The 9 Best Indoor Christmas Lights of 2023, Tested and Reviewed

How We Tested the Indoor Christmas Lights

Our search for the best indoor Christmas lights began with weeks of research on the best brands and lighting products. Then, the actual testing process occurred over two days. We first unpacked each strand and took note of how many (if any) spare bulbs and fuses were included in the packaging. From there, we sorted the lights into groups—white lights, colored lights, large bulbs, etc.—and set up the strands side-by-side. For some of the lighting products, we could simply plug them in, but other more high-tech options required syncing with her phone.Once each group was set up, we compared the different lights, picking out which ones were the brightest and most colorful in each group. We left them plugged in for several hours during the day to see if they got warm to the touch at all. Next, we strung the lights up on an artificial Christmas tree, evaluating each product’s brightness and overall appearance both during the day and at night. Once we selected the top products from each group, we then compared the “winners” to each other to further narrow down our favorites.

What to Look for in Indoor Christmas Lights

Bulb Type

The expert we spoke to recommends LED Christmas lights, which offer several benefits over incandescent options. “Incandescent lights are the traditional Christmas lights that we grew up with—they produce visible light by heating a wire filament until it glows,” explains Lance Allen, Decorative Holiday Merchant at The Home Depot, “and while they are initially more wallet-friendly than LED lights, they do use up to 80 percent more energy.”

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On the other hand, Allen says that LED bulbs last 20 times longer than traditional lights and use up to 80 percent less energy. “They also come in a wider variety of colors than traditional incandescent bulbs.” He explains that LED lights stay cool to the touch, which is safer when you’re stringing them on a live tree. All of the options on this list are LED bulbs.

Bulb Shape

There are several bulb shapes commonly used for Christmas lights, with T5 mini lights being the most popular as seen in our best budget pick, the Home Accents Holiday 100-Light Mini LED Warm White String Lights. This classic, elongated shape offers a nostalgic vibe for many people, as it’s designed to resemble traditional incandescent bulbs and offers a mid-level brightness that’s ideal for indoor displays.

If you want your decorations to really pop, 5mm conical lights are a similar size but brighter than T5 bulbs seen in our best overall pick, as their concave tips help to magnify the light. They are a bit more square than the classic teardrop T5 bulbs. For a bolder display, you can also opt for larger specialty bulbs, including C6 or C7 bulbs, which have a teardrop shape, like our best large bulb option, the Noma C6 LED Christmas Lights. These are ideal for large spaces and larger displays, including oversized Christmas trees, tall staircases, and big mantles.

Rectifiers

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One common complaint about LED Christmas lights is that they flicker ever so slightly, often creating a subtle strobing effect that can bother your eyes. This happens because 60Hz LED lights technically cycle on and off 60 times per second. We found this to be an issue with our best budget pick, the Holiday Essence 60 LED Mini Christmas Lights, so we’d stay away if you’re sensitive. If the strobing bothers you, you may want to opt for string lights with full-wave rectifiers, like the Pro Christmas T5 Smooth LED Christmas Lights, which speed up the flickering so it isn’t visible to the eye.

Special Effects

There are plenty of basic, no-frills Christmas lights available today, but if you want to create a more complex display, you may prefer a set of lights with special features. Common features include various light effects, such as twinkling, built-in timers, color-changing abilities, like the JMEXSUSS 33ft 100 LED String Lights, which have our favorite lighting effects, or even smart capabilities, like our best smart option, Twinkly LED String Lights, which has remote operation from your phone.

Why Trust The Spruce?

This article was written by Julia Fields a lifestyle writer for The Spruce covering all things surrounding toys, gifts, and the holidays since October 2021. Before that, she covered similar topics including toy reviews, product round-ups, expert-focused articles, and more. Using expert recommendations, testing insights, and product research, she compiled a list of the best outdoor Christmas lights on the market, considering the durability, bulb shape, and performance of each pick.

Our Experts:

• Lance Allen, Decorative Holiday Merchant at The Home Depot
• Daniela Galvez, senior editor at The Spruce
• Camryn Rabideau, a freelance writer and product tester

Source: https://gardencourte.com
Categories: Outdoor