One of the better Yuletide traditions is the venerable holiday Advent Calendar, in which each day of December leading up to Christmas is marked off on a special calendar by opening its corresponding door to find a small gift, toy or chocolate squirreled away inside.

This year, we here at Cult of Mac decided we wanted to give our readers their very own Apple-themed advent calendar, filled with the year’s best apps, gadgets, stories and other curios. So each day in December, we’re going to lovingly peel back the door on the Cult of Mac 2012 Advent Calendar to reveal another delicious morsel, something really special that came out this year that we think every one of you should enjoy.

Day 16’s a day late, which just means you get to open two squares today instead of one. Behind the first? Monolith’s excellent wood backs for the iPhone.

Believe it or not, Black Friday has already come and gone. Pretty soon the Christmas season will begin, and we’ll mark this midwinter festival by getting together with friends and family and continuing to drink and eat far too much.

Meanwhile, we also buy gifts for those same friends and family members, whether they want them or not. Luckily, we’re here to help, and if you follow our festive advice, your gifts just might make it into the “wanted” category.

From now until Christmas, Cult of Mac will be putting together holiday gift guys full of ideas for the special ones in your life, no matter what their interests or your budget. Today, we’re looking at gifts for Mac lovers (not Mac fighters).

Ever since iOS 4 (I think – thanks, Shane!) came out, you’ve been able to send more than one photo attachment per email message, up to a maximum of five. What happens when you need to send more than five photos in one email, though?

That’s where Instamail Photos comes in. It’s on sale right now for $0.99 in the App Store and works pretty darn well.

Apple just unleashed the iPhone 5 on China today so things should be going really well for the company on Wall Street as well, but they’re not. According to initial reports, the debut of the iPhone 5 has been somewhat muted thanks to a snowstorm hitting Beijing and a pre-order requirement to prevent rioting.

Adding to Apple’s pain, the company’s stock hit a 10-month low today and is trading at $511.58 – the lowest its been since February.

One of the better Yuletide traditions is the venerable holiday Advent Calendar, in which each day of December leading up to Christmas is marked off on a special calendar by opening its corresponding door to find a small gift, toy or chocolate squirreled away inside.

This year, we here at Cult of Mac decided we wanted to give our readers their very own Apple-themed advent calendar, filled with the year’s best apps, gadgets, stories and other curios. So each day in December, we’re going to lovingly peel back the door on the Cult of Mac 2012 Advent Calendar to reveal another delicious morsel, something really special that came out this year that we think every one of you should enjoy.

What’s the prize for Day 14? A wonderful little app called Hueless that will drain all the color from your photos..

After unveiling its updated iPhone 5 BookBook case, Twelve South has announced BookBook for iPad mini, Apple’s smaller tablet. The case sells for $70 and is available now online.

Weighing 7.5 ounces, this newest BookBook is made with genuine leather and there are dual zippers on the top and bottom to allow full access to ports. The case comes in three colors: Vintage Brown, Classic Black and Vibrant Red.

Xiaojie Li, a 44-year-old woman living in Newton, Massachusetts, was pinned to the ground and tasered by police on Tuesday when she attempted to buy a few too many iPhones from her local Apple store. Li says she was buying the devices on behalf of relatives in China, and she was carrying $16,000 in cash when police arrested her.

The United Kingdom is a little late to 4G — just a few months ago, 4G networks didn’t exist. Now it has one, EE, which is quickly trying to expand its 4G coverage across the country. It began its rollout in 11 major cities, and the company has announced today that it will be reaching an additional 17 by March 2013.

The WINGStand, from the guys at BiteMyApple, is another accessory that was born on Kickstarter. It allows you to combine your iPad, iPad mini, and iPhone with your Apple Wireless Keyboard in the simplest way possible — without carrying additional an additional stand, dock, or case.

Simply attach the WINGStand clips to the back of your keyboard — they cling onto its battery compartment — and they form a stand in which you can sit your iOS devices. As you can see from the photograph above, the two almost merge into one to create a pretty little computer that’s perfect for getting things done on the go.

When you’ve finished working, simply pull the WINGStand clips off your keyboard, clip them together, and throw them in your bag.

The WINGStand is available in white and “eco friendly” black and it costs just $15. Is it worth it?

The PocoWool might have the worst Kickstarter video yet seen, making the clothes-fitting-room scene in Pretty Woman look like a Jim Jarmusch movie, but it looks to be the hottest iPhone bag/purse/clutch around.