How to Set Up Your Smart Home for the Holidays
Phillips Hue’s Festavia lights might be worth the splurge for quick holiday cheer.
I don’t know about you, but I’m both ready for holiday cheer this year and am feeling a little too worn out by *gestures broadly at everything* to spend much time setting it up myself. Much of what I’ve figured out to relieve the strain involves gadgets I already have around the house, but during my search, I discovered some fun ways to blow money on smart tech and other electronic decorations in the name of Kris Kringle. Keep reading; maybe you’ll get inspired as you set up your house for the holidays.
Connected Christmas tree lights
Smart lights! Bet you would have never guessed that I had these on the list. Before you accuse me of going after low-hanging fruit, I must tell you that connected Christmas tree lights, in particular, are relatively new in the IoT world. It was only last year that Twinkly launched its Christmas lights ($140), which have 16 million color options and come with a library of animations. Phillips Hue, arguably the most popular smart lighting ecosystem, also recently announced its version of Festavia lights for $160.
Read more
I like smart lights because I think the convenience is worth the hassle of connecting yet more things to my wifi. I’ve had the same on/off routines for years, and my bedtime revolves around them. I keep the same schedule even with the living room covered in decor.
Use a smart plug
For those who don’t want to buy a whole new set of smart lights, you can always buy a smart plug to schedule regular holiday lights. Even if you don’t use these year-round, I suggest getting a two-pack for storage—or a four-pack from TP-Link ($25)—for when this time of year rolls out. You can buy outdoor smart plugs, like this one, also from TP-Link.
“The Nest Cam caught Mommy kissing Santa Claus”
I got this idea from a YouTube video while looking for ideas for this list, and I think I might adopt it for my kiddo. Hide a security camera in the Christmas tree to catch Santa delivering presents. But make sure when you don the Santa hat to fake the visit that your face is covered. The last thing you want to do is have facial recognition ruin the magic of Christmas.
Climate changing? Project a white Christmas, instead
It doesn’t snow where I live in California—we’re on wildfire watch this holiday—so I like to pretend by adopting a snowflake motif around the house. My colleague, Andrew Liszewski, introduced me to the AtmosKIT Plus Christmas projector kit ($370), which features a ViewSonic projector and 12 different Christmas designs that you can throw on the wall or through the window. There are instructions inside on how to set everything up.
Protect your sanity from those catchy jingles
I am okay with holiday music, but only between Thanksgiving and Christmas. After that, I want nothing more to do with it. You can keep your sanity by blocking holiday playlists year-round in Spotify and Apple Music and only queuing them up when your heart desires.
This guy went one step further and made an Alexa skill to mute Christmas songs until he removed the filter. That part requires a developer account, but it might be worth the trouble if you’re desperate enough.
Go for a fiber optic tree
There’s nothing smart about this particular pick. It’s just damn cool. Why settle for Douglas Fir when you can opt for a fiber optic Christmas tree?
Stream a fireplace
There’s something super calming about the ASMR of a crackling fire. But with the very real onset of climate change and some areas banning firewood during the winter’s lousy air season, fireplaces aren’t as accessible as they used to be. That’s where streaming comes into play. Below is a list of sites where I’ve streamed a fireplace to help get me into the chill winter mood:
8-Hours of fire at 4K on YouTube (above)
Netflix’s Fireplace for Your Home
But wait, it gets better: Netflix’s Fireplace 4K: Crackling Birchwood from Fireplace for Your Home
The Fireplace Channel on the Roku Store
Holiday Celebrations on Amazon Prime
Do it. Go for the Frozen version of the fireplace on Disney+
More from Gizmodo
The Best Shortcuts On Mac: Snap Windows, Text to Speech, and More
How to Delete Your Twitter Account If Elon Musk Was Your Last Straw
Sign up for Gizmodo's Newsletter. For the latest news, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
