The best apps to buy with your Christmas iTunes vouchers

There are tens of thousands of apps and games on the App Store, and so finding the gems amongst the dross can be tricky.

If you find yourself in possession of a lovely iTunes voucher this Christmas, here's what we reckon you should buy.

How to spend £25

If you've £25 to spend, concentrate on grabbing low-cost apps. Our selection includes the odd throwaway item, but most offer surprising depth, despite many costing just 59p. You'll find yourself using several of these apps daily.

First, grab some games. There are loads of great 59p titles on the App Store, which are great for quick blasts yet will still be on your device for months to come.

Line-drawing airport game Flight Control, vertical platformer Doodle Jump, swipe-based rescue game Parachute Panic, and puzzler Geared are all fab.

If you've kids, grab mix-and-match dinosaur toy DinoMixer to keep them occupied. And for quiet moments, Drop7 is the best puzzler on the App Store and well worth a little extra, costing as it does £1.79.

FLY HIGH: Flight Control remains one of the most compelling games on the App Store

Make the most of your device's multimedia capabilities with apps for music, reading and imagery. Brushes (£2.99) is a great sketching app, and if you've an iPhone, QuadCamera (£1.19) gives you a Lomo-like multi-shot, TiltShift (59p) enables you transform scenes into miniature worlds, and Snapture (59p) provides filters, stabilisation and many more camera features.

MULTI-SHOT: QuadCamera is a great multi-shot 'toy' camera app

More apps for your £25

We're not even half-way yet - £25 can go a long way on the App Store.

If you enjoy music, grab TonePad Pro, Ocarina and Internet Radio Box. These apps all cost 59p and are, respectively, an addictive grid-based synth, a virtual wind instrument, and an app that effectively transforms your device into a DAB Radio.

Slightly more expensive - and just as good - are Pianist (£2.39), a great piano app (with recording features), and Classics (£1.79), a beautifully designed virtual library, housing some of the greatest stories ever written.

MUSIC MAKER: Your device's touchscreen can be used for virtual instrument apps, such as Pianist

If you're feeling sociable, check out Tweetie 2 (£1.79), the App Store's leading Twitter client, and Balloons!, a really sweet 59p app you use for releasing and capturing virtual helium balloons with personalised notes attached. And for tracking news and blog updates, Reeder (£1.19) is a top-notch Google Reader client.

Should you find yourself a little more rotund after Christmas excess, invest in a trio of GymFu apps, CrunchFu, PushupFu and SquatFu (59p each), which work rather like videogames, charting progress over time to a set number of 'reps' and enabling you to battle friends over the internet.

If you plonk your device in a dock, buy FlipTime (59p), a charming clock that resembles old-fashioned information boards at airports and railway stations. And if you're a pay-monthly user, buy Mobile Allowance (59p) to keep track of your usage.

TONE UP: Get rid of your Christmas spare tyre by using GymFu's apps

Finally, download a copy of Postman (£1.19) to send whoever gave you the voucher a personalised thank-you note.