas List app is the app to use to keep track of all your Christmas shopping lists, tasks, and budget. Because it's on your iPhone/iTouch, you will most likely always have the list with you. It takes literally a minute or two to record purchases and the amount you spent. It's handy, efficient and can help you stay within your Christmas spending budget. Plus the archive feature pushes this app over the top in terms of usefulness. Don't hesitate to get this app to help you stay focused and organized this Christmas season. The Better Christmas List app is so worth the $1.99.

Rating

5 out of 5 stars

Sources

Better Christmas List App, Andrew Grant

ITunes App Store website

Personal experience