Automate the Holidays with Smart Lights

Decorating for Christmas always seems to happen earlier and earlier every year at my house. My kids, as with most children I suppose, are into Christmas in a big way, and usually are begging to put up the tree and decorations right after Halloween. I have to practically hold them back until December rolls around or else my house would look like the North Pole for two or three months out of the year. But, who can blame them? Christmas is a magical time of year. It’s enchanting to see all the glistening tinsel, shiny colourful balls, bells, cherubs, and glittering lights everywhere. And, things sure have changed a lot since I was a little kid. We had simple decorations and old fragile or wooden ornaments for our tree, and an old string of lights that was always tangled up. Today, you can find a plethora of cool decorations featuring your favourite characters for your tree, and the lighting has gotten pretty high-tech. Gone are the days when you had to send little Timmy crawling under the tree to find the plug and outlet every night. Now you can automate the holidays with smart lights. Let me show you how.

Smart Lights for Your Christmas Tree

If there is any place to start a blog about Christmas smart lighting, then it certainly has to be with the yuletide tree. Toss that old string of lights you’ve been using year after year, and opt instead for something more modern and feature-packed, like the Twinkly Smart LED Light Set.

These smart lights will certainly get you into the holiday spirit. They feature Wi-Fi connectivity and can be controlled using an app with your smartphone, tablet, or computer.

The colour-changing smart lighting adds a really festive atmosphere to your holiday décor, and you can even create your own custom lighting configurations through the app. These lights even work with Google Home and Amazon Alexa, so you can control the lights simply with your voice.

The lights also have a 30,000-hour life expectancy, so they will last and illuminate more than a few festive seasons. The Twinkly Smart LED Light Sets come in a variety of lengths, ranging from 56 to 270 lights on the string.

Smart Holiday Lights for Your Home

Of course, you don’t just put holiday lighting only on your tree. Like most folks out there who like to impress the neighbours, I put lights up on my windows, along the bar/countertop in the living room, and outside (around the door frame and in front of the garage door).

For all your non-tree-related smart Christmas lighting needs, may I suggest the Twinkly Smart LED Icicle Wall Light Set? You can get these lights with either 120 or 200 lights, and they feature 5mm icicle LED lights with four-inch spacing and Wi-Fi connectivity.

As with the tree lights, these icicle wall lights can be controlled using an app on your smartphone, tablet, or computer, or if you have Google Home or Amazon Alexa, you can simply use your voice to turn the lighting on and off. You can also control and customize the colour-changing bulbs, so your holidays are illuminated exactly the way you’ve always wanted.

These particular lights have been tested to 0 degrees Celsius and are not meant for outdoor use below that tested temperature. However, these babies have a 30,000 hour life, so you will be using them next year and for many years to come.

Get or Gift the Smart Light Holiday Package

As I said, those Twinkly smart lights can be controlled either with an app on your smart devices or computer, or using a digital personal assistant like Amazon Alexa or Google Home. If you don’t happen to have one of those in your home—and seriously, why the heck don’t you? —then you are in luck.

You’ll also find a great little package deal that features both the Twinkly 175-Light Smart LED Light Set & Google Home Mini. This bundle not only gives you modern and customizable holiday lighting, but also the great Google Home Mini.

I have one of those in my kitchen that I received as a gift last Christmas from my daughter. It is probably one of the most used and appreciated items I have ever had. It gives you connection and access to the wealth of information found on the Internet—all just by using your voice, and it can control connected and compatible smart devices in your home, such as festive twinkly lights! This pack would certainly make a fun gift for that Christmas crazy on your list.

Set the Christmas Mood with Smart Lights

Smart lighting comes in all shapes and forms, too, not just the Christmas-specific variety. You could also set the yuletide atmosphere around your home with something like the Philips Hue A19 Smart Personal Wireless Light Bulb.

This dimmable bulb offers 16 million colours and screws into any standard light socket. You can control it with your smartphone or tablet via an app, tuning and dimming the illumination to your exact needs and moods. You also can set timers, notifications, alarms, and set up geofencing so your lights turn on when you come home (or off when you leave) automatically. Best of all, after the big holiday meal is over and the party begins, you can synch the lighting to music and turn your living room into a dance floor.

So, isn’t it time to toss the tangled mess of old (and possibly dangerous) lights that you’ve had coiled up in the cardboard box in the garage for years and bring your Christmas and holiday décor into 2018? Wouldn’t you like to customize and control the festive glow of the season with a swipe of your finger or a simple voice command? Then go ahead and check out all the different types and options for smart lighting available online at Best Buy. And have happy and smartly illuminated holidays!