The Most Creative, Inspirational Apps And Gadgets

The Most Creative, Inspirational Apps And Gadgets

The winter months are now very much upon us, the halls are being decked and mince pies are an acceptable breakfast substitute.

It is now the season where we will be stuck inside, potentially with relatives, and one needs a diversion beyond Christmas cava.

Fortunately, there's an app for that. In fact, there are many, many apps for getting creative on your iPad, TV or PC.

We've found five we look forward to whiling away the chillsome hours with:

The uDraw GameTablet and Inkling by Wacom are both gadgets that will draw out your creativity with minimal mess. The uDraw plugs into your Wii,Xbox 360 and Playstation3 and allows you to colour in, "paint" your own art or play Pictionary. It's a paint-free way to keep children entertained while you scoff mince pies, and a great way to develop your artistic side in even the smallest of apartments, as no cut-and-past kit is retired.

The Inkling by Wacom is a professional device that would also be welcomed by the casual doodler. It essentially digitises your hand-drawn illustrations as you draw them, during your drawing surface into a kind of digital camera for your scribbles.

Sharing is built into everything we do online now, and Instagram on the iPhone is the fast-growing community for photo sharers. Yes, there are people who want to see your worst Christmas present or your awesome gingerbread house. The effects can make even the most jaundice post-Christmas mug look eerily beautiful.

Once you've loaded your Instagram photos, you can also share them on Pinterest, the image-sharing site that will suck away hours of your life. Or, more positively, destroy the tedious pockets of boredom that linger around family Christmas celebrations. Create a virtual pinboard of beautiful images, or add your own Instagram snaps.

At the end of a meal, once the kids are fiddling with their gadgets, sit down with a whisky and enjoy the London Unfurled iPad app by Matteo Pericoli. This one's for London lovers, people who adore the Thames-side landscape, and the history along the banks. It also shows what you could achieve on the Inkling if only you ate fewer mince pies, and supped less single malt.

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