CHRISTMAS COMES but once a year, and with Christmas comes some fat fella with loads of presents for children who behave themselves.

But while we’re waiting for the man in the red suit to come and reward the good boys and girls, we thought it was worth checking out some of the options for smartphone-wielding mums and dads whose children can’t wait for Santa’s visit on December 24.

And, because times are tough are times time of year, all apps in our selection are totally free.

Call.Santa

Writing letters to Santa is a bit old-school now, isn’t it? Nobody hand-writes letters any more, it’s all about emails and texting and Skype these days. And poor old Santa… well, he’s an old man, and he struggles to keep up.

But even someone of Santa’s age knows how to use a phone, and this App (pictured) gives you the perfect way to call him. Just tap the screen and it’ll make a phone call straight to the man himself, so your little ones can speak to Santa and tell him what they’d like.

Santa’s often busy, though, so be warned: you might have to leave a voice message. Download here.

Talking Santa

Of course, not everyone is necessarily happy in the aftermath of when Santa arrives. Occasionally there’ll be people of all ages in a bit of a huff about getting a toy without the batteries, or getting the same pair of socks for the fourth year running.

This App doesn’t quite offer you a Voodoo Santa doll to take out your frustrations, but it’s pretty close. Tap either of Santa’s boots and he’ll do a wriggle and a dance; slap his hand and he’ll show you his luscious hair. Of course, you can always just throw a snowball at him too.

You can also record your own voice and have Santa speak the message back to you. Download here.

Santa GPS

Any parent will tell you that the most difficult thing about December 24 is making sure that children get to bed early so that they’re sound asleep by the time the sleigh lands on the roof of the house.

Well, this App might take some of the speculation out of the trip. Just fire it up and it’ll connect with the GPS unit on Santa’s sleigh, telling you immediately where on Earth Santa is currently visiting, and guessing how long it’ll be until he hits your part of the world.

That way, you’ll know well in advance when your kids will need to be in bed so as not to bother the big man on his epic worldwide journey. Download here.

Letters to Santa Gold

Remember way back when, when you wrote to Santa and posted off your letter, you might occasionally get a reply from the North Pole? Well, in our era of emails and wishful (!) thinking, that era is slightly behind us now.

Thankfully, however, Santa’s employed a few elves to keep on top of his letters, and they’re sitting at the other end of this app. Any last minute requests for Santa before he sets off? No problem. Just send him off a message using this nifty app and Santa will get straight back to you.

The ‘Gold’ edition of this app (which the makers say is free for a limited time only) also allows for more than one reply – so if you have more than one excited child awaiting Santa’s visit, they can all send him their own message. Download here.

Santa’s Lil’ Zombies

If you’re trying to get your young ‘uns to tire themselves out before going to bed on December 24 then there’s always the option of putting them through their paces on a game? This one is pretty simple too, making it accessible for all ages.

It boils down to this: Santa’s elves have become dead, and then undead, and are now zombies looking to completely thwart Santa’s travel plans for Christmas Eve. It’s left down to you – armed with your trusty snowball shotgun – to floor them and make sure Santa has a chance to set off with your presents! Download here.

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We couldn’t let the collection go without including this amazing video of the lengths Santa has to go through to try and keep fit ahead of his gruelling around-the-world regime.

Remember, kids, Santa is a very special guy: don’t try this at home.