Dec
07
2009
What color are your Christmas lights?
Posted by Heather MacAllister in Heather MacAllister, tags: Christmas, lights
There are two kinds of people in the world–white light people and multi-colored light people. Okay and maybe those who decorate with a single, non-white color. I’m going to include them with the colored-light people because I think they secretly want to be colored-light people, but are intimidated by the trash talk from the white-light people who claim decorating with white lights is classier than using multi-colored lights. Piffle, I say. It’s the holidays! They’re supposed to be festive.
Twinkly fairy lights are pretty, but I can see them any time I drive past a restaurant with a patio. What’s special about that? For Christmas, bring on the color. Yes, I am a multi-colored Christmas light person. Not only that, but my tree lights twinkle. Individually. 
At night, I like to stare at the random shadows the lights make on the ceiling. If it’s really quiet, I can hear a faint plinking sound as the bimetallic strips flex in the bulbs. To me, that’s the sound of Christmas.
Which is it for you–white lights or colored lights?
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Colored *and* white individually blinking Christmas lights on my tree! I’m an equal opportunity light person. But on the outside of the house, traditional, HUGE bulbs, the kind from the 50’s and 60’s that don’t do anything but hang there, multicolored and pretty.
Now that’s what I’m talking about! I love the larger bulbs outside.
When the DH and I got married…centuries ago…we couldn’t afford Christmas lights so my parents gave us a couple of their old sets. They were ancient! The ones with the silk/cotton wrapping over the wires and the huge plastic plug, no UL rating, that kind of thing. The bulbs were huge and they used to come either smooth or you could buy them with a swirl to the glass. We used those for years until they finally couldn’t be repaired anymore.
We went looking for new lights, but you know, the newest ones just didn’t seem like Christmas. So we finally found several sets of the old fashioned kind and it just seems…right.
I’m nursing an ancient set, as well. I can’t figure out why new strings aren’t sold, but the replacement twinkle bulbs are! Each year, I think I won’t be able to find them, but yesterday, I scored 5 packs at Walgreens. So many don’t survive their hibernation.
I will throw you a curve ball, but this is true! This year, I did both on my tree. I’ve loved colored lights, but the one year I tried them the tree was too dark so I went back to white for years. This year, I got the idea to mix them and I love the effect! I will probably do mixed from now on. You get the color and the brightness.
I have both on my tree, the white lights have all different settings. It looks real nice with the colored lights. But outside I have colored lights with two white reindeer, a mom and baby.
That’s three votes for both, LOL! I hadn’t considered it because I’d have two different sizes. My twinkle bulbs are the C7 size.
Oh, those C7’s light up nice. My colored lights are the mini ones, and I’ll tell ya, without something to back them up, they don’t make for a very bright tree–if you’ve been used to white. But now you’ve got me thinking about using C7’s next year. Don’t they get hot?
We’ve done the traditional C9’s on our roof line ever since moving to a 1-story house. I love it. Reminds me of when I was a kid, because back then, that’s all there was. But they get sizzling hot!
Well, yes. Except that they’re blinking off an on and that keeps them from getting too hot. I still make sure they aren’t resting against anything. I’m wondering about the LED lights. Again, with an electrical engineer in residence, all I have to do is say the word.
I am definitely a colored light person…I even like the colored icicles that hang from the house.
I remember the first year I saw those! I like the other icicles, but love, love the colored ones. An easy way to incorporate more lights!
Our tree is colored, but outside we have both. For me the more lights the better. I drive my husband crazy with all my lights and stuff, lol!
Alas, I’m married to an electrical engineer and am limited by silly things like safety and stuff. He makes me follow diagrams.
Oh I love the multi colored lights!!!
Although I no longer put up a Christmas tree as I spend Christmas with my brother and his family we always had colored lights on the tree and outside.
And two more for colored lights. Yipee!
I like both, but I prefer white lights. I hope to put up the tree this weekend.
I do have a weakness for the tiny white ones–the really mini ones. I don’t see them often.
Check out this site: http://www.uglychristmaslights.com/
Some are hysterical. And some I like and wonder why they’re considered ugly.
I’ve never heard of white Christmas lights. I haven’t decorated for Christmas since I left home mainly because I tend to be slack about taking everything down. I don’t fancy having Christmas stuff around for months.
I like the multicolored lights, but given I didn’t know about white ones I can’t really say that I could make a judgement.
Lyn, just for you, extreme white lights. http://www.funny-potato.com/images/christmas/christmas-lights/white-light.jpg
I would never put white lights on my tree. I prefer the colored ones. I bought a prelit small white tree a couple of years ago and it is multicolored. I didn’t think I would like the white tree but, it really is gorgeous. And I have a star on top that changes colors every few seconds.
I’ll bet the white tree with the colored lights IS gorgeous. I’m really tempted by pre-lit trees. But then I see the lights twinkling in random patterns and decide to stick with them.
Oh, brightly colored lights for me, please.
I love Christmas lights, and I’ve missed them for a few years since we moved into this house, because we had no outdoor electric, and thought we would install it (never did) and so this year I said I don’t care how many extension cords we need, we’re having lights — and we do! They are so pretty. And dh enjoyed putting them out, too. We even bought cute little lighted up gifts that you put on the grass with stakes and candy canes with ribbon for either side of the driveway. I don’t care if anyone thinks it’s tacky — it’s Christmas, and it’s supposed to be bright and colorful. We have color lights on our tree, too, and even a few strings of blinkers, because who can resist?
Sam
Isn’t it interesting that almost everyone likes the colored lights? I wonder if there is a connection between romance readers and fun, colorful holiday lights?
When my husband and I were first married, we had a tiny apartment in the city and a tiny, fake Christmas tree that was loaded with colored lights. I loved it so much that I made him carry it into the bedroom every night so that I could fall asleep looking at it. Twenty years later, I still love colored lights, but have bowed to the white light tradition of my neighborhood. Last year, I decided to rebel and covered my shrubs with big, fat colored bulbs, like the ones we had as kids. My family said I shouldn’t do that again. So…we’re a white light family on the outside but inside, my tree is still covered in tiny, twinkling colored lights.
The first year we moved, my son asked me to put lights outside. He came home from school as I was putting white lights on the bushes. He burst into tears. I was shocked because he’s not a cryer. He wanted colored lights. I ripped the strings off and bought colored lights. I’ll have to ask him if he remembers that.
Lights that individually twinkle? Pretty awesome. I’m still a white light girl though. They look more like stars to me. There are no blue or green stars to my knowledge.
Stars. That’s a good way to think of them!