5 Best Holiday Planning Apps in Canada 2026

The holidays are equal parts excitement and chaos. Between shopping for gifts, planning dinners, organizing family get-togethers, and trying to actually relax, it’s easy to feel like you’re juggling a dozen tasks. Thankfully, a few well-chosen apps can help do the heavy lifting.

I recommend Caddle to take advantage of your holiday shopping, Giftster so you don’t forget anyone on your gift list, and Cookpad for a delicious holiday meal at home or away with family.

Below you’ll find more info on these and other best apps for your holiday season, along with advice on how to make sure you’ve got the best cell phone plan for your brand-new apps. All app picks are available for iOS and Android in Canada.

Best app for
holiday shopping

Caddle

• Price: Free
• Devices: iOS, Android

Whether you’re shopping for Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanza, or Boxing Day, it doesn’t take long for the expenses to pile up. You might as well earn some money back in the process. That’s the concept behind Caddle, an app that rewards you every time you make a purchase.

Caddle allows you to earn cash back for your regular purchases on groceries, gas, and shopping–all you need to do is scan your receipts. Sure, the real reward for buying holiday gifts for loved ones is the look of joy on their faces…but wouldn’t it be nice to also score some money back in the process?

The popular U.S. rewards app Fetch isn’t available in Canada, but we think Caddle is just as good. And, even better, you can earn additional rewards on Caddle if you want to answer surveys and watch ads, though those tasks aren’t required. All you have to do is keep track of your shopping and watch the money pile up.

Best Christmas
wishlist app

Giftster

• Price: Free
• Devices: iOS, Android

Shopping for the perfect gift can be an excruciating task and one that only grows more difficult with age. We recommend moving away from letters to Santa and towards a wishlist app, which simplifies gifting and assures everyone involved walks away happy.

The best among them is Giftster, which allows users to post wishlists that other users (designated within their family or friend groups) can view. Users can control the specificity of their lists’ items, all the way down to URLs where those items can be purchased. Once a gift has been bought for a user, it’ll be marked as purchased to avoid the same gift being bought twice. Don’t worry, though: That info won’t ever be visible to the recipient. What would be the fun in that?

Giftster is a fairly straightforward app, which is why we like it so much: it seamlessly integrates links from Amazon and other online retailers, though it’s not riddled with ads or in-app purchases. It simply automates a process that would otherwise be a headache.

Best recipe apps

Cookpad

• Price: Free (In-app purchases available)
• Devices: iOS, Android

There’s no shortage of free online recipes, but if you’ve ever Googled instructions for a meal then you know that the results are littered with pop-up adds, misleading articles, and lukewarm recommendations. Cooking itself is already hectic enough. Moving your recipe search from the web to an app helps streamline the whole process.

We like what the relatively new recipe app Cookpad offers: no sign-up fee, a wealth of user-submitted recipes, and a clean, easy-to-read interface. You can search by the dish you’re looking to make or the ingredients you’re looking to use, allowing you to whip up your next dish based on grand plans or what you have lying around. (Seriously, what am I supposed to do with these shallots?)

You can save other users’ recipes or add your own, turning the app into a rolodex of instructions for your holiday gathering. Whether you’re aiming for a classic Christmas meal or looking to find a way to make dairy-free cookies for your vegan cousin, Cookpad provides more than enough quick-and-simple recipes to get you started.

Cookpad also offers a Premium subscription with extras like popularity-ranked search results, but it isn’t currently available in Canada. Fortunately, the free version is more than enough for holiday cooking.

Samsung Food

• Price: Free trial, $79.99/year
• Devices: iOS, Android

Samsung Food, formerly Whisk Food, is a great premium source for menu planning and recipes. In many ways, it’s similar to Cookpad, allowing you to organize your recipes in an easy-to-navigate app. Samsung Food lets you tailor your meal plans and build new meals to try this holiday season.

The free version covers the essentials, including recipes, shopping lists, and a meal planner with a few days of personalized recommendations each week. To get the most out of the app, upgrade to Samsung Food+, which adds a full week of personalized meal plans, health goals, and the ability to add ingredients to your food list by snapping a photo. It’s a handy way to build your shopping lists, plan your meals, and stay on track throughout the holidays.

Best holiday
entertainment app

Norad Tracks Santa Claus

• Price: Free
• Devices: iOS, Android

As a kid, one of the coolest experiences around the holidays was the countdown for when Santa arrived at your home. The Norad Tracks Santa Claus app gives families a way to track Santa on the big eve of Christmas, watching as he makes his way across the globe.

There are also a ton of extras to enjoy in the lead-up to Christmas. A full countdown is available, showing the start of Saint Nicholas' trek. Families can plan games, read stories, and access more activities through the app during the holiday season as well. This Yuletide app has been downloaded over 1 million times, making it a perfect companion on your smartphone of choice.

How much data do apps use?

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Streaming recipes, video calling relatives, and tracking packages can chew through mobile data faster than you think. If your plan’s feeling tight, now’s the perfect time to review your carrier’s seasonal deals. Many Canadian providers offer bonus-data promos through December and January. Check out WhistleOut’s latest cell phone plan comparisons to see what’s new for 2026.

If you’re putting your new holiday planning apps to use this winter, you might want to consider a cell phone plan with unlimited data. Although unlimited plans aren’t truly unlimited in Canada, they do offer unlimited access to your data, ensuring you’ll be able to use your apps, even if you’ve exceeded your monthly allowance.

Not everyone needs an expensive unlimited phone plan, however. The average Canadian uses less than 6GB of data per month, according to 2023 data. We like plans that offer a good amount of data for an affordable monthly price, like Koodo’s $35 prepaid plan, which gives you unlimited Canada-wide calling and 3GB of data on the nationwide Telus network.

If you’re looking for a little more monthly data, we recommend Public Mobile’s $35 plan, which gives you 60GB of 5G data plus unlimited talk and text. Public Mobile is a prepaid 5G carrier that offers access to the nationwide Telus network at more affordable rates than its parent company. We also like that Public Mobile plans don’t lock you into a contract, so you can move to a better carrier if one comes along.