6 ways to stay entertained at home

 April 16, 2020

Staying at home doesn’t have to mean staying on the couch. Though binge-watching your favorite new TV show has its merits, there is plenty more to do to stay entertained while you’re staying at home.

If your birthday or housewarming party plans have fallen through, there’s still hope! Invite your friends to celebrate virtually, using video conferencing apps to get the whole gang together. Sing “Happy Birthday,” open gifts, and eat a piece of birthday cake with all your loved ones — right from your own living room. 

Make sure to decorate the space behind you — blow up balloons, hang streamers, and turn your lights to fun, bright colors or use the Hue colorloop formula. You can even sync your lights to music to put on a light show!  

Bright idea: If you know someone with a birthday coming up, coordinate with mutual family or friends to throw them a surprise party. Have a cake delivered to their house, send your present by mail, and set a time for everyone to get together online. Once the attendees are all on video, give the birthday boy or girl a call and “surprise” them! 

With many vacations canceled or postponed, you may be longing for a getaway. So, go on one — in your own backyard! Set up a tent and camp out under the stars. Don’t forget the s’mores, spooky stories, and a campfire — though if no fire is allowed, a Hue Go works just as well when set to the Candlelight romance formula. 

Bright idea: No backyard? No problem! Move the furniture and set up your tent in the living room to create an indoor campsite. If you don’t have a tent on hand, string some rope between the walls or furniture and use blankets to make one.

Feeling a little cooped up? Transport yourself to a new destination using just light! If your lights can be moved, try rearranging some of the fixtures — the Hue Go, a portable smart lamp, is particularly useful here. Set up a new Entertainment area in the Hue app so that you can reap the full benefits of your new setup and watch as your lights react to the content on your computer or TV screen. 

Not sure how to set up an Entertainment area? Here’s how:

Social media has shown just how powerful it is in bringing people together, especially in times when face-to-face meetings aren’t possible. Gamers are flocking to Twitch to watch others stream, and Instagrammers are busy posting shots of themselves staying at home. 

Use Philips Hue lights to add drama to those posts or liven up your livestream. Instead of facing a pair of Hue Play lightbars towards the wall (the standard setup around TVs and desktops), face them towards you as you live stream your next game. The diffused light, millions of different colors, and ability to sync your lights to the game offer just a little something extra for your viewers. 

For Instagrammers, position your lights, such as the Hue Play light bars or a Hue Go, towards you to wash yourself in colorful light. For the best effect, wear light-colored clothing, which will display the colors better than darker fabrics. 

Without physically going into the office, you may miss the camaraderie among your coworkers. Make meetings a little more fun by planning special “tasks” — get everyone to wear a funny hat, for example, or play a quick game once the meeting has concluded. Schedule an after-work happy hour or a coffee break with your team to catch up and check in with each other.

Bright idea: With some meeting tools, you can set your background when on video to whatever you like: a beach, a city street, or even another planet. Want to impress your coworkers? Download our special Philips Hue-themed backgrounds to use while you have your video meetings.

Dimming the lights certainly does create the right ambiance for movie night, but you can take it a step further: use different light scenes for different movie genres. Set the mood for a romantic drama using the special Hue Labs Heart’s desire living scenes formula or turn on the Galaxy scene for the latest sci-fi adventure.  

Bright idea: Not finding the right light scene? Get creative and make your own! Ask the kids for their help creating the right scene for the next animated feature or find the perfect warm hues for a dinner-and-a-movie date night. In the Hue app, tap on the Room or Zone in which you want to set the scene, tap the Color picker icon in the top right corner, drag your lights to the right colors, and tap New Scene. Don’t forget to name and save your scene so you can find it easier in the future!