Smart home

Smart home party technology tips for holiday entertaining

Smart home party tech can help you connect with guests

It’s that time of year again and the month you’ve been dreading. It’s your turn to host the family or neighborhood holiday party. The task at hand seems daunting and the future looks bleak. You’ll be worrying about this party all week. Then what to your wondering eyes should appear but these smart home party gadgets for holiday cheer. The solution to all of your party planning fears is right at your fingertips. Host a smart home party with help from these gadgets that you can use right from your smart phone.

Smart Home Party Tech Tips

First, let’s plan ahead a bit for the barrage of people that are about to flow through your front door. A smart lock can keep you from running back and forth to answer the door or entrusting your spouse to do it. Set up a temporary security code and share with guests ahead of time or simply grant access from your app when they arrive.

Now, you’ll need all of your energy to get through this day and that can only mean one thing – coffee! Worried about oversleeping? Use a smart gadget like a Wi-Fi coffee maker to infuse your home with the enticing aroma of a strong brew. Program it to start at a set time or turn it on from your mobile app from the convenience of bed. After you down your first or second pot, set it up for after dinner service.

Now that you’re caffeinated, it’s time to clean. But you’ve got a smart vacuum so put your little robot friend to work. Put it in auto mode or switch to manual for manual steering around tight corners. When it finishes, it will drive itself to the charging station and send you a message that the job is complete.

With coffee and cleaning checked off your list, it’s time to get cooking. Food prep is a breeze when you have a smart gadget like a Wi-Fi cooking thermometer. This handy device already knows the perfect temperature setting for your ham, turkey, or brisket so you won’t waste time looking up the correct internal temperature. It will even store your cooking history so you can duplicate the tender, juicy entrée again and again. Connect your smart thermometer to the mobile app, set up convenient alerts and timers and stop worrying about when the meat is done and finish setting up the decorations and entertainment.

Speaking of decorations and entertainment, today’s smart home technology has you covered. How about a wireless speaker with a built-in light show? Need an easy after-dinner game to help rouse your guests from their turkey comas? Amazon Echo is the perfect smart home party gadget. Enable Alexa skills to tell jokes and even play games like 21 Questions or Bingo. (Read more fun suggestions at CNET.com.)

Now your party is in full swing. Is it hot in here? Just adjust your home temperature with your Sensi thermostat mobile app to cool it off a bit. (Pro Tip: Use the Keypad Lockout feature to keep pesky guests from meddling with the thermostat.)

Finally the end of the night is drawing near, the last guest has departed and you’re exhausted. Not from the planning or the prep but from actually speaking to, catching up with and enjoying your friends and family. You are grinning from ear to ear, content with the praise and accolades of “next year has a lot to live up to!” and “best party ever!” ringing in your ears.

Happy Holidays to all and to all a comfortable, satisfying night.