As you decorate this holiday season, new advances in technology mean every part of your winter wonderland can be customized. Want to decorate your home in all red this year or control your light colors from your phone? Now you can.
“Technology is becoming more engrained in what we do, so it’s only natural that it’s a part of the holidays,” says Kelie Charles, holiday merchant for The Home Depot. “Lights, trees and outdoor décor are all adapting and improving with new features.”
Smartphone Tech Provides Unlimited Options
This holiday season, your smartphone can unlock a whole new level of customized cheer. Not only can you control the colors of lights shining bright from your tree, but a quick tap of your phone can make your lights twinkle or dance just how you’d like.
With GE iTwinkle, you can easily program an artificial tree with specialty lights to fit your personal preference with different colors and functions, like blinking, pulsing, chasing and steady movements. Music is also a new feature on the customizable market, and with iTwinkle, lights can dance along to any of the system’s pre-recorded songs.
Another digital option is AppLights. Using its different light sets, you can connect C9, icicle, spotlight or pathway markers together and create your own customized light show.
“My favorite thing about AppLights is that they can be used for many other holidays, long after Christmas is over, with pre-set lighting options for St. Patrick’s Day, Valentine’s Day, even Fourth of July. The fun doesn’t have to stop when your tree comes down,” shares Kelie.
Holiday Customization for Tech Newbies
Customization doesn’t require a smartphone, though. No matter how tech-savvy (or not) you are, there’s a customizable gadget for your holiday cheer.
The Holiday Brilliance Light and Sound Show allows you to connect and control multiple outdoor items using Bluetooth and SD card technology. Say you already have yard stakes and lights on your gutter. With this kit, you can connect and choreograph them all to light up to the music of your choice. “It’s completely customized – you pick your décor, your lights and your music – and you and plug it into what you already own. Whatever ideas you have for your winter wonderland can now come to life,” explains Kelie.
Bringing LED Tech to Traditional Looks
Year-over-year, The Home Depot has seen double-digit sales increase in LED holiday lights. To answer this growing demand, we looked at new ways to revolutionize the LED category. “Nostalgia is a big trend for holiday décor, but traditional bulbs are incandescent, which you can’t touch because they become really hot,” explains Kelie. “So we asked ourselves, ‘how can we offer the classics – those large, opaque ceramic lights bulbs – but in an LED?’ And voila, now we carry a diverse selection of LED bulbs that bring the nostalgia customers want, but in a safer, more energy efficient way.”
“Technology is here to stay,” says Kelie. “Everyone wants to create a look that’s unique to them, reflecting their individual preferences and personality. With these new products, homeowners can put a personal stamp on everything they do this holiday season.”
