Wouldn’t that be awesome if you had a helping hand in preparing to host your next Thanksgiving? After all, you want to enjoy this holiday too.
Let’s be honest: hosting a Thanksgiving Day event is no easy task. As a Thanksgiving host, everything from the the spices in your meal to aroma of your home matter to you. And, if you are trying to do it alone, it can certainly be stressful.
“Thankfully”, there are some smart devices that can significantly reduce your workload and stress. In this article, we will go over some of the best options for smart devices that can lend hand in hosting a great event. Continue reading to make your next Thanksgiving Day a breeze.
1. CHEF iQ World’s Smartest Pressure Cooker: Thanksgiving Chef
A multi-functional smart pressure cooker can make all the difference when you’re trying to make multiple Thanksgiving dishes at the same time.
This smarty-pants device lets you control and monitor your meals through the easy-to-use interface. The pressure cooker has a microprocessor, which keeps time, monitors pressure, temperature, and the intensity of heating to achieve the best results. There are more than 300 presets – you just enter what ingredients you want to cook and it will automatically calculated cooking time and temperature for you. It also has 4 built-in smart sensors, allowing for precise ingredient measurements. This also helps cut down on the clean-up, with less measuring cups and spoons to wash. And did we mention that the inner surface is non-stick?
Plus there’s a free app that’s actually pretty helpful – it lets you monitor your food, has a calculator for different ingredients, and contains tons of recipes and how-to videos.
The biggest thing this device has going for it, however, is safety. First, the inner material is food-grade stainless steel with no chemical additions; it won’t interact with your food, keeping it healthy. Then, there is an automatic steam release mechanism when the food is fully prepared, ensuring not only added safety, but also that your food won’t overcook.
2. NutriChef Smart Bluetooth Thermometer: Thanksgiving Sous Chef
Preparing a well-cooked meal is a primary requirement for the perfect thanksgiving dinner. Over-cooked or, worse, under-cooked turkey will not only make you look bad, but it can ruin your mood as well. And nobody wants to be remembered as the host who gave everyone food poisoning. But there’s an easy solution.
This NutriChef smart thermometer can send over a push notification to your smartphone (iPhone and Android compatible) when your food reaches a particular temperature. You can use up to 6 probes simultaneously, and get notifications about all your foods on the app at the same time. Impressive, right?
Knowing exactly when to turn that stove off will not only make your day go more smoothly, but it will also ensure perfectly-cooked food. After all, delicious food is really the best part of Thanksgiving.
You won’t have to worry about the high temperature – the stainless steel probes can easily withstand temperatures up to 482 F. They can be left in the oven, so you can focus on other things instead of constantly checking on a turkey. Plus, the large digital display of this smart thermometer makes temperature reading easy, and can display in both Fahrenheit or Celsius.
3. iRobot Roomba s9+ (7550) with Automatic Dirt Disposal: Thanksgiving Maid
You can’t do the prep, cooking, and cleaning all simultaneously. But you can have them done all at the same time for you. Robot vacuum cleaners are a great way to have clean floor without pulling out a bunch of loud equipment.
When it comes to robot vacuums, the iRobot Roomba’s are the brand to beat. They are the most popular devices in this category for good reason. The Roomba s9+ is the flagship of this line, with a 3-stage cleaning system and multi-surface rubber brushes that don’t get tangled with pet hair. It uses iRobot’s Smart Mapping and vSLAM navigation software systems, which allows the device to learn your floor plan, surfaces, and cleaning schedule. When combined with Alexa or Google Home, this means a mess can be taken care of by something as simple as a phrase (eg “Alexa, tell Roomba to clean under the dining room table”).
The included self-emptying/self-cleaning system is also key to this vacuum’s independence. They claim you can go up to 60 days before you need to empty it. In our experience with this, we have been getting about 30 days, but at the very least, you can be sure you won’t have to worry about the clean up while trying to host on Thanksgiving Day. Not to mention, this one will pay dividends for years to come.
Automatic Mopping On Another Level
If you also wanted to spring for the best-of-the-best fully automatic mopping system, you can usually find a discounted price for a bundle of the Roomba s9+ with the Braava jet m6 Ultimate Robot Mop.
