Every neighborhood has a house with stunning flashing Christmas lights that switch from color to color and music to music. Today, we’ll discuss the components of programmable lights and how to spice them up with JellyFish Lighting.

How can I control my Christmas lights?

Instead of turning on and off the Christmas lights by flicking the plug on the wall, control everything from a smartphone with our app.

—Connect the Christmas lights using a four or 6-way extension that leads into the smart plug for smooth lighting.

—Open our app to control whether to turn your lights on and off, and control the app from anywhere.

—Explore creative options like presetting them to automatically turn on at certain times. JellyFish Lighting’s strands use zoning, meaning you choose different colors for different zones.

Is it easy to program my Christmas light show?

Programming a Christmas light show is easy but time-consuming. In programmable lighting, lights are connected to special controllers for users to control remotely.

The Christmas light controller sends a signal to the central units, usually a computer. The main unit coordinates the display.

The computer runs the display through special software. The software plays a preset sequence to switch on and off the light at a designated time. The computer plays the music that comes with the show, and the software creates a sequence for display. Jellyfish Lighting has some preset programmable Christmas lighting which already defines when the light should be illuminated, when music should be added, and how bright they should be. As aforementioned, while it is easy to do, it does take a lot of time.

Can I use smart home devices when programming and controlling my Christmas lights? What about an app?

It takes a lot of effort to set the mood for a holiday season—after untangling the lights, replacing missing bulbs, and stringing them around surfaces, they'll still have to be turned on and off every night.

Some smart home essentials include:

Smart plugs

Smart plugs are the heart of a smart home. They help turn Christmas lights on and off with a flick of the app or a simple smart home command. (Smart plugs work with voice assistants and are easy to set up.)

Outdoor smart plugs

Standard smart plugs cannot withstand harsh weather, but there is a more durable option that can be used to run the Christmas lights and outdoor decorations.

You can program the light to switch on and off at a specific time of the day.

Smart bulbs

While it's not necessarily crucial for Christmas setup, switching to smart bulbs is an investment applicable even beyond the Christmas season.

During a Halloween light show, they can help change the bulb's color temperature into a cozy, warmer shade and reduce the lights so the Christmas decoration can become the center of attraction.

Afterward, they can still help set the mood, switch on and off the light through voice command, light up at a specific time before sundown and dim automatically one hour before bedtime.

How to sequence Christmas lights to music

If you want your Christmas light to flash to the tune of your best music, you must get the right equipment to set up your light show.

Here's how to sequence Christmas lights to music.

Decide the scale of the light show

When designing a light show, it is important to determine the number of channels the show requires and the kind of lighting elements to control each channel.

When deciding the scale of the light show, choose a particular spot in the home or in the entire house.

A medium-sized house setup may need up to 32 channels, while the entire house may require up to 64 channels.

Prepare the light show equipment

After deciding the scale of the light show, the next task is to prepare the Christmas lights, light control system, software system, and the Sound system. We recommend the LED Christmas light as it saves energy bills.

Get the right software

For the non-techy individual, get the software to help program the lights. There is free software available for this purpose.

This software will break the song you're sequencing your Christmas light into short segments (around 10 seconds), allowing you to program the channel of LED lights to switch on, switch off, twinkle, fade, or shimmer.

Program the show

This is the part that consumes a lot of time. Choose the music to synchronize and start programming them on the time grid. Avoid doing it all at once. This may take a lot of time, depending on the show's length and the number of channels. Programming the shoe depends on the software program used.

Sight and Sound

Make sure the sound is spectacular and yet peaceful to the neighborhood. Speakers repeating the same music will piss off the neighbors, so be sure to broadcast on an FM frequency.

Inform neighbors about designing an animated display: getting neighbors' approval is important for the display to last for a long time.

Respectfully stick to one show during late hours. If the holiday lighting display lasts only about 3 minutes and shows nightly at 8 and 9 pm, neighbors will be more lenient than if it's blasted regularly for hours.

How to design a unique Christmas show

Make it big

To catch people's attention from afar, think big. It's not only about the number of lights used but the scenes created.

Make sure everything is super-sized so people can admire it from the street.

Large outdoor ornaments woven between lights in the landscape or a lifesize cutout of Santa with spotlights at night are a few ideas to start with:

Choose a theme

The bigger the dream, the more tempting it becomes to add several decorations. While there's nothing wrong with doing that, it is best to choose a theme. The theme can be as simple as using a single light color on bushes, trees, porch railings, etc.

Conversely, go for a more complex theme to create a complete story scene.

Think 3D

Create a light show design that lingers in the admirer's eye and keeps them delighted. Think about adding depth to the lights as they dance across the snow. The effect should evoke cookies, the North Pole, and everything else we associate with Christmas Day.

Are programmable Christmas lights worth it?

Like most holiday fun traditions, Christmas lighting can be as extreme or modest as you want it to be. Whether you're looking for an easy setup or a blinding beacon for Santa to view from 10,000 feet on Christmas Eve, programmable Christmas lights are an exciting way to add convenience and sparkle to the display.

Planning for a large installation? Programmable lights allow the connection of multiple loads of lights easily.

Combine multiple controllers for wreaths, large trees, and various displays for a memorable experience.

Programmable lights work for any size of installation with different controllers for every need.

What does Jellyfish Lighting offer?

If you're looking to take your holiday lights display to the next level, JellyFish Lighting can help. Our LED string lights have tons of lighting effects for any special events—for Christmas and beyond.

We install permanent lights you can use year-round for any occasion. We work hard throughout the year to help people create the holiday display of their dreams.