The holidays are fast approaching, with Thanksgiving directly in our headlights. It’s a time for family, gifts, and a lot of great food and entertaining. While in the past you might have thought of putting on a good party as a generally non-digital endeavor that’s all changing. If you’re expecting guests over the next couple months, look no further for an assistant than your smartphone. That little computer in your pocket can now pitch in as a bartender, chef, grill master, planner, and more. Check out these apps and accessories that will help ease the stress of entertaining the whole famdamily. We promise, you’ll wonder how you ever managed a holiday without a smartphone!

iGrill – $35 (App and Accessory) 

If you’re putting the bird on the grill this year, the iGrill is just the ticket. The iGrill is a Bluetooth-enabled meat thermometer that will let you know exactly when your turkey (or ham, chicken, steak etc.) is done. Through a compatible app, the iGrill can give you temperature alarms, preset and custom alarms, and even social sharing and recipes. At an approximate $35, it seems like the iGrill is a no-brainer, as it will save you the pain of having to listen to your father-in-law griping about how dry the turkey is this year. If you’re lucky, the whole bunch will request you host next year. On second thought, you might consider skipping the iGrill and burning the crap out of the turkey. They’ll never come back.

Speakeasy Cocktails – $9.99 (App)

So Aunt Betty likes gin rickeys and Uncle Otis prefers Brandy Manhattans. You don’t know how to make either. Fear not, there’s an app for that. Speakeasy Cocktails runs $9.99 on the app store, but it features over 90 minutes of HD video tutorial by two world-renowned bartenders, 200 recipes created by 58 leading mixologists from the United States, Canada, U.K., and Australia. The app also boasts “dozens of photos, slideshows, and interactive guided tours. Tap on any ingredient, tool, or technique throughout the book for a popup definition, photo, and pro tips.” With this app, if they order it, you’ll likely be able to mix it up, so long as you have your bar all stocked up with the right ingredients.

Philips Hue Lux Starter Pack – $99 (App and Accessory)

Maybe you’re looking to set the mood for your holiday dinner party? Philips’ popular lighting system should be able to help with that. The starter kit consists of a pair of WiFi enabled light bulbs and a hub that connects to your wireless router. After that, you can control those lightbulbs directly from an app on your smartphone. At $99 for the starter set, it’s not cheap but it’s a lot of fun. The palette of colors is infinite, and you can even set the lighting to perfectly compliment your favorite holiday sweater–you know, the one with the reindeer on the front.

Epicurious – Free (App)

The Epicurious app has been around a long time. It’s a free app for iOS and Android that boasts over 30,000 recipes, a shopping list creator, and tons of user ratings on recipes. It also features a few pretty handy dandy voice controls. For instance when your hands are covered in butter and you don’t want to touch the sparkly new screen of your iPad Air or iPhone 6, you can just say things like ‘Up’ and ‘ingredients’ and voila!, the genie in the bottle flips the page of your cookbook for you. Just don’t let grandma catch you using one of those fandangled gizmos in the kitchen!

A Very Cozy Fireplace HD – .99 (App)

No fireplace? No problem. Keep your guests warm, cozy and huddled around that gigantic iPhone 6 Plus you just bought with “A Very Cozy Fireplace HD”, an iOS app that goes for just a buck. That app itself weighs in at only 30 MB and can be beamed via Airplay directly to the Apple TV. Throw on some Johnny Mathis Christmas favorites and enjoy your virtual fireplace. If Gramps’ noggin’ is far enough down the tracks, he just might think he’s back on the farm next to the wood stove.

Breathometer – Breeze Breathalyzer – $99 (App and Accessory)

Last but not least, you’re going to want to make sure everyone gets home safe. Even though cousin Donny said he only had one eggnog, you saw him sprucing up his glass with a little extra cheer on more than one occasion. If he insists on driving, then you’ll have to insist that he take a turn on your Breeze Breathalyzer from Breathometer. The $100 price tag is admittedly a bit outrageous, but then cousin Donny’s safety is priceless. Using a compatible app, the Breeze will tell you just how much fun Donny had, and whether you’ll have to tap your Uber app to get him home. The Breeze is compatible with Bluetooth 4.1-enabled devices with iOS 7.0.1 or later or Android 4.3 or later.