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.

Keep the kids occupied over the holidays with these Christmas themed apps for iOS devices. Instant Santa (free) The Instant Santa iPhone app instantly places Santa in any photo, for sharing via Facebook, Twitter or email. Created by Chicago-based Fueled, Inc., Instant Santa can be downloaded onto any iPhone or iPad 2. Place Santa anywhere more »

It’s December, and the countdown to Christmas has officially begun. So has the release of Christmas-themed apps. There will be countless others of course, and we’ll be taking a closer look at some of the best throughout this month. In the meantime, as new Christmas apps and accessories are announced and old apps are updated—whether they’re games, greeting card generators, novelties or more—we’ll announce them here.

Not looking forward to taking your Christmas lights down this weekend? Keep them up year round with MusicalLights for iPhone and iPod touch. Musical Lights is an application that allows the user to tap on an image they have chosen to add Christmas lights of various shapes, sizes, and colors. From there, the user can choose a song to play through the iPhone and have the lights turn on and off to the beat of the music.

Tomorrow’s Christmas Day, but it’s certainly not too late to download some Christmas apps for the iPhone and iPod touch. There are countless apps available, of course, and we’ll be taking a closer look at some of the best over the next two weeks. In the meantime, as new Christmas apps are announced and old apps are updated—whether they’re games, greeting card generators, novelties or more—we’ll announce them here.

Christmas is upon us, and that means plenty of gatherings with family and friends. It can often be quite a hassle (word of advice, never marry someone who’s parents live in the same town as your own…let alone the same state), but it’s also a lot of fun for many of us. I’ll admit I’m a sucker for holiday cheer, but only after I’ve had my mom’s breakfast casserole and received all of the Wii and DS games I wanted (which this year is…uh…nothing). So, how to wind down afterwards? Do people really roast chestnuts over an open fire? What if no one in your family can play piano? No carols for you! There’ll be no snow where I live, so snowmen and snowball fights are out of the question. What to do?

Well, I almost hate to suggest it, it being a commercial item and all, but isn’t the iPhone all about communication? Isn’t it supposed to bring people together? Aren’t we supposed to have fun and share each other’s company at this time of year? Yes, so here are a few suggestions for Christmas apps that can help to liven up your family gatherings and parties. Just be sure to silence the ringer when you’re at the Christmas Eve service or the movie theater on Christmas night.

Well it’s December, and Christmas is right around the corner for those who celebrate it. With hundreds of thousands of iPhones and iPod touches floating around, there are plenty of accessories you could buy for all of your loved ones. However, there is also tons of software from which you can pick and choose that may be just as good a present. With 10,000 apps in the App Store, I’m sure your won’t have any difficulty finding a few for this Christmas season.

That said, I’m going to help you out in your efforts and round up a few of the best ones I could find. Click through and enjoy!