I wasn’t excited about this iPhone-only app at first. Then I learned how to use it. Why, I thought, would I want to make a photo magazine of pictures from my phone?

The answer is easy: the final product — the photo magazine — isn’t for you. It’s for the recipient. In my world, I would send the virtual magazines to the people in my life who would want bundled photos of things like my dog, the streets of NYC, my redecorated apartment — think parents, grandparents, cross-country friends.

The app is really easy to navigate and takes you directly into the photos already in your phone. From there you just tap the photos you want included in the “magazine,” and voila! Since my dog and pictures of New York City comprise the majority of photos in my phone, I had two magazines in mind. Once I had chosen 5 or so photos of my dog, I clicked through and was able to edit the cover of the magazine. I chose a title (my dog’s name), month and my name to be on the cover. Then I had the option of sending to anyone I wanted through a variety of means. My mother received the photos in her email, my old roommate received them via text and then I blasted it out to my Twitter feed for good measure. There is also the option to post to Facebook. Also, this app is free. Is there anything better?

In 24 hours I will be laid out and down for the count. Many Americans will join me, tryptophan-stuffed and glassy-eyed, deciding whether to brave Black Friday or ride it out on the couch. If you choose the couch, I have an app for that.

You’re patiently working your way through the holiday season, but family and friends have gathered, food has been devoured, and the children are running amok. It feels like millions of photos have been taken – of the food, the family and the pets, so now what? Enter the holiday savior ColorStrokes HD for iPad and iPad mini. While your Uncle Bob is comatose on the couch, open the app, snap a pic of him, then start editing. The entire rainbow is available for you to draw, shade and doodle on your photo. Add colors, effects like sepia or soft light, and adjust the size of your brushstrokes. When your uncle comes to, you can show him your one-of-a-kind, original Thanksgiving masterpiece that features his glistening drool and turkey wattle.

The app is so easy to use that the fun should be shared. Pass the iPad to the kids and let them edit the photo of Granny bent over and half way in the oven. You can take photos through the app, upload existing photos, or login to Facebook and use that photo of your dog that everyone is sick of looking at, but you refuse to backdown that Tuxford is most certainly cuter than Boo, and just because Boo is better trained to take a photo, that doesn’t mean he’s actually more photogenic…..but I digress. After you’ve perfected your photo, send it as a postcard, upload it to Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Flickr…or click print for an old fashioned kind of holiday memory.

ColorStrokes HD rings in at $1.99, but we all know funny photos and laughs with family and friends are priceless. Happy coloring.