So you are busy this Christmas day, and are one of those people who have been dragged away from their laptops.

Fear not, you’ll know the exact number of emails even while you are away from your laptop.

The guys over at Make have decided to guide you through the whole experience. In the example, they use an Arduino board hooked up to the internet using an ethernet connection, but there’s no reason it can’t work wirelessly – you just need the right board.

Its a simple-to-build exciting festive project!

Hooked up to the web, a bit of code on your mail server and the board itself allow the Ardunio to count your unread emails. If the number’s changed, it throws a signal to a power switch which controls the AC power connected to your lights.

Voila! When you get a new message, your Christmas lights let you know.

[Via: Gizmodo]