With the festive period fast approaching, we look at ways you can make your home smarter this Christmas.

Christmas Tree Lights

(requires smart plug)

Turning on your Christmas tree lights can often be a complex task, especially when your nearest plug socket could be behind the tree itself. Reduce the need to take out a yoga class just to switch your lights on. By connecting your them to a smart plug you can switch on your lights in style, allowing you to create more complex lighting set ups.

Take your lights to the next level by adding an amazon echo and naming your plug Christmas tree lights. You can then ask Alexa to ‘turn on the Christmas tree lights’.

For the safety conscious, if you have a home automation solution, you could use presence sensors to make sure your lights are off when you leave. You could also use routines to shut down power, when you head to bed.

Christmas Mood Lighting

(requires colour changing bulbs or LED strips)

Make your house even more festive by adding a colourful glow, by using smart bulbs and setting them to festive greens or reds.

Wow guests with colourful glowing rooms, with festive songs and a few good drinks. Your Christmas gatherings are likely to go down a treat.

Christmas Music

(requires Amazon Echo and Amazon music subscription)

Christmas wouldn’t be the same without having some festive music playing in the background. Connect an Amazon echo and subscribe to Amazon music to play the best Christmas songs.

Echo tip – we found asking for the ‘top Christmas songs’ to hear more familiar festive songs. As ‘Alexa, play Christmas songs’ seems to play some jazz based Christmas songs, which might not be quite what you’re looking for.

If you have any other ideas to help make your home smarter this Christmas. Leave a comment or reply to the post.