6 Christmas lighting ideas for a winter wonderland at home

November 27, 2020

Christmas is a special time of year for many — you get to reminisce about past Christmases with the family as you decorate the tree and the house together. This year, make the holiday season even more memorable by incorporating these Christmas lighting ideas into your traditions.

Tired of crawling under the tree to plug in the lights? Or standing on your tiptoes to unplug them before bed? With a Philips Hue smart plug, those Christmas tree troubles are long gone. Plug the tree lights into the Hue smart plug to turn them on and off with ease — and no needles in your hair.

The Hue smart plug lets you control your Christmas tree lights just like you would any other Philips Hue light: with the Hue app, a smart accessory, or your voice.

Bright idea: Set a routine in the Hue app that turns your Christmas tree lights on just before you wake up in the morning and turns them off once you go to bed — automatically.

Opening presents is one of the most anticipated part of Christmas — second only to spending time with family and friends, of course. Make the treasure trove under the tree even more tantalizing by nestling a Hue Go among the gifts. Angle the smart lamp up through the branches to add a unique touch to your holiday decor.

Bright idea: If the kids are a little too interested in the presents waiting for them under the tree, set up a Hue motion sensor alongside your Hue Go. When they get too close, the lights turn on — and they’ll know that Santa is watching.

 A Hue lightstrip is the perfect way to complement your most treasured holiday decor, providing a soft glow without being too overpowering. Tuck a Hue lightstrip behind a side table, dresser, or other surface on which you have set your knickknacks and let the subtle smart light bring new life to even your oldest decorations.

Bright idea: The Hue lightstrip is flexible, so you don’t have to lay it along a straight path. Wrap it around the lowest post on your staircase, and then wrap garland on top of that to create a magical effect.

No Christmas dinner is complete without a festive centerpiece, so whether you craft your own arrangement or opt for a store-bought bouquet, you can set it aglow with the soft light of a Flourish pendant light. Best yet: the Flourish Pendant light features millions of colors of light, so you can complement your centerpiece with just the right shade.

Bright idea: If you have multiple Philips Hue lights in your smart lighting system, you may have them separated into corresponding Rooms in the Hue app. Create a Zone to include all the lights in the area of your holiday setup to quickly set the Christmas cheer throughout your whole home. 

The Iris table lamp features both a subtle backlight and a main light — best when pointed at the wall — so you can accent your holiday decor any way you like. Angle it at your tiny Christmas village or let it wash over the wall behind your favorite snowman figurine.

Bright idea: Make it snow! Attach paper snowflakes to the ceiling with fishing line — but be sure to position them between the wall and your Iris table lamp. When the light shines, the snowflakes create interesting shadows on the wall behind them for a wintry look.

How you decorate your home for Christmas is personal, including the way you use Christmas smart lights. You can use any of the preset light scenes in the Hue app — Arctic aurora creates a wintry landscape in the living room, for example — but you can also create a new scene using your own colors and setup.

Create a traditional red and green theme, go modern with a silvery blue scene, or use a completely different color palette for Christmas. Save your custom scene in the Hue app and let your living room transform into a winter wonderland every evening.