If you're using them are you happy with how they look? Any hints on selection them?

Thanks,
Maire

Inside we haven't put our big tree up and have no plans to do that this year. Oue living room is now too small with the two big dog crates in it and there is no room for a big tree. The trees we have up our two table top ones, a fiberoptic one and an aluminum one with no lights.

We've put some regular LED bulbs in a couple of fixtures and found that they don't last very well. In one fixture, that we hardly ever use, the LED's seem to burn out after only about 20 hours of use (repeatedly--this wasn't a one-time thing). DH has come to the conclusion that they're zapped by heat (at least HE thinks so)--so you may want to be careful where you store them for the summer. If he's right (and I have no idea if he is), then storing the Christmas decorations in the attic may not be the best idea if you want the LED's to work next year.

Me? We have hundreds of strings of regular, old-fashioned twinkles, C-7's and C-9's. We won't be replacing the lights in our outdoor display anytime soon--who could afford to? And my living room tree has beautiful, small white twinkle-type bulbs that are frosted. I've only ever seen them one place. They're gorgeous, and you couldn't get that look with LED's.

Maybe I'll wait another year and see if they improve any. I do like the look of my little lights on my indoor trees. Since I don't have a large outdoor display I think I will replace those.

Thanks again,
Maire

someone on this forum mentioned them last year or the year before. They bought them for outside. And because they give off heat, the snow didn't melt and the lights were
covered in snow and you couldn't see them! lol

I bought some this year. I have a bunch of the old style indoor and outdoor ones but am concerned about the age of them, plus I didn't feel like digging them out only to find cracked cords or something. So I bought some LED ones that I thought would be on a lot so the savings would be worthwhile.

What's not to like? They use, what, 1/10th the electricity and they're light bulbs! They give off light. I looked at cool white and warm white. I prefer cool white usually on the all white but decided to get a mixture. Bought a net for the railing along the hallway that's multicolor and twinkling and a strand of multicolor icicle lights to go down the railing by the steps. Also a strand of multicolor and white, one for the tree to use instead of 'trizity hogs that are on it and one for around the door or a window outside if I put them up. (Haven't put either of them up yet) The icicle ligts are niticibly brighter than the net but that's not a problem.

LEDs are available in many different sizes and shapes, from stars to globes to the same shape as traditional lights and they only cost a few dollars more than the hogs. I can't see any down side to them - only advantages. Simple math tells you the potential savings. If you run the lights like my dad would - you wouldn't pay for them, but if you run them like I am, the savings should offset the cost of them in a reasonable timeframe.

If I see some deals on them I'll probably pick up some more, especially the rope lights. That's a lot more logical nightlight than one little bulb.

Logic suggests to me that especially for someone who has a large display and runs them a lot, they're a no-brainer.

Considering the electric savings I've had just from CFLs with the price on LEDs now, no doubt in my mind. I just would like to see the LED bulbs for lamps drop like the Christmas lights have.

I doubt, though that I'm ever going to find anything I like nearly as much as the old Ge Satin Brite bulbs from the late 1960s or early 1970s.

Red, Blue, Gold, Green... they were absolutely gorgeous.

The last one burned out a few years ago when we were decorating.

And you know, it's weird to say, but that Christmas just did not feel like Christmas. It felt as if the last lingering vestiges of the childhood mystical view of Christmas was finally severed.

We used to use C7s on our real trees. Now that we have a fake tree we use pearl lights. Very pleasant soft lights. Just need a lot more of them on the tree. I think we have like 500 or something.

I am boycotting anything labeled "green". The legislators in California has gone off their rockers. If they wee pushing well thought out ideas to a safe energy i would be all for it. But this knee h jerk "let's ban the old" approach has me rebelling. I just picked up four packages of 3 way incandescents for my stash of light bulbs for the household lamps and fixtures. They are getting harder to find on the shelves already. They are trying to ease us into the idea with "long life" bulbs that look similar.

The other thing I've found--while LED holiday lights were very very popular when they first came out, the last year or two, you see fewer and fewer--is that because they really don't look good? We suspect another reason, though. We tried LED lightbulbs (not holiday lights, 'regular' bulbs) in some of our lights. They don't last long. Several of them lasted less than 20 hours before they burned out, others lasted longer, but continuously got dimmer and dimmer. DH asked an engineer where he worked (utility company) about it--he hadn't used any in his home yet--this was when they first came out. Next time dh saw him--the next year--engineer said he had the same problem, they don't last. So we've been wondering if the LED holiday lights are burning out quickly? and people are going back to the 'real deal'?

It's a lot of money to spend for something that many people find uncomfortable to be around, that may or may not last very long.

I prefer the old fashioned bulbs. I have never been a fan of mini lights either but we have an artificial tree so we have them on it but they are the little tiny globe ones.

I have tons of old fashioned lights (the big ones) still stored for outdoor use. Now that I no longer allow DH up on the roof we are trying to come up with an attractive way to use them in the lower areas of our house. I loved the simplicity of them following the roof line. I keep saying we should maybe plant a small Xmas tree in our front yard. it's a tiny front yard because most of our lot is in the back so there is not much you can landscape.

So nice to know they come on and off by themselves

I will stick with my multi-colored mini lights for the tree.

Hey - lights on trees/bushes are supposed to mimic glistening branches. IMO, They're not supposed to look high-tech (and also IMO, they're not supposed to be strung in rings around a tree, either, as some people seem to do; they should be placed as dew would glisten!). They're meant to be moisture/snow/whatever glistening in the moonlight.

To me, those LED lights just don't cut it.