Christmas? There’s an Israeli app for that

JTA — In the iPhone and iPad app “Santa Rescue Saga: Doctor X Christmas Adventure,” children are tasked with healing Kris Kringle’s cold, getting him unstuck from a chimney, extricating him from a block of ice and assorted other adventures. Their mission: to allow Santa to do his job on Christmas night.

The app opens with a short rhyme:

Santa’s sick and like Rudolph,
His nose is red!
There’s no Christmas without him!
Help him get out of bed!

The app’s producer? TabTale, an Israeli startup that has created 220 apps with more than 240 million downloads.

TabTale was ranked among the top ten app publishers by ranking site AppAnnie.com, and boasts $13.5 million in funding. Its mission is to create interactive, educational books and games for children on mobile devices.

The company can, in part, thank Christmas for that success. Among its dozens of children’s apps are no fewer than 10 devoted to December 25 and its associated characters.

“A Christmas Tale” is an interactive children’s book that tells kids the story of a family awaiting Santa at night and enjoying their presents in the morning. “The Shoemaker and the Elves” is, to quote the app’s own description, “A story by the Brothers Grimm adapted by Yael Nussbaum [and] illustrated by Is Gat.” I don’t know them, but I’m gonna guess they don’t celebrate Christmas.

One note of caution: If you download the apps in Israel, don’t be surprised if, next to Santa, you see a sabra smiling at you from a banner ad for an Israeli dating website.