Better Home And Gardens Indoor Outdoor String Lights

Staff, Courtesy of SYLVANIA

The holidays are a joyous time—friends and family, food, festive decorations (once they're up, that is). Before you can actually enjoy them, you have to deal with the frustrations of burned-out bulbs, tangled wires, colors that don't pop. One solution to kick off your holiday a little more smoothly is to start with the right lights. To help, we've tested some of the most popular LED and incandescent strings of lights to help sort out the differences.

Best Christmas Lights

Editors' Choice: Brizled Warm White/MultiColor LED String Lights
Best White/Clear Coat: Sylvania Indoor/Outdoor Clear Mini Lights
Best LED/Warm White: Yuletime Warm White LED Christmas String Lights
Best Musical Lights: Bright Tunes Warm White LED String Lights
Best Traditional Colors: Sylvania Mini Christmas Lights, Multicolor
Most Vibrant LED Colors: Epesl Fairy Twinkle Christmas Lights
Best LED, Cool White: Yuletime Cool White LED Christmas String Lights
Best Large Bulb Color: SkrLights 25Ft C7 Christmas Lights
Best Specialty Lights: Purtuemy Falling Rain Lights Christmas Lights

Traditional Incandescent Versus LED Lights

Traditional "mini lights" use a tiny incandescent bulb that presses into a plastic socket. The contacts on the light bulb are thin wires that are bent back and contact the socket when the bulb is pressed in. There are some common issues with this type of light. For one, putting them up and taking them down can wiggle the bulbs and cause intermittent contact in the socket, making them go out or come back on. Even worse, if one bulb is out, a whole section of the string of lights will go out. With the larger lights (C7, C9) that screw in, the bulbs can loosen in the socket or possibly overheat, melting tinsel or plastic ornaments.

People often look to LED lights to solve their holiday lighting problems—because they use less power, more strings can be connected to create displays that would impress even Clark Griswold—but there are some things to consider. One of the big issues is the "color" of white lights—typically, you'll see white LED lights offered in warm, daylight, and cool. Daylight is generally going to look the whitest, while cool white trends toward blue, and warm white is more amber—like a traditional candle light. When it comes to multicolor lights, this isn't as big an issue. However, if you light the traditional colors of incandescent mini lights, you'll find the colors themselves aren't quite the same. With larger LEDs, meant to mimic actual screw-in bulbs, the colors are a bit closer.

There are two kinds of wiring harness that string LED lights together. The first type is wired almost exactly like traditional mini lights; the LED sits inside a plastic "bulb" and is pressed into the mini light socket. Over time, these may develop some of the same intermittent contact issues of the incandescent lights—it is less likely, but still possible. The upside is that an LED can be replaced if it goes out. On the second type of LED light string, the LED is soldered right to the wire string, and then sealed. The benefit here is that there aren't any wires or sockets to loosen, but if an LED goes out there's no easy way to replace it.

Keep in mind: You should always refer to the manufacturer's product information to determine exactly how many lights can be strung together.

How We Tested

Every holiday light string on this list has been tested and evaluated by our team of test editors. To select the lights, we researched the market, surveyed user reviews, and used our own experience with these types of string lighting to determine the best options. We selected typical examples of the various options and installed them on an artificial tree, stretching them out, stringing them up, lighting them, taking them down, and rolling them back up for storage. We evaluated the lights based on value, function, performance, aesthetics, and ease of use. Here are 10 we recommend.

Editors' Choice

Brizled Warm White/MultiColor LED String Lights

Brizled amazon.com

$22.99

These LED lights from Brizled have a little something for just about everyone. The 66-foot string of lights features nine color/blinking functions, as well as a three-step dimmer, a timer, and a remote control. The functions include steady on for both warm white and multicolors, blinking for both, and several versions of blinking or fading with varied timing. The warm white was a pleasant color, not leaning too much toward yellow, and the colored LEDs were a little on the pastel side—as advertised. The wire strand is silver so it is a little obvious in daylight, but the light set is also offered with black wire, which will be less visible. The built-in timer will run the lights for 6 hours on then 18 off. While these lights can be used outdoors, the plug and transformer/control box need to be protected from water.

Lighting modes for every taste
Built-in timer

Colors may be pale for some people

Best White/Clear Coat

Sylvania Indoor/Outdoor Clear Mini Lights

Sylvania's Mini Lights are good old-fashioned incandescent Christmas tree lights, with a warm white glow. The set consists of a string of 100 lights for a total length of about 21 feet, though you can link up to five sets. Out of the box the lights are set up to stay lit, but with the included blinker bulbs they can be set to blink. We tested the lights in both steady on and blinking modes, and they functioned as expected. When we initially unwound the light strings, we found that kinks in the wire had a strong memory. After we stretched them out tight a couple times, they were easier to handle and didn't tangle as much. If you like the nostalgic, warm glow of white, incandescent holiday lights, these will be right up your alley. Note that, because they are very much the same type of lights used for years, over time they may develop some of the quirky behaviors where sections of light go out until you wiggle the right bulb.

