As Jason Woodward from Christmas Designers told us, “The benefits offered by LEDs are almost as significant as the benefits that incandescents provided over candles.” Some people are understandably hesitant to use LEDs-older or poorly made LEDs can sometimes be too bright or cause a kind of nauseating strobe effect. LEDs tend to cost more than their incandescent counterparts, but they also last longer and use a lot less electricity, and thus produce less heat, which makes them safer overall. Since the early 2000s, however, LED Christmas lights have become increasingly popular, and they’re often easier to find now than the traditional incandescent ones. This component creates a nice, warm radiance in the room that many people associate with the holiday season. The earliest Christmas lights were incandescent-that is, they got their glow from a heated filament inside the glass bulb, like any other commercial light bulb. (Also available in a 400-count set that will save you more money per bulb.) Get more of our Christmas decorating recommendations And even with the app frustrations, the Twinklys offer enough options that you’ll get your money’s worth-or at least you’ll never get bored. Still, we expect this software to continue to improve we even observed some noticeably helpful firmware updates in the course of our testing. As impressive as the Twinkly app might be, it does glitch on occasion, and the user interface could use some improvements, particularly on the mapping feature and the music sync. You can even sync the flashing lights to move in time with music. They are significantly more expensive than most other Christmas lights, but the endless possibilities and weather-resistant construction mean you can also keep them strung up all year round and customize the colors to go with every occasion. With the app’s built-in “mapping” feature, you can even single out individual lights to create custom effects that spiral around your Christmas tree, or your railing, or wherever else you choose to set them up. These Wi-Fi–enabled Christmas lights offer 16 million color choices that can be employed in any number of moving, blinking, multicolored patterns.

If you really want your home to sparkle and shine for the winter holiday-and maybe for other occasions, too-get the 250-count Twinkly Generation II Smart RGB-W LED String Lights. You can even mix-and-match or try out different bulbs, as long as you have a C9 socket string to start. For an incandescent bulb, we recommend the C9 bulbs from Opticore that company makes LED bulbs that are comparable to the Pro-Christmas bulbs, too. We personally enjoyed the faceted Pro-Christmas bulbs, which produce a nice twinkling effect, but if you prefer smooth bulbs, the company makes those as well. They come with a 3-year seasonal warranty, too (assuming three months of use per year). These C9 light lines make for an easy DIY project for any season, and the clips, plugs, bulbs, and strings are all available a la carte as well. Don’t worry - it’s nowhere near as daunting as it sounds. You can also cut the socket string to the exact length you need, depending on the size of your space, and add a “ vampire plug” on either end to keep the electricity flowing. These weather-resistant screw-in LEDs are available in every basic color plus warm and cool whites, and you can display those bulbs in any order or pattern that you want. If you want a bigger bulb to brighten up your walkway, patio, or eaves, the Pro-Christmas C9 Light Line Kit is a reliable and highly customizable choice. If the Christmas Lights Etc lights aren’t available, Christmas Designers makes a similar string light that’s just as good but a little less bright. Pro lighting designers and other experts have consistently named this particular type of bulb as the ideal choice for outdoor holiday-lighting displays. The only major drawback is that they’re a bit too bright for indoor use. Because they’re likely to be exposed to harsh exterior conditions, these lights have a shorter lifespan than indoor LEDs, but you can still expect six or seven seasons out of them.

Due to the unusual design of the wide-angle bulb, the brightness of each changes dramatically depending on where you’re standing, giving the lights texture and depth when they’re draped over a tree or twisting around a porch post. We liked the warmth of the color, the bright light output, and the manageable wires. These lights offer all the benefits of LEDs as well as a design that makes each bulb impervious to moisture for weeks in the snowy, sleety, rainy outdoors-we confirmed that by leaving a lit set submerged in a water-filled bucket all day. For outdoor use, we recommend the Christmas Lights Etc Kringle Traditions Wide-Angle 5mm Outdoor LED Christmas Tree Lights, available in white, multicolor, or single color in a variety of lengths and bulb spacings.

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