Gobble gobble! It’s Thanksgiving weekend here in Canada and that means three things:
- Coming to terms with the fact that summer is really long gone and snow is around the corner
- Dealing with your family
- Turkey Coma
For this edition of Apps Of The Week, I’ve prepared somewhat of a survival guide for you to get through it all. Good luck and remember, if all else fails, start drinking.
Table of Contents
The iPhone: Puppy Wars
Thanksgiving is all about family getting together, and that includes your extended furry family members. Our pets are just as big a part of the family and whether you say it or out loud not, you quietly judge whose pet is the cutest. (For me, my dog wins — hands down — every time. Just saying.)
Puppy Wars is a free app from Cleaversoft that will help, fairly, settle the question of whose dog is the cutest. Take some pictures of your pooch and make a profile. Challenge another user’s dog by opening it up to a world-wide vote. Wager “bones”. The dog with the most votes after 3 days wins.
Even if you don’t have a dog, you can still go in and judge other people’s. I know you do it when you’re walking down the street anyway. If you’re looking for a pal to add to the family, check out the Adoption section, powered by Petfinder, and see what pups are looking for a good home in your area.
Download links below
The iPad: Chow
Thanksgiving is all about the food. Turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing, cranberry sauce, pumpkin pie and apple sauce. Growing up we just got to enjoy it, but now that you’re an adult this may mean it’s your turn to slave away in the kitchen.
Cooking for a big group can be overwhelming. Timing is so important to make sure all the dishes get on the table at the same time, at the same temperature. Plus, there needs to be enough for everyone! This app from CBS Interactive is going to be your saviour, for free.
Chow has put together nine of the most mouth-watering and easy traditional Thanksgiving recipes with a super simple, follow-along game plan. Choose which ones you want to make and they’re going to give you a step-by-step timeline that will guide you through the day… and two days before too! There’s even a shopping list to make sure you don’t leave the grocery store without some key ingredients.
Download links below
The Mac: Snapheal
Family get-togethers mean family pictures. Whether you all dress up the same for this (barf) or you’ve got a photographer-in-law that is constantly “making memories”, it’s happening. If you’re the family photographer, which I tend to be, it’s up to you to make sure the pictures come out as great as possible and you share them with everyone as quickly as you can.
Save yourself from spending hundreds of dollars on expensive photo editing software. Snapheal is a super cool app from MacPhun that lets you do the work of a professional at the price of an amateur. It’s yours for a cool $7.99, not bad considering Photoshop CS6 is $699 USD.
Remove unwanted objects or people from photos, perhaps an old boyfriend or girlfriend that fell victim to the “turkey drop”. Restore damaged pictures like those amazing relics your grandparents dig out of their attics. Make your aunts happy by making skin imperfections vanish. Whatever you do, this app will make it easy and make you look like a superstar.
Download links below
Game Of The Week: Turkey Match-A-Roo
Do you remember playing that game ‘Memory’ when you were a kid? You lay a special deck of cards out in front of you in rows and you take turns flipping two cards over, point being to find matching images. As adults we rarely play games anymore unless we are entertaining our own kids or kids we have to be nice to. I say screw it! Play away.
Turkey Match-A-Roo from sciTunes Education Products is an easy and festive entertainment solution. Firstly, it’ll improve your memory and overall cognitive skills. But more importantly, it’s fantastic for entertaining your little cousins, nieces and nephews, grandkids etc. so you can give your back a rest from playing Mr. Pony.
Or, you can sit through another episode of Dora the Explorer. It’s up to you. Just pay the $0.99 and look like a hero.
Download links below
Image Credit: Cuisine Capers