现在十二月(December)来了，是时候爬上阁楼，拉下自去年以来就没有碰过的满是灰尘的盒子了。虽然组装和装饰圣诞树(Christmas tree)是一项久经考验的传统，但它可能需要很多时间——而且随着每年的假期变得越来越忙碌，时间是有限的。
智能家居(Smart home)设备可以帮助您以全新的方式在假期装饰您的家，这不仅可以减少您每年需要吸入的灰尘量，还可以让您比以往任何时候都更好地控制您的假期装饰。这里有一些想法。
投资一棵智能圣诞树(Invest In a Smart Christmas Tree)
近年来，人造树因其寿命长且火灾风险降低（更不用说成本较低）而变得越来越流行。但是你仍然必须在人造树周围串灯——当然，除非灯是内置的——在。
Mr. Christmas Alexa 兼容树(Mr. Christmas Alexa-compatible tree)只是一个例子。这棵树与Alexa一起使用，它可以让您设置时间表、打开和关闭树，甚至只需几句话就可以选择灯光的颜色。如果您的互联网中断，还有一个控制器可以打开和关闭电源。
智能树的好处就是不用每年都串起来，还可以随意改变灯的颜色。有 13 种不同的灯光设置，包括白色和多色。您甚至可以将灯光设置为闪烁。
圣诞树先生在(Mr. Christmas)亚马逊(Amazon)上的售价为 250 美元，但如果这听起来有点贵，智能家居技术(home tech)还有其他方法可以帮助简化装饰过程(decorating process)。
使用智能圣诞灯让你的树成为小镇的话题(Use Smart Christmas Lights To Make Your Tree The Talk Of The Town)
很多智能灯都可以用作圣诞灯(Christmas)，但也有一些超出了您对智能灯的期望。
这些品种中最好的一个是Twinkly，一套可以完全通过手机控制和定制的智能灯。您所要做的就是像往常一样在圣诞树(Christmas tree)周围串灯，然后使用该应用程序拍照。它识别每个LED(LEDs)并让您完全控制它们。
完成此操作后，您可以从大量灯光、动画、颜色和效果列表中进行选择，让您的圣诞树(Christmas)成为您自己的。它们也与Google 助理(Google Assistant)兼容，因此您可以通过语音控制它们。
最重要的是，Twinkly灯可以全年使用。只需(Just)更改它们的颜色以反映一年中的时间，您就拥有完美的季节性装饰。
使用 Amazon Alexa 或 Google Home 一次在多个设备上同步您的圣诞音乐(Use Amazon Alexa Or Google Home To Sync Your Christmas Music Across Multiple Devices At Once)
没有什么比在大厅里回荡的古老而熟悉的圣诞(Christmas)颂歌更能说明节日了——但你不需要一个巨大的扬声器系统(speaker system)来创造这种效果。通过同步Amazon Echo或Nest Mini等智能扬声器，您可以从所有设备同时播放相同的歌曲。
您也可以使用与这两个系统中的任何一个兼容的某些智能扬声器来执行此操作。确切的方法因他们而异，但通常涉及建立“演讲者组”。完成此操作并选择要播放的歌曲后，您将听到每个扬声器同时 播放欢快的音乐。(music playing)
让智能显示屏带您了解复杂的节日食谱(Let a Smart Display Walk You Through Complicated Holiday Recipes)
智能家居(Smart home)技术很方便，但迄今为止最大的用途之一是能够在不实际接触任何东西的情况下完成食谱。当您需要知道下一步该做什么但您的手被面糊覆盖而无法做任何事情时，这非常适合那些复杂的公式。
Nest Hub 和Amazon Echo Show都可以找到食谱，将它们读给您听，并显示有关如何烹饪它们的分步说明。
当您正在为您著名的节日派对(holiday party)做饭时，您所需要做的就是看一眼屏幕，看看您正在做的事情。准备就绪后，只需让Google 或 Alexa(Google or Alexa)继续下一步。将您的智能助手变成您自己的烹饪精灵小军，以确保一切顺利。
使用智能插头控制您的户外灯光显示器(Control Your Outdoor Light Displays With Smart Plugs)
当然，有户外智能灯可用于创建时间表和令人惊叹的灯光显示，但您可能已经拥有多年的(’ worth)装饰品。毕竟，它们具有情感价值——你不想摆脱它们。好消息是您不必这样做。户外智能插头(Outdoor smart plugs)具有耐候性，可以代替挑剔的计时器，每天在正确的时间为您的灯供电。
这些插头很容易通过您的手机或通过应用程序内的时间表进行控制。如果天气有点沉闷和寒冷，而您想早点开灯，这很简单：只需点击一个按钮，您就可以开始了。
智能(Smart)插头也可以通过Google Home 或 Amazon Alexa(Google Home or Amazon Alexa)进行控制。只需(Just name)将插头(plug something)命名为特定的名称（例如“庆祝活动”），然后说，“嘿 Google，打开庆祝活动(Hey Google, turn on Festivities)”，然后看着(” and watch)你的灯亮起来。
智能家居(Smart home)设备让生活的方方面面变得更加便捷，节假日也不例外。没有人喜欢搞乱只能工作一半时间的电源计时器。多亏了智能家居技术(home tech)，你不必这样做——如果你喜欢巨大的灯光显示器，那么主导智能家居市场的(home market)LED(LEDs)可能会在这个假期(holiday season)减少你的能源费用(energy bill)。
Best Smart Home Devices to Decorate For the Holidays
Now that December iѕ here, it’s timе to climb into the attic and pull down the dusty boxes of decorations thаt haven’t been touched sincе last year. While asѕembling and decorаting the Christmas tree is a tried-and-true traditiоn, it can take a lot of time—and with the holidays becoming more and more hectic with each year, time is limited.
