The holidays are…well, here. It’s the time of year that some people love, and that others barely survive. If you got roped into hosting, and are feeling unprepared, I have a few tips on how you can use home automation to help you prepare for, and survive, holiday guests.
If you haven’t yet started preparing for your guests, don’t worry, there is still time. With the holidays, many stores have great sales, and many websites offer shipping specials so you can get whatever you need in time for whatever you need it for.
Automate Your Holiday Lights
Automate your holiday lights so that you don’t have to remember to turn them on and off every day. When you have a house full of guests and a very long to-do list, anything you can do that means you have one less thing to remember is going to be welcome. Since you’re hosting people, you’re going to see a spike in your electricity bill anyway, so save energy any way that you can. Maybe all the guests that stay with you can just give you a card with money for a gift to help cover your energy bill.
Build a Shopping List
Use your home assistant to build your shopping list so that you don’t forget to get anything that you need for the holidays. Whether it is a special drink for Uncle Bob, gluten-free food for your hipster cousin, or organic sheets for your allergy-prone aunt, use your smart home assistant to add things to your shopping list using just your voice, as soon as they pop into your head. Think of it, shout it out, and have it at your fingertips the next time you’re at the store. The holidays are not a time to rely on your memory.
Amazon Buttons
Use Amazon buttons to easily reorder all the things that your guests will use up, like toilet paper and paper towels. Amazon buttons allow you to easily reorder anything with just the push of button, and they have built-in safeguards that will help protect you against your sister’s demon children that touch everything and press every button they see.
Smart Home Assistants
Smart home assistants can be everything you’ve ever needed during a holiday party. You can use it as a speaker to play holiday music; you can use it to quickly check facts to prove your family wrong; you can use it to activate games that will distract the children in your family from destroying your house. All in all, a smart home assistant is likely going to be worth the cost, since the prize is your sanity.
No matter what happens this holiday season, just remember that you are probably a little bit cooler than your guests, and your house is smarter. No matter what kind of wreckage they leave, you can use your home automation products to help you recover. And remember, you get almost 12 months off from family.
