Christmas countdown: The best mobile apps to get you into the festive spirit

Organise your life and get ready for the big day with these countdown apps

Santa Claus waves to the crowd during the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York (Andrew Burton/Getty Images)

Christmas is almost upon us, and chances are you haven't even made a dent in your shopping list yet.

Of course, Christmas is a time of peace and goodwill to all men, but it also requires military-precision and good timing to get through in one piece.

Fortunately, there's a bunch of apps designed to help you. Counting down the days until the 25th won't just help you get in the spirit, it could help you organise yourself a little better.

Dreamdays

For iOS and Android

Not very Christmassy, but not too garish either

With a fancy minimalist design and multiple sortable events, Dreamdays is the Christmas countdown app for those who want a slightly more stylish holiday.

It's just a general countdown app, so after Christmas is over, you can use it to count down to another event - like next Christmas.

Christmas Countdown 2015

For iOS only

Simple but feature-filled, this is the Ferrari of Christmas countdown apps

This one's a world away from Dreamdays - there's no moody background images or san serif fonts here, just pure, unadulterated Christmas.

Falling snowflakes, frost-coated windows and sprigs of holly make up this app's interface, and tapping on the countdown clock brings up a new Christmassy quote every day.

You can even set the app to give you a notification with the latest quote every day, which is either a great or annoying feature, depending on your attitude to the festive season.

Better yet, you can set it as a widget, so the countdown will show up on your notifications menu, saving you the hassle of opening up the app if you want to check how long you've got until the big day.

Advent 2015 - 25 Days of Christmas

For iOS and Android

Complete minigames, get rewarded with an ad

This is a countdown app with a twist - rather than just giving you a number, this app is a vitrual advent calendar, letting you play a new minigame every day of advent.

You even get a 'prize' every time you complete the daily game - although they're usually just adverts.

It's cheesy, a little crudely made and there's no chocolate, but it should get you in the spirit of things.

Countdown!!

For iOS and Android

If you forgive the overly-enthusiastic name, this one's a fairly solid Christmas countdown app. There's no messing about with navigating through multiple countdowns - just set your Christmas timer and it appears as soon as you select the app.

Sleeps to Christmas 2

For iOS only

Everyone remembers the legendary Sleeps to Christmas 1, and now it's back. There's no messing around here. You open the app, a waving Santa appears, and he tells you how many days, hours and seconds are left until Christmas.

You can choose a few different characters - an elf, a snowman and a gingerbread man - but they all do the same job. Solid. Reliable. It's the Ronseal of Christmas countdown apps.