Robotic Cleaning On A Budget
If you’re looking for a more budget-friendly, you could check out the Coredy R750 Robot Vacuum Cleaner. It is a combination robotic vacuum and mop, which has been touted for its quietness when running. While it won’t give you the same results as a Roomba (as of yet, no other company can), it can make for a good alternative in a pinch.
4. August Wi-Fi Smart Lock (4th Gen): Thanksgiving Buttler
A cursory search for smart lock rankings will show that the vast majority of sites have the August Smart Lock as the best choice. It allows you to keep your existing deadbolt lock (and keys), but turns them into a smart lock with remote control and monitoring capabilities.
Ever had a guest arrive early? Thought so. How about arrive late? Of course. Every time someone comes to your door, you have to stop what you’re doing and open the door. You could always leave the door unlocked, but that’s probably not the safest idea.
With a smart lock, you can lock/unlock your door with your smartphone. This can save you a lot of effort, time, and distraction while you are putting the final touches on that Thanksgiving meal.
Not only that, when you’ve been touching raw turkey and don’t want to touch your phone, you can use a voice command. Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant both play well with this device.
In addition, the activity feed keeps you informed of whoever enters or leaves your home in your mobile app.
The one knock (pun intended) on this device has been that it required a specific hub for remote access. But things changed in 2020. The newest iteration (4th generation) ditches the hub by placing a Wi-Fi chip directly into the lock.
However, make sure the deadbolts are compatible with August locks, as these locks only work with single-cylinder assemblies. Other deadbolt systems, such as double-cylinder deadbolts, are not compatible with these locks; in this case, your best option would be to go for the Yale Assure Touchscreen Wi-Fi lock.
5. Honeywell HPA250B Smart Air Filter and Freshener: Thanksgiving Atmosphere
One of the best things about the atmosphere of Thanksgiving Day is the smell of all the great food. But when you put more than a few people in the same room, breathing the same oxygen, airborne particles can become a real issue.
This Honeywell smart air freshener and allergen remover pulls off the dust, dirt, mold, pollen, and other small particles as tiny as 0.3 microns from the air. It filters the allergens of the air in your room 5 times per hour, so that your guests can breathe in clean air – a particularly useful feature this year.
And if you have pets, the annoyances of dander, allergens, and shedding can be a year-round struggle. This is a gadget that will provide benefit to your household for years to come.
Finally, you can connect the air purifier with your smartphone by simply downloading the app. It connects to your phone via Bluetooth. The features include a proximity sensor, allergen alert settings, auto-off timer, and schedules.
All in all, this air purifier provides a great bang for the buck by making your surroundings healthy and more breathable during, both during Thanksgiving and day-to-day. The ability to control it via your smartphone can prove to be a real convenience.
6. Echo Show 10: Thanksgiving Recipe Book
Almost every knows about Echo devices these days: You can get Alexa to set up timers for you, measure recipe conversions, change the intensity of lights, let the guests in while you prepare the meal, monitor the kids, and control any of the devices listed above. You can leverage Amazon Echo when your hands are not clean and ask it to make a call. You can send voice-to-text messages to anyone.
And with the Echo show 10, the screen is big enough for you to pull up step-by-step recipes during food prep. Not to mention, the speaker improvement in Echo products has extended to their flagship screen device – the sound is incredible on this thing. You can use it as a standalone speaker for listening to a song or watching a video, or you can set up a multi-room speaker system to play festive music throughout your house.
If someone has enjoyed the festivities a little too much and needs a ride home, you can even book an Uber for them.
If you’re relatively new to the smart home scene, know that the Echo Show 10 (2nd Gen) also contains a Zigbee hub, allowing you to control all of your Zigbee smart home devices without additional hardware.
7. Corsi Smart Wi-Fi Air Fryer: Thanksgiving Nutritionist
The one drawback about all the amazing Thanksgiving food is the effect that it can have on your waistline. What if there was a device that could cut down 70 to 80% of the calories in your food, was easy to use, and could be controlled by Alexa, Google home, or your smart phone? Enter the Corsi Smart Wi-Fi Air Fryer.
For those of you who haven’t used an air fryer before, these devices allow you to get the same crispy, chewy texture that we love in fried foods, while cutting out the unhealthy oil and grease.
This Wi-Fi compatible air fryer can hold 5.8 Qt (5.5 L) of food. Despite its capacity, this latest version has a slimmer design, taking up less space on your counter.
