This Christmas marks the long-awaited release of the sequel to The Snowman. Yes, we’re talking about that benevolent (though, in hindsight, perhaps slightly creepy) snowman, who flew a little boy to the North Pole on Christmas Eve in his pyjamas. To mark the release of The Snowman and The Snowdog, Channel 4 has launched a free game for iPhone, iPad and Android. It’s based on the new film and, from what we’ve seen, it looks nothing short of heart-warming.

You join the Snowman and the Snowdog on their quest to reach the North Pole, exploring the winter-coated countryside and London landmarks on the way. Collect a snowflake every now and again to keep your characters chugging along on their journey. It’s a low-impact game focusing on the beautiful graphics and featuring music from the film itself.

If, like us, your childhood Christmases consisted of floating around the house singing “we’re walking in the air” at the top of your lungs, then this app may just be a portal to a bygone era. Nostalgia aside, this game is a fantastic way to entertain any small children you’ll have meandering around the house come Christmas Day. It’s a simple game, which children will master in minutes (since you don’t actually have to control the direction the characters fly in) and on a tablet, you can easily have several people playing at once. And as if that weren’t enough to convince you, it’s completely free. Free I tell you! I think it’s the perfect app to get yourself in the Christmassy mood, that and a couple of glasses of mulled wine of course, so dust off your Aled Jones renditions and get downloading! [iTunes, Android]