….Drumroll please!
This year has been the ‘techiest’ year EVER for Christmas lighting. Some great new products are on the market and are changing the way everyone decks the halls, and we wanted to share the best ones we’ve seen. Clark Griswold would be so proud!
Wireless Wonders
1) Aura: It’s easy to procrastinate on hanging up the Christmas lights when you have to untangle never-ending strings of them. Aura provides an almost cord-free lighting experience for your tree, using a wireless lighting system that you can control from your smart phone. Multi-color bulbs that resemble ornaments light up as they are hung from your tree, and can last up to 20 years! *Christmas swoon*
2) Blisslights: For the tricksters and illusionists out there, Blisslights may be the stress-free Christmas lighting solution for you. Blisslights are based on a holographic optics and light-projecting technology. All you have to do is place the hub in front of your house and direct it at your house — the projectors make it look like your house is covered in tiny, super bright bulbs. Easy solution, for a huge impact!
3) Solar and Battery Powered Lights: Ditch the extension cords and free yourself from electricity outlet induced space restrictions. Illuminate doors, mantles, wreaths, outdoor spaces, centerpieces, and trees, just using a few AA batteries! Or if you want nature to power your Christmas lighting, harness the sun with solar LED lights.
Customize Your Christmas:
4) iTwinkle by GE: Another great high-tech stress-free Christmas tree lighting solution is the iTwinkle — a tree that comes with 500 lights already on it, that you control with the iTwinkle app! You can control colors (2,000 options available), music, and patterns. This will make your living room the center of attention, with your tree as the belle of the Christmas ball.
5) Lumenplay: Similar to the iTwinkle, Lumenplay is a string of app-enabled lights that give you the freedom to choose colors, effects, play games and visualize music all from your smart device. Create personalized light shows at the touch of a finger! And have fun choosing between 16 million different colors…
6) Hue by Philips: The Hue lighting line by Philips is not only a good solution for the holidays, but for adding colorful modern ambiance to any space, all year round. The “Hue LightStrips” are strips of LED lights that you can cut, hang, and customize, adding a bit of twinkle wherever you do. The “Hue LivingColors Bloom” is an accent light that adds any color hue you choose to the room. Green, red, and blue for the holidays!
Game-Changer of the Year:
7) LED Lights: In every category, LED lights now outsell traditional lights 2-to-1. Why are these tiny little lights are dominating the lighting industry this holiday season? They come in various colors, can be controlled by apps on smart phones, they are energy-efficient, extremely long-lasting, and durable enough to weather the outdoors year after year. Up to 40 holiday seasons in fact, according to the U.S. Department of Energy. They don’t generate heat either, keeping your Christmas lighting decor the coolest of the cool. What was a novelty just a few years ago, has today become so mainstream that they’re nearly blowing traditional glass incandescent bulbs right off the Yuletide map. Definite game-changer of the year!