The wall socket for the Christmas tree lights often sits behind furniture. Reaching behind a sofa or a cabinet every evening to plug the lights in, and doing the same thing again before bed, quickly becomes a chore.

A smart plug fixes that problem in a few minutes. It sits between the wall socket and the plug of your lights, and it switches that socket on and off from an app on your phone or on a daily schedule. The lights come on by themselves in the evening and switch off even if you forget.

You do not need new lights to do this. A smart plug works with the plug-in sets you already own, and after January it can move to a floor lamp or a bedside lamp for the rest of the year. You can browse our smart home range to see the plugs, bulbs and strips we cover in this guide.

A smart plug only switches lights that plug into a wall socket. Because the smart plug controls the socket itself, it works with plug-in lights of any brand. Battery-operated sets have no plug, so a smart plug cannot switch them.

Before you put an older set of lights on a schedule, check that the set is in good condition. Look along the length of the wire. If the cable is cracked or damaged, replace the set rather than put it on a schedule.

Some light sets have a small button on the lead that cycles through flashing and steady modes. When a smart plug cuts the power and turns it back on the next day, some of these sets go back to their first mode. Test your set once with the smart plug so you know how it behaves.

Smart Plugs to Look For

We carry Wi-Fi smart plugs from about €9, including the Sunlight smart adaptor plug, which works with the Tuya app, and the TP-Link Tapo P110 Wi-Fi smart plug. Both connect straight to your home Wi-Fi and run from a phone app (Tuya for Sunlight, Tapo for TP-Link), with no separate hub needed.

If you are also picking up new tree lights, LED tree light sets start from about €1 in warm white, white and multicolour; for a smart plug, check the box says the set has a mains plug. We also carry battery-operated LED sets from about €1 for places without a nearby socket.

Once your smart plug is connected to the app, you can set the lights to come on in the evening and go off at a time you choose. On nights when you want the lights on longer, such as Christmas Eve, you can override the schedule and control the plug by hand from your phone.

A mechanical plug-in timer switches at a set clock time, so you have to reset it as the evenings change. With a smart plug you change the time from your phone, without pulling the furniture back to reach the timer.

A smart plug is for lamps and lights. Check the maximum load printed on the plug, and never use it for a heater.

LED light sets use little power. Even so, you should always add up the wattage printed on every set going into the plug and keep the total under the maximum load printed on the plug.

Never plug extension leads into each other. If your lights are in different corners of the room or you need more sockets, use a second smart plug on another wall socket and give both plugs the same schedule in the app.

For a wider display, you can also look at Christmas light decorations. This range includes a plug-in LED light set with a UK-style (BS) plug, Connect icicle, net and extension sets, cluster lights, and LED village and figure scenes. A set can run from a smart plug only if it has its own mains plug, so check the box, and stay within the load limit.

Tree lights look their best when the main room lights are turned down. Smart bulbs replace the bulb in a lamp you already own and run from an app, so you can dim the lamps near the tree to a low warm light and let the tree lights be the brightest thing in the room. Warm white in the lamps suits the tree lights well, and if you like colour, a steady colour works better in the lamps than flashing on the tree.

Choosing the Right Smart Bulb

Smart bulbs start from about €9. Our smart bulbs include TP-Link Tapo smart Wi-Fi bulbs with an E27 cap in warm white and RGB models, a TP-Link smart candle bulb with an E14 cap and a Sunlight multicolour smart bulb with an E27 cap that uses the Tuya app.

Check the cap size of your lamp, E27 or E14, before you buy a bulb, just as you would with ordinary light bulbs. Once the smart bulb is in place, remember that a lamp with a smart bulb must stay switched on at its own switch or the wall, or the app cannot reach the bulb.

Adding a Smart Light Strip

If you want some light along a shelf, you can add a smart light strip. We carry TP-Link Tapo smart light strips in a 5 m length, from about €24.

Winter weather means water and damp air, so you have to be strict about what goes outside. An indoor smart plug and indoor lights stay indoors. For anything outside, use only a plug and lights marked for outdoor use, and check the IP rating on the box.

If there is no outdoor socket, use lights that need no socket at all. We carry solar LED string lights from about €4, as well as battery-operated sets. Some of the battery sets among our decorative lights carry an IP44 rating on the label; still check the box says outdoor use before you put any set outside. If you choose solar sets, remember that they charge in daylight, so they need a spot that gets sun.

Not every smart home product suits Christmas lighting. We carry smart motion sensors from about €19, such as the TP-Link Tapo T100. Skip it for the tree, though: it would switch the lights on every time someone walks past.

You should also skip a smart plug for battery-operated sets because there is nothing for it to switch. Finally, keep to one brand and one app rather than several apps just for Christmas. For example, if you buy a TP-Link Tapo smart plug, stick with TP-Link Tapo for your smart bulbs or light strip, or if you choose a Sunlight plug on the Tuya app, use Sunlight bulbs on the same app. The table below shows how the main options compare.

What	What it does for Christmas	Price at Superhome Center	Worth it for Christmas lights?
Smart plug (Sunlight, TP-Link Tapo P110)	Switches plug-in tree lights or a lamp from your phone and on a schedule	From about €9	Yes, the best first buy
Smart bulb (TP-Link Tapo, Sunlight)	Warm or colour light in a lamp near the tree	From about €9	Yes, for lamps you already own
Smart light strip, 5 m (TP-Link Tapo)	A strip of light along a shelf	From about €24	Optional
Smart motion sensor (TP-Link Tapo)	Switches when someone walks past	From about €19	Skip for tree lights
LED tree lights with a mains plug	Lights for the tree that work with a smart plug	Check the box for the plug	Yes
Battery-operated LED lights	Lights that need no socket	From about €1	Yes, but a smart plug cannot switch them

Will a smart plug work with the tree lights I already have?

Yes, a smart plug will work with the tree lights you already have, as long as they plug into a wall socket. Because the smart plug sits between the wall socket and the plug of your lights, it simply switches the socket on and off, so the brand of the lights does not matter. It will not work with battery-operated sets because they have no plug. Before you set up a schedule, check that your old light set is in good condition and replace it if the cable is cracked or damaged.

How many sets of lights can I run from one smart plug?

You can run more than one set of LED lights from a single smart plug, provided the combined load stays safe. Add up the wattage printed on every set going into the plug and keep the total under the maximum load printed on the plug. Remember that a smart plug is for lamps and lights only, never a heater. Never plug extension leads into each other. If you need more sockets, put a second smart plug on another wall socket with the same schedule.

Can I use a smart plug for lights outside?

An indoor smart plug and indoor lights must stay indoors. For anything outside, use only a plug and lights that are marked for outdoor use, and check the IP rating on the box. If you want to put lights outside without using a wall socket at all, you can look at options that need no socket, such as battery-operated sets marked IP44 on the label, from about €3, or solar LED string lights from about €4. Solar sets need a spot that gets sun so they can charge in daylight.

Smart plug or smart bulb for the lamp next to the tree?

Both cost from about €9, so the choice depends on what you want the lamp to do. A smart plug switches the lamp on and off on a schedule, and it works with whatever bulb is already in the lamp. A smart bulb replaces the bulb inside the lamp and lets you dim the light to a low warm glow or change its colour from the app, so the tree lights remain the brightest thing in the room. If you choose a smart bulb, check whether your lamp takes an E27 or E14 cap, and leave the lamp switch on.

With a couple of smart plugs and the right bulbs, you can run your Christmas lights and room lamps from one app on your phone and keep using the same plugs on your everyday lamps once the decorations come down. Browse the smart plugs, smart bulbs and Christmas lights at Superhome Center to get started.

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