Here are 17 do-it-yourself projects to increase your home’s intelligence and festivity this holiday season!

1. Smartphone-Controlled Holiday Lights: Utilize a microcontroller like Arduino connected with a Bluetooth module to control your holiday lights using a smartphone app.

2. Automated Christmas Tree Watering System: Set up a soil moisture sensor that notifies you or activates a watering mechanism when your tree needs water.

3. DIY Smart Door Wreath: Integrate LED lights into your door wreath that can be controlled remotely for different light patterns and colors.

4. Voice-Activated Gift Delivery System: Create a small, motorized cart that delivers presents from under the Christmas tree on command through your home assistant like Alexa or Google Home.

5. IoT Holiday Music Synced Light Show: Synchronize your outdoor or indoor lights with holiday music using a Raspberry Pi and relay switches.

6. Smart Fireplace Timer: Install a smart plug to control your electric fireplace’s operation time for both safety and ambiance enhancement.

7. Automated Snowfall Window Display: Make an eye-catching window display with faux snow that falls at intervals using a motorized dispenser, all controlled via Wi-Fi.

8. Digital Advent Calendar: Craft an interactive advent calendar using an LCD display screen and microcontroller that reveals digital surprises each day.

9. Temperature-Responsive Color-Changing Lights: Implement temperature sensors to exterior lights so they change color based on the outside temperature.

10. Personalized Santa Tracker Display: Set up a digital display that shows a fun, graphical Santa tracker for the kids, updating his location in real-time as Christmas Eve approaches.

11. Smart Mistletoe Drone: Create a drone outfitted with mistletoe and proximity sensors to hover over guests during holiday parties when triggered by a clap or voice command.

12. Wi-Fi Enabled Gingerbread House: Insert tiny LED bulbs into a gingerbread house, controllable via Wi-Fi for an adorable, glowing centerpiece.

13. Remote-Controlled Ornament Cam: Fit an ornament with a mini camera to stream real-time views of your holiday celebrations, all controlled from your smartphone.

14. Interactive Light-Up Menorah or Kinara: Develop an electronic menorah or kinara that lights candles automatically or via smartphone control each day of Hanukkah or Kwanzaa respectively.

15. Snow Globe with Weather Notification: Build a smart snow globe that changes its light color to indicate upcoming weather conditions — blue for cold, white for snow, green for mild temperatures, etc.

16. Email-Sending Christmas Stockings: Place pressure sensors inside stockings that send you an email notification when they’ve been filled with gifts (or sweets!).

17. “Find My Presents” Location Tags: Use RFID tags on gifts and create an RFID scanner so you’ll know which present is hidden where if you choose to do an advanced gift hunt around the house.