The countdown to Christmas as officially begun, but the release of Christmas-themed apps and accessories began a while ago. Whether using iPhone apps to spread holiday cheer at parties and gatherings or just decorating your iPad to enjoy the season, you’ll have plenty of great options. We’ll be rounding them all up here as more are announced, so check back often.

It’s a busy and expensive time of year. I know that, you know that, and, thankfully, iDevice app and accessory developers know that, too. As such, plenty of sales are being offered up. Whether you’re looking for good accessory deals for gifts or just some even less expensive apps for your own use, we’ll be rounding up the sales right her throughout the holiday season. Check back often.

The holidays are a great time of year for Mac hardware and software sales, and 2011 is proving to be no different. Whether you’re looking for games, creativity apps, laptop cases or more, we’ll be rounding up the relevant deals right here and updating the list through the end of the year.

Last week, Apple began offering free 2-3 shipping on all products ordered from their online store. Today, it just got upgraded to free next day delivery for Apple’s in-stock merchandise to accommodate many people doing some last-minute Christmas shopping. Items purchased online by Thursday, December 22nd that are not engraved will be delivered by December 24th. There are a few exceptions to the offer, however…

We reported last week that developer pod2g from the jail-breaking community was working on the untethered Jailbreak for iOS 5, but only for devices running the older A4 processor chip, not the newer devices like iPhone 4S and the iPad 2. Pod2g now seems hard at work to bring an untethered jailbreak for A5 devices, too. There is a lot of positive news originating from his blog that we will soon be seeing a workable jailbreak version for users of the iPhone 4S and the latest generation of the iPad.

Camera Plus Pro—one of my favorite camera apps for the iPhone and iPod touch—celebrated its 2nd birthday in the App Store this weekend by offering gifts to its users, especially those using the iPod touch and iPhone 3GS. These devices don’t have basic flash functionality, and Camera Plus Pro v4.3 looks to address this with its new live Soft Flash feature.

Cutting the cord; it’s what we runners would love to do. Running with headphones can be a huge pain thanks to that thin wire that just refuses to stay out of the way. The obvious solution to this problem is having tunes pumped straight into your brain, but Bluetooth headphones are the most acceptable compromise to date. JayBirds has a few different styles of bluetooth headphones for your wireless pleasure. I took at look at their Freedom headphones to see if they are the solution to my workout woes.

I’m a fan of skins. I’ve used them on my iPhones, iPads and MacBooks—on their own and in conjunction with other cases—and I’ve almost always been pleased. But they have the negative effect of covering up the natural beauty of Apple’s iDevices. Alundus looks to address this issue with their new iTattoo Device Decals, which accent the design of your Apple products, giving them a “distinctive uniqueness.”

Ion Audio claims that with their Piano Apprentice 25-note lighted keyboard and accompanying iOS app, you can “learn to play piano anywhere.” Physically, this is true. The keyboard itself is compact and light, and easily transportable. In practice, though, it’s not quite that simple. It’ll teach you a few songs, yes, but you’ll have to figure some things out on your own, and you won’t be entertaining with “The Entertainer” overnight.

How about we fill your iOS device with games? Soccer fans are in for a treat; Real Soccer 2012 is just out and it’s full of new features to make the game even more fun and realistic. If soccer isn’t your thing, maybe controlling an entire city is more your style. EA is back with another Sims game. There’s much more, but you’re just going to have to click through.