Can Smartphone Apps Save Your Holiday Blues?

The recipe for a perfect family holiday may seem pretty simple, but in reality, they are few and far between. You may have booked a fabulous break in Victoria or Brisbane, but that’s just the tip of the iceberg. A great family break is only achievable if your kids are happy, and that is no mean feat. So apart from laying on the entertainment from dawn until dusk, how can you ever hope to keep them amused and busy? Well, you need to have some ingredients that all kids love, sun, sea and sand are all well and good, but the devil is in the details. Some mornings will be written off due to lousy weather conditions, and at least one of your sprogs will have an ailment for a few days. So why not look at your Smartphone for some very cool distractions that will certainly perk them up on these off days? This article looks a few apps that certainly offer something more than a timewasting social media session or a hideous shoot-em up option.

Turkey Blast Reloaded – available on Android and iOS handheld devices – Free

Some video games are just plain evil, you’ll know this if you ever caught your kids playing Halo or a similar war based activity. This app does include shooting some cute looking turkeys, but it’s a far cry from those blood thirsty alternatives. You simply tilt the handheld device to set up the sights and blast your chosen turkey to kingdom come. This app has already been hailed by parents as an awesome way to keep your little horrors nice and quiet on those long car journeys we love so much. It may be slightly addictive but the cartoon detail is pretty cute and there is absolutely zero blood and guts on display. As soon as you kids blast the turkey, it is transformed into a nicely cooked turkey, ready for serving on Christmas day perhaps? Just don’t try the game yourself, because your kids won’t get a look in!

WolframAlpha  by Wolfram Alpha LLC – $4

This app will run on your iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad and it requires iOS 5.0 or later for smooth running. It will also work with Android devices and Amazon’s kindle. So how many holidays fall into disarray because of a family disagreement? It seems the worst ones are caused by a difference of opinions, especially when kids are involved. So wouldn’t it be great to have an app that can come up with an answer for almost everything? WolframAlpha certainly offers a very credible oracle of all things scientific, educational and pretty much everything else. You can use this cool app to settle disputes in an intelligent way and also set up some cerebral quizzes for those last afternoons on the beach. Just imagine, your kids learning important factoids whilst on holiday. It’s every conscientious parent’s dream come true! You’ll have hours of fun with WolframAlpha and your kids will rock up to school next term with some serious brain food onboard!

Think Outside The Holiday Box?

We believe that both of these vastly different apps has something cool and alternative to offer you and your kids for that next summer break – Enjoy!