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How Do I Choose the Best LED Christmas Lights?
Light-emitting diode (LED) Christmas lights have become popular as holiday decorations because they are energy-efficient and can last years without burning out. They have many variations, so you should consider a few details before you choose the best LED Christmas lights for your home. For example, you may want to think about whether you want colored or white bulbs and, if you choose white, which shade of white you prefer. You also should consider whether you want to buy lights that blink, stay the same color or alternate, or appear to dance to music. In addition, determining whether they will go indoors or outdoors will help determine the best bulb size for you.
One detail to think about is whether you want bulbs with different colors or solid white LED holiday lighting. If you choose the latter, you have a few more decisions to make, such as whether you want clear or frosted bulbs. Clear bulbs tend to give off a bright light, while frosted glass tends to soften the lighting. You also should consider whether to get warm white LED Christmas lights, which offer a look similar to the yellow hue cast by incandescent bulbs, or pure white bulbs, which emit a brighter glow. You also may opt for traditional cool white LED bulbs, which tend to look blue and are usually best outdoors, because they may seem less blinding in open spaces.
Another decision to make is whether your preferred LED Christmas lights should stay on or blink. Some light strands feature bulbs that change colors, while others play music and the bulbs flash in time with the beat of the tunes. If you want additional creative options, you can consider LED Christmas lights in the shape of icicles, which tend to look particularly realistic when you choose white bulbs. Another choice is the wide-angle light bulb, which shines light in several directions at once because of its wider base, allowing you to get the most illumination from your LED holiday lights.
You also should think about the size of the bulbs before you buy LED Christmas lights, because appropriate bulb size often is determined by where you intend to place them. For example, larger bulbs tend to look best outside, perhaps attached to the house, because they can easily be seen from far away. You also can use smaller bulbs outside, and many people like to wrap strings of tiny LED lights around their bushes and tree trunks. Similarly, smaller bulbs are often good for wrapping around an indoor Christmas tree, stair railings or the fireplace mantel.
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![Reindeer LED Christmas lights.]()
Reindeer LED Christmas lights. -
![House with LED Christmas lights.]()
By: Roman MilertHouse with LED Christmas lights. -
![A string of LED Christmas lights.]()
By: Artistic EndeavorA string of LED Christmas lights.
Discussion Comments
@kylee07drg – That does sound soothing. I don't like flashy lights, either, and I also don't like the bright red LED Christmas lights that many people use on their artificial white trees. I find the color to be too loud, and it almost makes me angry.
I have a white tree, but I have only pink and blue LED lights on mine. I think that these colors look so good with the white, and I also put only pink, blue, and silver ornaments on the tree, so the look is very cohesive.
I doubt I would be able to find pink and blue lights that fade into each other, but that would be beautiful. Since I am so selective about my colors, I will probably just have to stick to the ones that remain steadily in the “on” position.
The great thing about outdoor LED Christmas lights is that the bulbs don't get hot like the ones our parents probably used. I can string them all over my hedges without worrying that they will catch fire and burn down in the night.
This actually happened to someone on my street back in the early eighties. She had strung big bulbs all over her bushes outside, and somehow, the bulbs overheated during the night. She awoke to the sound of a fire truck in her driveway!
LED Christmas lights barely even get warm. This makes them ideal for both indoors and outdoors. You don't have to worry about the Christmas tree in your living room catching fire as you sleep, either.
I don't like blinking lights, because they tend to give me a headache and make me irritable. So, whenever I'm picking out LED Christmas lights, I always go with the ones that will be soothing to my eyes.
Of course, there's always the option of just getting the kind that don't change at all. There is something calming about a steady source of light.
However, my favorite kinds are the ones that do a slow fade from color to color. All of the red lights on the string will light up at once, and they will slowly fade away as the blue lights slowly come on. These fade to green, and then green gives way to yellow.
The change is so slow and gradual that it does not bother me at all. It actually relaxes me, and I get sleepy after staring at the lights awhile.
This may sound strange, but to me, all LED Christmas lights seem to blink in time to whatever music is playing. I can turn on the radio and listen to a variety of songs, and this may be my mind playing tricks on me, but it seems that the lights always follow the rhythm and the changes in the songs.
It may be the type of lights that I have. My lights have eight settings, and I usually set them to the option that makes them speed up and slow down at intervals. I don't know how, but the breaks in the speed always seem to line up with the rhythm changes in the songs.
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