10 ways to spread some festive cheer through social media

It’s that time of year again – you’ve emailed your Christmas list to your loved ones, the e-card list is being finalised and we’re all having a bit of fun bowling some elves. If you want to spread a bit of festive cheer 2.0 style we’ve got everything you need right here. From snowing blogs to geo-tracking Santa we’ve got some of the best digital festive sites and apps this year…

Add Christmas spirit to your avatar

Twixenate have got a range of Christmas hats to add to your Twitter avatar to help spread the christmas spirit. Simply enter your username and you’ll be instantly transformed.  Don’t forget that this is the season of giving though. For those of you in Ireland, you can show your support for the ISPCC by adding a holly sprig to your avatar. Don’t forget to make a donation too and help them light up their Christmas tree.

Elf Yourself 2009

Let’s face it, it just wouldn’t be Christmas without elfing yourself. Office Max are back with their ingenious campaign this year and they’ve got a few new additions to the site, including a range of dances and the option to buy gifts. It may not be new, but I dare you not to smile while watching this

Let it snow on your blog

It may not be snowing outside, but here you can take matters into your own hands and some falling snow onto your own site. Try this code or wordpress plugin to instantly transform your blog

Spotify Christmas Playlist

Spread the festive cheer all around the office with this Spotify Christmas playlist . With 78 tracks totalling just over 4 hours the list is pretty extensive and should played in your office or around the home at least once a day until Christmas

Christmas iPhone apps

You should download this if only for the great name! Appvent Calendar is an iphone app that brings you a free iphone game every day until Christmas. The selected game is only free that day so you’ll have to get in there quick. Ogilvy have also developed a simple White Christmas (itunes link) app that adds snow to any photo. And don’t forget to head over to Mashable for their guide to the top apps to help you survive the festive season. here are some great festive iphone apps out there for those of you that want a truly digital Christmas.

Facebook Christmas Tree

If you can’t be doing with the hassle of real Christmas trees, why not add one to your Facebook page? This Christmas Tree app lets you create and customise your own tree. The more snowflakes you gather the more items you can add to your tree.

Email Santa

Since no-one really writes letters anymore, why not email Santa? This North Pole site has great activities for kids, where they can email Santa and get a personalised message back. Just tell your kids that Santa no longer keeps list, preferring to sort his lists through folders and filters instead. Let’s just hope you get an out-of-office if you leave it to the last minute

Countdown to Christmas

Another nice Facebook app that lets you add a Christmas countdown to your profile. Not much to say here, does what it says on the tin!

Christmas Trees for your desktop

At get-xmas you can choose from a range of animated Christmas trees to add to your desktop for free. Much cheaper than the real version.

Track Santa online

Santa’s got nowhere to hide now. Thanks to NORAD you can track Santa’s journey on Christmas Eve on Twitter and Google Earth. There’s a load of other great feature on the NORAD Santa site and I recommend you check it out. A great example of an unlikely source using social media to track Santa.