Smart home devices can help you decorate your home for the holidays in brand-new ways that not only reduce the amount of dust you need to breathe in each year, but give you more control than ever before over your holiday decorations. Here are a few ideas.
Invest In a Smart Christmas Tree
Artificial trees have become increasingly popular in recent years due to their longevity and the reduced risk of fire (not to mention the lower cost.) But you still have to string lights around an artificial tree—unless, of course, the lights are built-in.
The Mr. Christmas Alexa-compatible tree is just one example. This tree works with Alexa, which lets you set schedules, turn the tree on and off, and even choose the color of the lights with just a few words. There is also a controller to turn the power on and off if your internet is down.
The benefit of a smart tree is that you don’t have to string it each year, but you can also change the color of the lights at will. There are 13 different light settings, including white and multicolor. You can even set the lights to twinkle.
The Mr. Christmas tree is available for $250 on Amazon, but if that sounds a bit steep, there are other ways smart home tech can help streamline the decorating process.
Use Smart Christmas Lights To Make Your Tree The Talk Of The Town
A lot of smart lights could be used as Christmas lights, but then there are some that go above and beyond what you might expect from smart lights.
One of the best of these varieties is Twinkly, a set of smart lights that can be controlled and customized entirely from your phone. All you do is string the lights around your Christmas tree like normal and then take a picture using the app. It identifies each of the LEDs and gives you total control over them.
Once you do this, you can choose from a huge list of lights, animations, colors, and effects to make your Christmas tree your own. They’re compatible with Google Assistant too, so you can control them with just your voice.
Best of all, Twinkly lights can be used year-round. Just change their colors to reflect the time of year and you have perfect seasonal décor.
Use Amazon Alexa Or Google Home To Sync Your Christmas Music Across Multiple Devices At Once
Nothing says the holidays like the sound of old, familiar Christmas carols echoing through the halls—but you don’t need a huge speaker system to create that effect. By syncing smart speakers like the Amazon Echo or the Nest Mini, you can play the same songs simultaneously from all of the devices.
You can also do this with certain smart speakers that are compatible with either of the two systems. The exact methods vary between them, but usually involve setting up “speaker groups.” Once you have done this and chosen the song you want to play, you will hear cheerful music playing from every speaker at once.
Let a Smart Display Walk You Through Complicated Holiday Recipes
Smart home tech is convenient, but one of the greatest uses to date is the ability to work through a recipe without actually touching anything. This is perfect for those complicated formulas when you need to know what to do next but your hands are too covered in batter to do anything with.
Both the Nest Hub and the Amazon Echo Show can find recipes, read them to you, and display step-by-step instructions on how to cook them.
When you’re in the midst of cooking for your famous holiday party, all you need to do is glance at the screen and see the step you’re on. When you’re ready, just ask Google or Alexa to move on to the next step. Turn your smart assistants into your own little army of cooking elves to make sure everything turns out great.
Control Your Outdoor Light Displays With Smart Plugs
Sure, there are outdoor smart lights that can be used to create schedules and stunning light displays, but you probably already have years’ worth of decorations. Those have sentimental value, after all—you don’t want to get rid of them. The good news is that you don’t have to. Outdoor smart plugs are weather-resistant and can take the place of finicky timers to power your lights on at the right time every day.
These plugs are easy to control from your phone or through in-app schedules. If the day is a bit dreary and cold and you want to turn your lights on early, it’s simple: just tap a button and you’re good to go.
Smart plugs can also be controlled via Google Home or Amazon Alexa. Just name the plug something specific (like “Festivities”) and say, “Hey Google, turn on Festivities” and watch as your lights come to life.
Smart home devices make all aspects of life more convenient, even the holidays. No one likes messing with power timers that only work half the time. Thanks to smart home tech, you don’t have to—and if you’re prone to huge light displays, the LEDs that dominate the smart home market might actually cut back on your energy bill this holiday season.
