Mike's NBC-TV stories

Santa apps for 2017

Everyone knows how exciting the two weeks leading up to Christmas can be, especially for kids.

As we near the peak of the holiday season, PC Mike Wendland delivers an early gift to you – three Christmas-excitement building apps.

Sleeps to Christmas 2 is a Christmas countdown app featuring animated characters and a bunch of fun holiday songs. The main purpose is to help build excitement for the big day, by providing countdown information right down to the second.. The app is free for iOS.

Message from Santa lets parents to customize phone calls and interactive texts directly to Santa Claus. Kids can record a voicemail message. They can check the weather forecast on the North Pole, hear the names of Santa’s reindeer, see how many days are left until Christmas, and more. The app is free for iOS and Android with premium options available.

Google Santa Tracker is an annual favorite. Kids play games up until Christmas Eve, with a countdown clock and Santa tracker to follow Santa’s route when he’s on the way. The app is free for Android. with a web-based version als

Mike is a veteran journalist whose video "PC Mike" reports have been distributed weekly to all 215 NBC-TV stations since 1994, making him one of the most experienced tech reporters in the country. His tech stories and videos have appeared on MSNBC, CNBC, the Today Show, The New York Times, USA Today and in numerous national newspapers and magazines. In addition to the PC Mike tech blog, he also publishes the Roadtreking.com RV Travel Blog in which he travels North America in an RV reporting about interesting people and places.