Over, $2, www.madewithover.com

From Christmas trees to Christmas cards, December is deadly for trees. There's not a lot you can do about the Christmas trees, but you can cut down on the cards.

An iPhone app, Over, lets you put type on top of your photos. It's an easy way to make cards the way photo studios used to do.

There are other similar apps, but few are as simple to use and as versatile as Over. To get started, open the app and tap on "take a photo," or "camera roll," to take a photo or choose an existing shot.

Sample text tells you to double tap to edit. Then type in your message and choose the color of the type. A yellow triangle on the right side of the photo lets you pick a font and size it. You move the writing around by dragging it with your finger.

You either save the photo or go directly to "share" and post your work on Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr or Instagram, or send by e-mail.

You can still kill trees by having your work turned into a 4- by 6-inch postcard, at $2 for a single card. Over costs $2, but there is a free version, Overgram, for use on Instagram only.

A TABLET THAT DOUBLES AS A BABY MONITOR

Nabi Jr., $99, www.fuhu.com

Arriving by mid-December, Nabi Jr. is a 5-inch, 8-gigabyte $99 Android tablet that can do double-duty as a baby monitor or a karaoke machine. Educational apps, games and videos are preloaded. It has a single rotating camera that can point front or back.

The maker of the device, Fuhu, brags that the tablet needs no cartridges or AA batteries, and includes Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. If the Nabi Jr. is successful, it could mean serious competition for toy-based options from LeapFrog and VTech.

The Nabi Jr. has its own app store, with the promise of being able to load apps through the Amazon.com app store, too.

Add-ons include an infrared night-vision camera with a remote zoom for use as a baby monitor.

NEW YORK TIMES