Are your visiting relatives driving you bonkers? When family bickering and arguing reaches a crescendo, sometimes the best thing to do is just get out of the house, grab some fresh air, and hit the local tavern for a high-test beverage to ease your suffering. DrinkedIn Bar Finder (Free, universal) will help point you in the right direction in a hot minute.

For that moment when you want to capture all of the excitement and holiday cheer but can't remember the last place where you left your good camera lying around, Vintique ($0.99, Universal) is a slick substitute. This robust camera app is easy to use and sports a ton of retro filters to play around with for making your shots look super chic and vintage.

When you're trying to sneak-in a rare moment of piece and quiet, or spend time with adult loved ones, younger siblings and cranky kids can create a meddlesome din. Plants vs. Zombies HD ($0.99, Universal) is a perfect pacifier, regardless of their age. Hand them this cute, ultra addictive tower defense game, and they'll get sucked into it for hours on end. Problem solved!

Out of town and stuck in a "no sports land" during the holidays? Don't sweat it, you can still keep tabs on your favorite sports teams with ESPN's ScoreCenter (Free, iPad/iPhone). This helpful app tracks all the current scores, standings, and sports news you can possible handle at one time, and setting up to ping you with updates as they happen is easy.

The holidays are prime times for culinary disasters, thanks to the craziness of having lots of visitors and little downtime. If you find yourself nuking the turkey or your table looks more like scorched earth than sweet grub, OpenTable (Free, Universal) can be a lifesaver. A quick search will locate your closest dining options and make an instant reservation.

Sometimes disaster strikes before you even get to where you’re headed. If you’re traveling on the road or by airplane and find yourself stranded in a strange location, Kayak (Free, Universal), has your back. This great all-in-one travel app lets you book and track flights, find rental cars, hunt down nearby hotels, and much more when you need it the most.

Humans aren’t the only folks prone to getting into trouble during the holidays. If you’re traveling with cats, dogs, or other critters who wind up getting into something they shouldn’t, MyPetED – Pet Health Center ($1.99, iPad) is a good resource to have on hand. Aside from pet health tracking and first aid articles, it also has a quick emergency vet locator.

Hitting the stores immediately before or after Christmas is typically a nightmare full of holiday jingle overload and agitated sale-hunters. Forget that: be safe. Grab Amazon Mobile (Free, Universal) so you can skip the hordes and still scope out all the coolest goods, whether you’re tackling ultra last minute holiday shopping or a post-holiday spending spree.