The year's Christmas countdown reads that there are about ten days left before everyone brings out sparklers for Noche Buena, attends the last of Simbang Gabi, and huddles around trees for gift-giving. New Year, too, is not far behind as there are barely two weeks left before we ring in 2014 with painted skies. To help you ride along with the holiday rush, count on WeChat to be your digital buddy with features that let you tick your to-dos for the season in just a matter of taps and swipes.

Box 1: Send out holiday greeting cards

It’s that time of the year again when postcard stands are all decked out with advanced well wishes for Christmas and New Year. Usher in the season with digital versions of these written notes by claiming your WeChat holiday gift rolling out this December 18. To start, download WeChat by scanning the QR code below or by visiting . Then, find WeChat team in your contacts list and send them a holiday photo or voice message via Hold-to-Talk.

Four Christmas greeting card templates with your photo or voice recording will be forwarded to you in return. You can send these out to your family and friends via WeChat Moments or via the ‘Share to Facebook’ button on top. Come December 26, these greeting cards will shift to New Year templates which you can again send out to your loved ones. These templates are WeChat’s holiday treats for its community which will be up until January 8, 2014.

Box 2: Organize Christmas parties

For a season that bursts with all kinds of celebration at the seams, planning Christmas and New Year’s parties can turn anyone into a real Grinch. Get back into the organizing scene minus the hassle with WeChat’s Group Messaging that maintains communications among up to 40 friends in one group whether via text, voice, or video.

A plus point: Have your friends remember party venues using WeChat’s location-based feature which allows you to send maps in seconds.

Box 3: Complete shopping lists

Remember when picking out Christmas gifts seemed like a guessing game? Win at shopping for what your family and friends truly want by inviting them to post their Christmas wishlists via WeChat’s Moments feature.

Compressed in one timeline, you can share and receive photos, videos, links, and comments from your gifts’ recepients even while on the go.

Box 4: Call relatives abroad

Christmas and New Year are those times of the year when merriment instantly brings family and friends together.

With WeChat, you can also have your loved ones from different points of the globe virtually join in the fun with one quick Video Call integrated in the application.

Box 5: Record moments

One of the best parts of the season is sharing occasions with special people who have marked or are bound to mark your life. So you never have to miss out on the details, WeChat pins down your stories for you with Storycam, which is developed by Tencent solely for WeChat.

StoryCam allows everyone to share their stories through themed photos including Featured, Place, Weather, Food, and Lifestyle. To do this, users can start by capturing a photo, enhancing it using up to 15 free filters, applying real-time location, weather, and date updates, and even placing watermarks wherever you want on the photo.