Santa's Bag app review: create that perfect Christmas list

Introduction

With Christmas fast approaching, no doubt you will soon start to put together your gift buying list and budget.With that in mind, why not use the Santa's Bag app that helps you keep track of all your Christmas shopping, budgeting, and lists?

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Stay Organized

If you find yourself forgetting to buy gifts for people, over-spending, under-spending, or forgetting you already purchased something for a recipient, then this app is a must-have for you. It allows you to create checkable lists, wish lists, shopping lists, planning lists, individual lists, and so much more. There is a countdown timer so you can easily and quickly view how much time you have left to get your shopping done.

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Import your recipients through Contacts and Facebook and then start to customize your features and options. You can add in preferences, wishes, and gifts for each recipient so you aren't stuck trying to remember all the details.

I have to say when I first launched this app that countdown timer is a bit scary but at the same time it acts as a great reminder that I need to get organized! So right there the app is effective in that sense.

For the past couple of years I have found myself setting up an Excel spreadsheet to keep track of all this exact kind of information and I can’t say I’m surprised there is an app to help you record and track gift buying.

 

All That Glitters

While there is a huge list of features and tools I think this is the case where it’s too much of a good thing. I have now spent a rather large amount of time importing contacts and trying to figure out how to get all the information I want in there and displayed correctly. Obviously an old fashioned pen and paper would work a lot faster and possibly just as easy, which doesn’t say a lot for this app unfortunately.

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I like that there are features like a gift-buying progress bar and you can quickly view how much you've spent and what you still have left to spend. There is a screenlock you can set so people can't see all your gift details, and I do like that there are filters you can use to sort and view your information.

As I said, though, it just seems a bit much and unfortunately many of the features are confusing to use.

 

Pros and Cons

Pros

• Gives you a way to keep track of all your gift buying for Christmas
• Import recipients from your Contacts or Facebook
• Keep track of details such as budget, preferences, a wish list, and items already bought

 

Cons

• User interface is busy and cluttered
• Features can sometimes be tricky to use
• There is a lot of information you’ll need to input

 

Final Thoughts

Despite the fact I went into the Santa’s Bag app excited I have to say I have been left disappointed. I just wish it were a more simple and user-friendly approach.