It’s the most wonderful time of the year, but there are a few things about the holidays that can be a little bit annoying. There’s very little joy to be found in having to lick all those card envelopes or having to peel all those sprouts. Even turning the lights on every evening can feel like a bit of a chore, especially if the position of your plug means you have to crawl under the tree to get to it.
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Thankfully, there’s someone here to help. No, it’s not Santa, it’s Alexa. You cancreate an Alexa routinethat will turn on your lights, play your favorite holiday music, and even wish you a happy holiday, although yourEcho devicestill can’t peel your sprouts for you…yet.
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If you’re ready to use your Amazon Echo to create some holiday magic, then here’s how to make the ultimate holiday Alexa routine.
How to create the ultimate Alexa holiday routine
If you want to use Alexa to provide a little holiday magic, then creating a routine is a great way to do so. This example uses a phrase spoken to get Alexa to provide a holiday greeting, turn on thesmart plugfor the tree lights, and to start a festive playlist playing from the Echo device in the same room. However, you can add even more holiday smart home magic to the routine if you wish.
Before you start, ensure that your tree lights are plugged into a smart plug that has beenset up to work with Alexa.
Getting started
Add smart lights
Finalize your Alexa morning routine
How to create an Alexa routine to turn off the holiday magic
As well as a routine to turn on your lights, it’s a good idea to set one up to turn them off again too, along with anyholiday playlistsyou have playing. You might want to add these commands to your bedtime routine if you have one, but you can also create a standalone routine specifically for the job.
What else can I add to my Alexa holiday routine?
This holiday routine turns on your lights and plays holiday music, but you’re able to add much, much more to your routine if you wish. The only real limit is the smart home gear that you own, and your imagination.
For example, if you have more smart plugs, you can turn on multiple sets of lights, in the same room or around your home. If you don’t have multiple smart plugs, but do have a lot of. lights, just use a multi-plug extension to plug all your lights into, and then plug them into your smart plug. You can then turn on all the different sets of lights at once.
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If you havesmart bulbs, you can set them to Christmassy settings, or turn them off completely to enjoy the full glory of your tree lights. If you havesmart blinds, Alexa can close these for to make your home feel cozier. You can have Alexa play the sound of bells or turn up the heating a little. You can even have Alexa read ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas fromAudible. The possibilities are almost endless.
Is there any easier way to create my Alexa holiday routine?
As you can see from the number of steps listed above, creating a holiday routine isn’t the quickest process. It’s not hugely complicated, but it does take a bit of effort. At the moment, creating your routine manually is the only option.
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However, this may be the last Christmas (RIP George) that you have to go to all this effort. That’s because in September 2023, Amazon announced that Alexa has a big update in the works, with the new versionusing AI to hold more natural conversations. One of the other teased features is that you should be able to create a routine just by asking Alexa. By next holiday season, all you may need to do is say, “Alexa, when I say Holidays Are Coming, turn on the smart plug, shuffle my holiday playlist, and wish me happy holidays,” and the entire routine will be created for you.
