How to Choose the Right Christmas Lights

First things first don’t stress and remember nothing quite gets you into the Christmas mood like twinkling lights around a Tree, along the front of your house or on a bush basically anywhere you can put them! However making it look good is another story all together, luckily its easy and after reading this short guide Santa himself might be offering you a job.

Where are the lights going?

Depending on where the lights are going has huge impact on which lights you should buy, some lights are great all rounders but some simply work better than others in specific applications

For example

Icicle lights:

work great to decorate the outside of your house, along the gutter and up the eaves.

Cluster Lights:

work great in many applications, they give a thick appearance from a distance, so work well to run along gutters they also work great in arches and gates, where you want to create an impact of a thick border. These lights are usually short in comparison to lights with similar qty of LED’s

String lights

The OG, string lights are very versatile but work best especially when you need length, this is due to the 10cm gap between each bulb, they are great for large outdoor areas or where the lights need to cover a very long distance.

This means they are not so great for your Christmas tree but don’t worry because the next lights are.

Décor Lights

Décor lights are perfect on Christmas trees, garlands and many more applications, this is because they have a 2.5cm gap between each bulb as a result you get more lights per meter. When it comes to Christmas trees you want them to be super sparkly but without all that extra cable, this allows you to place baubles, ribbon and ornaments on the tree without the cable getting in the way. Décor lights shorter than string lights but with more concentrated lights.

What colour fits best?

With the invent of LED lights a few years ago, almost any colour Christmas light is available, however White, Warm White and Multicolour are still the favourites.

The colour of your lights is a personal choice however you should take some practical considerations.

• Warm White Led lights work great indoors as they are softer and easy on the eye
• White Led lights have a sharp piercing colour, these work great outside and make a statement
• Multicolour lights are best used in a colourful theme, indoors or outdoors.

Whichever colour you go for consider your theme, where the lights will be located and what sort of impact you are trying to achieve.

Is the cable colour important?

In a short Yes, most Christmas lights use dark green cable as they will be used on trees, garlands, wreaths and outdoor floristry however icicle light use white cable as this creates reflections and an icicle effect.

If you have a green or dark colour background that will blend well with green, we recommend using the standard green cable lights, however if the background cannot be colour matched to the cable we recommend clear cable lights and in the instance where discrete lighting is required use metal wire lighting

Do I need mains or battery-operated lights?

Only 3 years ago battery powered lights were not considered a serious choice for Christmas lights, oh how things have changed!

Battery powered lights a great for that tree at the back of your garden, your front gates decorating welcome trees by the front door the options are endless.

The benefits of battery

• No need to run cables
• Ideal or outdoor applications
• Automatic self-timer, 6 hours on / 18 hours off
• Static or flashing options
• No doors or windows open to run cables
• Energy efficient, a good set of Duracell batteries should see you through Christmas

Benefits of mains

• Constant power a brightness
• Ideal or indoor applications
• More choice
• Perfect for your Christmas tree
• No need for batteries
• More functions

That’s all guys, we hope this short guide helps you find the lights that you need and remember you can always ask us for help!