How to use it
- Pick a brick or stone fireplace. Flames only shows a close up fire with no decorations.
- Choose colored or warm white Christmas lights, or switch them off. Untick Slow twinkle if you want them to glow steadily.
- Turn the windows with falling snow and the stockings and presents on or off.
- Tick Crackling sound for audio. It is off until you turn it on.
- Click the fire or press F for full screen. The up and down arrow keys change the fire size. Click or press Esc to exit.
A Christmas fireplace on the TV for a party or a quiet evening
Most Christmas fireplace videos are recordings of a few minutes that repeat, often with the same carols over and over. This one is generated live: the flames come from moving noise on your graphics chip, the snowflakes drift at their own pace, and each bulb on the garland brightens and dims on its own slow cycle. Leave it on all evening and it will not repeat itself.
- For a party: colored lights, the biggest fire size and the crackle turned up a little. It works well as a backdrop on a TV above a sideboard or in a hallway.
- For a calm evening: warm white lights, a medium fire, the brightness slider at 60 to 70 percent and the sound low.
- With your own music: there is no built in music, so play your own playlist on another device and keep only the crackle here, or turn the sound off.
Put it on your TV and keep it on
- Smart TV browser: open this page in the TV's web browser and choose Full screen.
- Cast a Chrome tab: on a computer, open the Chrome menu, choose Cast, pick the TV and cast this tab. The crackle goes to the TV speakers too.
- HDMI: connect a laptop with an HDMI cable, move this window to the TV and go full screen.
- AirPlay: mirror a Mac, iPhone or iPad to an AirPlay TV.
In full screen the page asks your device to keep the screen awake. Plug a laptop or tablet in for a long evening, since some battery saver modes ignore the request, and switch off the TV's own sleep or eco timer if it turns itself off. The sleep timer lets the fire burn down slowly at bedtime; the Christmas lights stay on until you close the page.
Questions
Is there Christmas music?
No. The only sound is a crackling fire made live in your browser, and it is off until you turn it on. Play your own music alongside it if you want carols.
Do the Christmas lights flash?
No. Each bulb fades brighter and dimmer over several seconds, with no blinking. You can also turn the twinkle off so they glow steadily, or turn the lights off.
Why can I not see the windows with snow?
The windows appear beside the fireplace on wide screens such as a TV or a laptop in landscape. On a phone held upright there is no room, so the scene shows the fireplace, stockings and presents only.
Is it free and does it need a download?
It is free, with no sign up and nothing to install. Nothing is streamed: the whole scene is drawn by your browser, so it starts instantly and keeps working offline once loaded.
How is this different from the regular fireplace screen?
It is the same live fire with Christmas decorations added: a garland with lights, stockings, presents and snowy windows. For a plain fire, use the fireplace screen.
How do I exit full screen?
Click or tap anywhere on the fire, or press Esc.