Yule Log

A virtual 3D fireplace for Christmas

Yule Log is free and runs in your browser. Feed the fire oak, birch or pine, poke the logs, pump the bellows, douse it with water, or colour the flames with copper, salt and strontium.

Things to try

Pour a hot chocolate and pick a topping. Hold the marshmallow card to roast one; let go before it catches. Tap Pip on the mantel to make him dance. Write to Santa and send the letter up the chimney, or send the fireplace to a friend with a note. The detailed page adds a cat and a radio.

On a TV or as a screensaver

Open it in a TV browser, cast a tab, or connect with HDMI. Press H to hide the panels and F for full screen. Under Music, play the carols or paste a Spotify, YouTube or Apple Music link. On a phone, add it to your home screen and it opens full screen like an app: the Install button in the toolbar, or on an iPhone the Share button, then Add to Home Screen.

Questions

Is it free? Yes, with no account and no download. Does it work on a phone? Yes. It picks a lighter picture on small or slow devices; change it under Lights. Is there sound? Crackle, chimes and carols, made in the browser and off until you turn them on. What does it send? Nothing: no account, no cookies, and the code and fonts come with the page. Together connects you to your friends through PeerJS's free relay, and what the room does, letters included, goes to everyone in it. A pasted music link loads that service's player. Can I see the code? It is one HTML file: Yule Log on GitHub.

More: Put it on your TV · The carols · Who lives here