It comes with 11 built-in, one-touch presets (eg french fries, steak, poultry, bacon, etc), or you can use the app to pick a recipe, and the settings will adjust automatically. Alexa and Google Assistant compatibility mean that you can start cooking remotely, as well as monitor the progress.
Not to mention, it cooks food faster than traditional frying, and doesn’t produce that burnt-oil smell.
8. Kasa Wi-Fi Smart Dimmer Switch: Thanksgiving Mood Setter
When it comes to hosting an event at home, everyone thinks about the food, the smells, the people… but no one ever considers the lighting. If you haven’t made the “switch” to smart lighting yet, hosting Thanksgiving might be the added motivation you need.
These Kasa dimmer switches from TP-Link use Wi-Fi so that you don’t need a dedicated hub to manage them. They give precise, 1-100% control of the brightness, allowing you to set the lighting according to the mood you’re trying to create. One thing that sets these dimmers apart is that they come with an included screw-hiding wall-plate; details like this give your house a clean, professional look. Just be aware that they require a neutral wire.
(Note: If you do not have a neutral wire, be sure to check out Lutron Caseta – they’re products are a bit more expensive, but are pretty much best in class despite not needing a neutral wire.)
9. Insignia 70-inch 4k UHD Smart TV – FireTV Edition: Thanksgiving Entertainment
When people think about Thanksgiving, two things automatically come to mind: Food and football. We’ve covered the food part extensively above, but hosting Thanksgiving without a good way to watch football is a recipe for disaster.
This 70-inch smart TV checks all the boxes (see our article about what makes for a great smart TV here). It has a 4K (UHD) display, comes with all the apps you need, and is big enough for the whole extended family to see. And it’s the Fire TV Edition, meaning you get built-in Alexa, as well as integration of over-the-air TV and streaming channels on a single unified home screen. It has 3 HDMI cables for connections to various other devices, allowing for you to keep using your old hardware or plug in a gaming console if you need to.
Despite all its features, this 70-inch smart TV from Insignia has a better than market price. It is definitely the go-to budget option for a big screen smart TV.
10. Echo Buds: Thanksgiving Assistant
These sweat-resistant active noise cancelling headphones don’t get as much press as the Apple Airpods Pro or the Google Buds, but they do have certain advantages. While the sound quality is a small step down from those two, the price drop is a giant leap (less than half the price, in the case of the Airpods Pro).
The biggest benefit the Echo Buds is not the discount price, however. That honor goes to the hands-free Alexa that’s with you all the time. Those of us who have used Alexa for quite some time now have invariably purchased multiple echo flexes, just to have Alexa in a given room. But these devices allow you to use your smart home assistant no matter where you are.
And with respect to the Airpods and Google Buds, there’s a couple reasons we recommend the Echo Buds over those. First, as mentioned, they have a better price tag. Second, they work equally well whether you have an iOS or Android phone. And finally, despite being marketed as a hands-free Echo device, you still have access to both Siri or Google Assistant just by long-pressing the bud. Non-exclusivity is something that should be important to all smart home owners – you never know when the next update will ruin your most beloved features.
11. Ecobee SmartThermostat with Alexa Built-In, SmartSensor Included: Thanksgiving Comfort
Whether you’re living in a warm or cold climate, achieving a comfortable temperature during a holiday event can be frustrating.
Topping many review lists, the Ecobee smart thermostat checks all of the boxes for automated temperature control. Most people these days know the energy benefits of using a smart thermostat (most utility companies will even give you a rebate if you show proof of purchase), and the eco+ software works to maximize the effeciency. This bundle comes with a smart sensor to tailor the temperature of specific rooms.
It has Alexa built in and, like many of the devices on this list, it is compatible both iOS and Android.
Final Thoughts
Hosting Thanksgiving is not easy; the amount of work can be overwhelming, especially if you are preparing alone. So, getting everything done both simultaneously and perfectly can be a tall task.
However, smart gadgets can significantly reduce your workload. You can make your tasks easier and less stressful with a few well-designed smart home gadgets. Using these device will decrease your work, improve the event for your guests, and in some cases, make for a safer gathering. You’ll also be freed up to spend more time with your family. That is, if you want to… but that’s a topic for a different article.
Also remember that these pieces of smart tech aren’t just useful for a single day in November. They all have multiple uses, and will become integrated parts of your smart home year-round.
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