In theory, Christmas should be a relaxing time—one spent with family and friends, being away from work, and relaxing as you binge-watch movies. Unfortunately, the pressure to buy gifts for everyone can be stressful, as you try to decide what to buy and ensure you don't go over budget.

However, present buying doesn't have to be overwhelming. There are plenty of free Android apps that can help you plan your Christmas shopping. Here, we've rounded up some of the best to help you track gift ideas, stay on budget, and keep your Christmas shopping organized.

1. Christmas Gift List (by engApps)

The suitably named Christmas Gift List app is simple, but gets the job done with its clean design and easy-to-use interface. It lets you create endless gift lists for everyone you need to buy for, with the ability to upload a picture against each gift. Plus, there's the option to set a custom budget for each person.

Once you add gifts to a list, you can mark them as bought and wrapped—because a present isn't complete without some ribbon and a tag! A clear stats page shows you how many days left until Christmas, how much you've spent against your budget, and how many gifts you have left to buy.

Handily, when so much Christmas shopping is done online these days, there's a dedicated tab that helps find your desired items on Amazon; head into the app settings to select your local Amazon site.

Download: Christmas Gift List for Android (Free, premium version available)

2. Christmas Gift List (by Medialoha)

Don't be confused—this app has the same name as the one before it, but it's not the same. With Christmas Gift List, you can create multiple gift lists for different people. It lets you add gifts and ideas separately, which is ideal for when you haven't quite decided what to buy someone.

You can also assign a status to the gift, like whether it's bought, ordered, or wrapped. The overview page shows you the status of everything across all your lists, which makes it a breeze to keep track of your Christmas shopping.

Some other nice features include the ability to set a budget per person, quickly search for a gift through Google Shopping, and print a physical copy of the list for when you need to take the shopping offline.

There is a paid version of the app that offers additional features like password protection and the ability to change the currency. If you need those features, try another app on this list, since many offer them for free.

Download: Christmas Gift List for Android (Free, premium version available)

3. Gift Tracker

Gift Tracker helps you keep track of everyone you need to buy for. It lets you set an overall budget for Christmas and individual budgets for each person. As you add new items to the list, Gift Tracker will calculate how close to the budget that purchase would take you.

Helpfully, Gift Tracker shows you all the gifts left to buy at an individual and overall level. You can also set a gift as an idea, bought, or wrapped, and the budget will update accordingly. Plus, there's a convenient one-tap button to find the gift on Amazon (unfortunately, you can't select an Amazon alternative if you prefer to shop elsewhere.)

Gift Tracker isn't specifically a Christmas app. It prompts you to create an event, so you will need to manually set up Christmas as a recurring date. But this isn't an issue—besides, it means you can use the app all year round for any gift buying.

Download: Gift Tracker for Android (Free)

4. Xmas Gifts List

If you overlook Xmas Gift List's garishly festive design, this is a great app that will help you plan and budget your Christmas gift shopping with ease. First, you add the names of the people you need to buy gifts for; import these from your contacts if you want, which saves the hassle of manually adding them.

For each person, add gift ideas accompanied by a photo, price, and notes. If you end up buying something, Xmas Gift List lets you mark it as such—plus there's a different status for when you deliver it to the recipient. All of this is easily sortable, letting you see at a glance what you have left to buy.

Finally, you can keep your gift list secure by setting a password to unlock the app (though it's more advisable to lock your entire Android phone, rather than just this app.) It means that anyone snooping on your phone won't accidentally spoil their Christmas surprise.

Download: Xmas Gifts List for Android (Free, premium version available)

5. Christmas Gift List Organizer

If you're after a Christmas gift planner and budgeting app without the bloat, look no further than Christmas Gift List Organizer. It's easy to navigate, simple to use, and doesn't have any ads or lock features behind a paywall.

It lets you create individual lists, assigning them a name, budget, and a fun icon. From there, add items to the list, entering the name, price, and any notes. You can mark a gift's status as bought or wrapped, which then reflects on the dedicated shopping tab—perfect for quickly seeing what you still need to buy.

Additionally, a simple stats screen shows you how many lists you have, a breakdown of the gifts (such as you how many you've bought), and how much you've spent against budget.

Download: Christmas Gift List Organizer for Android (Free)

Make Time for Secret Santa at Christmas

Don't leave your Christmas shopping too late. You don't want to be the person rushing around the shops, buying gifts without rhyme or reason. Use these apps to help plan everything out in advance and keep your Christmas on budget.

Plus, once you have that all out the way, it gives you time to organize and participate in Secret Santa gift exchanges—you need to receive some presents too!