Traditional incandescent bulbs
Steady-on or blink modes

May become finicky over time

Best LED/Warm White

Yuletime Warm White LED Christmas String Lights

Yuletime amazon.com

$33.99

These lights from Yuletime are basically just like traditional mini lights, except with LEDs in bulb housings replacing the incandescent bulb. Due to this, there is a possibility of intermittent contact and lights flickering on/off, although try as we might, we could not get them to blink out. This set comes with 200 lights strung at a length of 66 feet, and does not have a blink option. The LEDs have a warm light, leaning toward an amber glow—by our judgment, slightly more yellow than traditional incandescent lights.

Traditional-looking bulbs

Possible flickering as lights get older

Best Musical Lights

Bright Tunes Warm White LED String Lights

When we saw these Bright Tunes Bluetooth LED lights, we couldn't resist testing them out. Yes, they're a gimmick, but for folks who enjoy over-the-top holiday displays, these might be the thing they've been missing. The 26-foot string has 80 warm white LEDs, 4 speakers, and a Bluetooth module—with an auxiliary input—on the plug end. When we connected a smartphone and played some music for the first time, we had to giggle, and then admit that it didn't sound bad at all—although, if you're an audiophile, you may disagree. We found at moderate volumes, for background or mood music, the speakers sounded pretty clear. If we really turned up the volume to actively listen, the sound broke up a little. Up to five strands of lights/speakers can be strung together, and with more speakers it is easier to fill a room with sound without cranking the volume. For the money, we can't complain—on the contrary, these can be a fun addition to your holiday festivities.

Musical lights!
Simple control—no app needed

Sound quality deteriorates at higher volumes

Best Traditional Colors

Sylvania Mini Christmas Lights, Multicolor

Sylvania's multicolor Mini Lights are just like the colored Christmas lights you grew up with. This three-pack set with 150 lights each has a total of 450 incandescent bulbs on a spool, which adds up to a total length of 40 feet. We used the lights in both steady on and blinking modes without issue. As with Sylvania's clear Mini Lights, these are very much the same type of lights that have been in use for decades. Over time they may develop some of the quirky behaviors where sections of light go out until you wiggle the right bulb.

Traditional incandescent bulbs
Steady-on or blink modes

May become finicky over time

Most Vibrant LED Colors

Epesl Fairy Twinkle Christmas Lights

This massive, 115-foot strand of colored Twinkle Christmas Lights, with 320 LEDs, can cover a lot of tree. The strands have waterproof connectors at the ends, allowing up to five sets to be strung together—for a total of 575 linear feet of lighting. This makes them an ideal candidate for outdoor lighting displays. In testing, we confirmed the functions of eight lighting modes that include steady on, twinkle, sequential, slow glow, fade, and combinations of fade and sequential. We found the colors to be vibrant and reminiscent of traditional incandescent mini lights. But what we really like about this type of LED holiday lights is no-hassle reliability in comparison to incandescent light sets.

Rated IP44, waterproof
Run up to five strands together for big outdoor displays

May be too long for smaller trees

Best LED, Cool White

Yuletime Cool White LED Christmas String Lights

Yuletime amazon.com

$32.59

These performed exactly like the warm white option from Yuletime (above), except the cool white leans toward a bluish glow—which might be a bit of a surprise, if you're not expecting it. This pack gives you 200 lights across a total of 66 feet, which can be connected to an impressive 30 strands total.

Traditional-looking bulbs

Possible flickering as lights get older

Best Large Bulb Color

SkrLights 25Ft C7 Christmas Lights

SkrLights brings you classic, colored, big holiday lights with screw-in glass bulbs. The light strand is 25 feet long with 27 bulbs, in five colors. The sockets have clips molded into them to help hang the lights and orient them the way you want. We haven't used this style of light in a while, and we forgot how much heat they generate. The thermal cycles being turned on and off can cause the bulbs to loosen, so if you have a bulb out, always check first that it's tight. The set comes with two spare bulbs, which you'll likely use—the bulbs can break easily on hard surfaces. These lights are designed for indoor/outdoor use.

Traditional big colored bulbs

Can get hot

Best Specialty Lights

Purtuemy Falling Rain Lights Christmas Lights

Purtuemy amazon.com

$17.69

Purtuemy's Falling Rain Lights, or icicle lights, will look sharp hung in the right tree or along the bottom edges of a roof. The string of lights is 10½ feet long, with eight icicle tubes, each 12 inches long. You can string up to five sets together with waterproof connectors, but the plug is not waterproof, so it will need to plug into a protected receptacle. We found the lights work exactly as advertised, with the LEDs in each tube illuminating in a downward sequence, and each tube starting at random intervals. The pure white LEDs are double-sided so they're visible from any angle. If you're considering stepping up your holiday light game this year, these icicle lights just might do the trick. While these are designed for outdoor use, there is no reason you couldn't use them inside.

Nice random illumination pattern
Inexpensive for specialty lights

Plug is not waterproof

Bradley Ford Test Editor Brad Ford has spent most of his life using tools to fix, build, or make things.

Paige Szmodis Paige Szmodis is an editor for Runner's World, Bicycling, and Popular Mechanics, who researches and writes home, tech, and outdoor product reviews and news.

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