With the festive season upon us, now is officially the time for hosting. And from intimate get-togethers and Christmas drinks to games nights and sit-down dinners, it’s time to pull out all the stops.
For me, that’s all about tech, with entertaining guests and the endless house tours being the perfect opportunity for me to show off my fully connected smart home.
I’ve been a smart home convert for years now, still getting a thrill from being able to control my lights, heating and locks with just a voice command or a quick press in the app. And don’t even get me started on my automated settings - with the blinds automatically shutting and the lights coming on as it starts to go dark, and my door unlocking itself as I walk up the drive.
It is over the festive period however when I tend to rely on my smart gadgets the most - particularly when it comes to entertaining. Functioning as both a time saver and a party trick, I can change the colours of the lights in different rooms to make them more festive and of course play Christmas-themed playlists through every speaker in the house - all from my phone.
It really is the gift that keeps on giving during the festive season - entertaining my guests, whilst allowing me to enjoy the party - something that us hosts rarely get a chance to do.
Get Connected
Getting connected is essential, and thankfully pretty straight forward, allowing us hosts to focus our energy on the actual party, and limit the time spent setting up the tech. Smart devices will link to most voice assistants, so it doesn’t even matter whether you use Amazon, Google or Apple to control your devices.
The one essential part of the process is a strong internet connection to make sure all of your devices can get online and communicate with each other. My choice? EE’s Smart Hub Plus - it’s easy to set up, provides super-fast Full Fibre broadband, and has a strong enough signal for all of my smart gadgets - and I have a lot. There’s even enough for my guests too, with EE’s Full Fibre able to handle up to 190 devices. That’s all you need to get connected - it really is that simple.
Time to celebrate
Once you’re connected, it’s time to party - whether that’s a dinner with a curated playlist or a gathering with festive smart lighting controlled by your phone. And if you really want to show off your smart technology, nothing beats a BAFTA winning movie night screened to your 4k TV, featuring cinema-quality sound and background lighting.
I often get smart recommendations from friends looking to upgrade their phones, and my first piece of advice is always the same - get on EE’s Full Fibre plan. Once you’ve done that, the possibilities are endless.
Visit ee.co.uk/home to find out more.
