5 expert tips to help you light up your home for the holidays

(BPT) – If you’ve always wanted your house to stand out during the holidays, now’s your chance. Recent holiday lighting improvements, including enhanced versatility and ease of use, make it easier than ever to turn your home into a winter wonderland your family will never forget, inside and out. To help you transform your home this year, here are tips to help ensure you’ll get the effect you want, bringing cheer to your family and everyone in your neighborhood. 1. Make a plan Whatever you’re imagining for your lighting design, you’ll want to plan ahead first, so you know what kind of lighting to get and how much you’ll need. This is especially important when planning exterior and interior lighting that covers a large area. To create your design plan, take a good look at your house from a distance, like from across the street. Take a picture of your home and then decide which features you want to highlight. Do you have a distinctive front door, windows or columns you want to use as the visual focus? Measure areas you want to outline with lights so you’ll know how much to purchase. 2. Consider the range of possibilities Today’s lighting offers increased capabilities to personalize, even when you’re just decorating your indoor tree. For example, Govee — a leader in smart home lighting — recently introduced its new Christmas String Lights that let you create customized lighting effects with over 100 lighting presets. Their lights feature water drop-shaped lamp beads which create a stronger halo effect of light and ultimately a fuller, brighter light. With Uni-IC Control, each individual LED bead can be independently controlled to offer greater freedom for creative, unique lighting effects and interactive gaming modes. Even better, a built-in microphone allows for ultimate connectivity and light synchronization, so you don’t need to buy extra accessories to sync up lights with your favorite holiday music. 3. Take advantage of smart connectivity features Managing your entire lighting system is simpler than ever, thanks to today’s smart features. When you choose Govee, you can easily integrate all your holiday lights with the rest of your smart home system to enable voice-activated convenience and control via connectivity to Alexa and Google Home, as well as through the Govee Home app using both Bluetooth and Wi-Fi connectivity. 4. Choose lighting that’s versatile and easy to use For exterior lighting, seek options offering maximum flexibility and ease of use. Govee’s Christmas String Lights are IP65 waterproof and operable at temps as low as -4°F, making them suitable to add a festive vibe to patios, trees, gardens or fences. Or choose Govee Permanent Outdoor Lights Pro — designed for added security and to elevate festive celebrations from Halloween to New Year’s Eve so holiday decorating is easier than ever. Choose from 75 different scene modes with countless color options and implement reactive music mode for any holiday celebration. They’re cuttable, spliceable and reconnectable, as well as being extendable up to 200 feet. They can be installed using two simple options, Screw Clips and VHB adhesive tape, which are compatible with a variety of materials and surfaces including wood, fiber, cement, metal and vinyl. 5. Add brightness and security to outdoor spaces The Govee Permanent Outdoor Lights Pro can do more than bring holiday cheer. Their versatility means they can be used not just for special occasions, but also for everyday safety and security. The balanced, accurate spectrum of cool and warm white lighting they provide is ideal for ambient lighting and security purposes. Their seamless integration with other smart devices also makes it easy to pair with security cameras or outdoor sensors, creating one-touch synchronization between indoor and outdoor devices. They can be used for up to 50,000 hours, enhancing safety by illuminating areas covered by security cameras and providing a robust deterrent against potential intruders during the busy holiday season — and year-round. Ready to illuminate your home for the holiday season? Find Govee’s Christmas String Lights and Permanent Outdoor Lights on Amazon or at Govee.com.