The Best Tech for Hosting the Perfect Christmas

Taking care of the ‘Christmas cheer’ is an important part of hosting a great Christmas. Many of us enjoy a few (responsible) drinks over the Christmas period, and it makes the toasting even more pleasurable when everybody’s glass of fizz is perfectly chilled.

This 18-bottle compressor wine cooler refrigerator with Wi-Fi is the perfect place to store your red, white and sparkling wines, as well as that all-important Champagne. Compressor technology prevents your bottles from being adversely affected by outside temperatures and enables them to be perfectly preserved with a temperature range of 41 to 64 degrees Fahrenheit.

Using the free My Ivation app you can enjoy complete control of this smart fridge with your phone. All your bottles can be cataloged on the app, including their name, color, country, region, year, etc. You’ll know at a glance what you have stored. So there’s no need to keep opening the fridge to check, letting unnecessary moisture in that may impair the quality of the wine. You can also remotely adjust and maintain the most effective temperature for your inventory.

This smart unit also comes equipped with a built-in lock, just in case there’s anything valuable in your collection that needs to be securely stored. Offering a great solution for remotely managing your own wine stores, this compressor refrigerator will allow any host to kick things off the right way this Christmas.

Read More

You might argue that Christmas is all about coming together and making the most of each other during a rare pause from the pressures of our busy everyday lives. And not about watching television. And you’d be right, mostly. But sometimes, it’s great to come together and watch a great family movie, drama, or Christmas special.

This 55-inch curved UHD TV from Samsung allows you to do just that and might not break the bank in doing so. It has a crystal-clear display with four times the originário resolution of full HD. Its high dynamic range provides a full spectrum of colors and visual detail, which won’t dampen even during darker scenes.

Its curved screen amplifies the visual experience and draws viewers in, creating a much greater sense of immersion. Mirroring music or movies from your smartphone can be done with a simple tap of your phone against the edge of the screen, and voice control lets you quickly access the content that you want from your favorite streaming platforms.

With cables that can be discreetly hidden in the TV stand as well, you have a handsome smart TV with stunning picture quality that won’t clutter up your living room. The perfect place to curl up in front of, once you’ve unwrapped those presents and feasted on that delicious food.

Read More

Distractions can sometimes spell disaster in the kitchen. Most of us can relate to the scenario where your attention is suddenly required elsewhere mid-cook, and you leave the kitchen to go host. Your return to the kitchen is delayed, and food gets spoiled. If this is you, you might want to consider the benefits of a smart air fryer.

This Cosori Pro smart air fryer is a 5.8-quart cooker with 11 cooking presets, boasts a dishwasher-safe interno basket, and works with Alexa and Google Assistant. You can also find over 800 recipes for this air fryer online if you’re feeling adventurous. App control via the VeSync app lets you keep track of what’s cooking, no matter where you are in the house; and you can remotely control all the timers and alarms that you care to shake a stick at.

Practical benefits include the ability to cook food up to 50% faster than conventional ovens, and a dramatic reduction in your food’s oil content (as much as 85% less) when compared to traditional deep frying. Easy clean baskets and non-stick surfaces make this air fryer a breeze to clean as well, so you can keep on doing your thing as host, and not be stuck scrubbing away in the kitchen.

With its app-guided recipes and videos doing lots of the heavy lifting for you, the Cosori Pro Smart Air Fryer makes a great addition to any kitchen this Christmas.

Read More

For many families, you can’t beat a good old-fashioned singsong at Christmas time. Everybody has their favorite Christmas songs and carols, and it can be loads of fun to gather around and belt out a few showstoppers—even if the pitch isn’t quite perfect. With this Bose Home speaker, you can fill your living room with the wonderful sounds of Christmas.

This Bluetooth speaker works with Alexa and Google Assistant and offers 360-degree wall-to-wall sound. An eight-microphone array allows for superior voice pick-up, and everything can be managed from the Bose Music app; letting you jump from stations to playlists and back. It’s compatible with all your favorite music streaming platforms and has a full-color LCD display to show you what’s playing and its cover artwork.

This is a very compact Bluetooth speaker with a big, big sound. It can be easily paired with your smartphone or tablet and can be controlled via the buttons on top, via your phone, or with its voice command functions. It even offers support for Apple AirPlay 2. Maestro, take it away!

Read More

Ordinarily, you might be alarmed to find a ninja in your kitchen at Christmas, but not this ninja. The Ninja DT251 Foodi is a 10-in-1 XL air fry oven, and it’s here to help. Among its 10 built-in functions are the ability to air fry, air roast, whole roast, and more. It has an integrated Foodi smart thermometer to achieve the perfect level of doneness and can preheat in as little as 90 seconds.

It can cook up to 30% faster than a traditional oven, which is reassuring if you have lots of hungry mouths to feed, and it uses up to 75% less fat compared to standard deep frying. It offers two-level even cooking, with no need for rotation, and is large enough to cook a 12-pound turkey. Top-to-bottom ventilation means that hot air is properly circulated throughout, and all food is evenly cooked.

Versatile enough for near endless amounts of meal options, and large enough for housing that all-important roast, the Ninja DT251 Foodi XL air fry oven is one ninja you’ll gladly be surprised by this Christmas.

Read More

“Oh Christmas tree, oh Christmas tree, thy leaves are so unchanging”. Well not anymore. Thanks to these Twinkly app-controlled LED Christmas lights, unchanging is the last thing that your tree’s leaves will be. Once these lights are wrapped around them, they can be changed as often as you like!

Using the Twinkly app, you can fully configure and customize these lights from your smartphone. You’ll find a virtual editing suite on the app, allowing you to play around with hundreds of possible effects, using over 16 million colors. Set lighting scenes for different moods, and even sync up several Twinkly devices together for multi-object decoration settings. And Twinkly music lets you sync your lighting with your favorite music, for a festive audio-visual experience.

Once you’ve set up your favorite scenes and settings, they can be initiated with a simple voice command via Alexa and Google Assistant. Create the perfect magical mood to wow your guests this Christmas, with these smart Twinkly Christmas lights.

Read More

Smart thermometers can be a lifesaver for preparing the main event at Christmas time. This 165-foot range wireless model has dual temperature sensors and one meat probe and is capable of monitoring interno meat temperatures up to 212 degrees Fahrenheit and external temperatures up to 527 degrees Fahrenheit.

The Meater app operates a guided cook system that lets you keep track of every stage of the cooking process, for perfect results. Custom alerts can be set, depending on what’s cooking, and you can adjust timers remotely. Manage your time effectively with the advanced estimator algorithm, which can estimate how long your food should be cooked and rested.

No matter what you’re cooking, the Meater Plus smart meat thermometer lets you stay in control, without tying you to the oven. Sit back and relax with complete peace of mind, knowing that the food is going to be perfect. This could be one of the best gifts you could give yourself as a host this Christmas.

Read More

Now that the food, drink, and entertainment are sorted, what’s left for a Christmas host to sort? How about some warm, ambient lighting to really help everyone relax and feel at home? These Philips Hue smart bulbs work with Alexa and are ideal for creating the perfect mood.

The Hue mobile app makes things nice and simple when it comes to setting up your smart bulbs. Once you’ve paired your Hue hub, you can enjoy complete control over all your smart bulbs. With over 16 million colors to play with, plus a host of preset and customizable scenes available, you can find the right palette and lighting for every occasion.

Set timers for different times of the day, sync lighting with movies or music, use light recipes for relaxation or concentration and change up light displays with voice control. The possibilities for these smart light bulbs are vast and could be the cherry on top of the Christmas cake for your Yuletide festivities this year.

Read More