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Sweet Escape: Unique Christmas Tree Lights

by | Nov 16, 2007 | Decorating Inspiration, Seasonal Decorating & Entertaining, Sweet Escape

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Sweet Escape: Unique Christmas Tree Lights

I might be stretching this a bit, but today my Sweet Escape (which I do every Friday for those of you who are new) is into the realm of holiday lights. Holidays are an escape, right? Of course they are. I was reading Terri’s blog Windlost about her first Christmas in her home. She was trying to come up with a solution for her holiday decorating theme. And as I was mulling it over, I had a thought and I wanted to share it with all of you here. Don’t want to let a thought go to waste.

I have been a big fan of little white lights for my tree for many years. I think it is the whole Disneyland thing, and the fairytale look of it. But last year, on a whim, I brought out the colored lights and put them on my swags down my stairwell. And the funny thing was, I liked it! After years and years of thinking white lights were IT, my heart softened a little bit for those colored bulbs of yesteryear. Once everyone starts doing something and it becomes overdone or at least it becomes common, I start getting restless for something more unique. Or I try to find a new twist to keep my style from looking in a rut.

Sweet Escape: Unique Christmas Tree Lights

Sweet Escape: Unique Christmas Tree LightsSweet Escape: Unique Christmas Tree Lights

So, here is a little secret. I bet that colored lights are going to come back with a vengeance. That is my unscientific prediction, not based on anything but my own inkling! White lights will be so passe at some point very soon! Of course, I don’t care about trends so what do I care? I am just saying.

If you are still doing white lights (as I am this year), watch out and mark my words. I’m thinking now that maybe gold or soft amber, or pale green lights might be fresher than white. If you like white, how about instead of the usual little white light, how about a light with a shape or texture? If you like an old fashioned tree, try the beaded lights? Or the amber ones would even give a warmer more old fashioned feel than pure white.

Sweet Escape: Unique Christmas Tree Lights

Sweet Escape: Unique Christmas Tree Lights

I went online in search of light options and was amazed by how many different kinds of lights there really are to choose from. Now I really feel like my little white lights are outdated! Maybe I like those green ones. Or the flickering flame ones. Those ice crystal ones are pretty too! There are lights for all sorts of holiday decorating styles!

Sweet Escape: Unique Christmas Tree LightsSweet Escape: Unique Christmas Tree Lights

Sweet Escape: Unique Christmas Tree LightsSweet Escape: Unique Christmas Tree Lights

Ok, well now you know. There are lots of options, in addition to the classics. Oh, I forgot to mention Hummingbirds. I saw humming birds and tools and all sorts of novelty lights. I think I’d skip the tool lights, unless you own a hardware store, but hummingbirds could be kind of charming.

Sweet Escape: Unique Christmas Tree Lights

Sweet Escape: Unique Christmas Tree Lights

All lights from www.christmaslights.com

46 Comments

  1. Tamara

    I so agree! I was a white-light snob for years, until my husband & I married. He grew up with colored lights, and has always loved them. We compromised and this is what we use now: white lights with garlands outside, colored lights on our 2 small entrance trees outside. Living room tree has white lights wrapped around the trunk…gives the tree depth, and lots of colored lights coming out on the branches. Bedroom tree (lodge/hiking/nordic style) has white lights on trunk and amber lights on the branches…gives a very warm cozy look to the bedroom.

    Reply
  2. the feathered nest

    We do all white lights outside and our tree has colored lights (although I’d rather have white lights on it). My daughter likes colored lights so this is our compromise. The array of specialty lighting is amazing!

    Manuela

    Reply
  3. Lavender Chick

    First of all, I gotta have those hummingbirds!!!

    I do love white lights and use them every year, but I always have to have a pop of color. What I do is use white lights outside, and inside for decorating around mantels, bannisters, etc., but the main tree in the great room is always run amok with color and I LOVE IT!!

    Thanks again for sharing the lights with us … love those hummers!

    Reply
  4. Mrs.E

    Wow, some of these are fantastic. I especially love the snowflakes :) Hmm, think I may just have to stop by the store for some “new” lights….you can never have too many. Thanks for the inspiration!

    Reply
  5. janet

    Whoops, I just got new white lights and I thought they would be fine, but amber..hmm..they sound like they would be warmer and cozier…oh dear..another dilemma.
    Janet

    Reply
  6. Wanda

    I only did the all white lights for a couple of years back in the day. Then EVERYONE started doing it and I quickly reverted to colored. I keep waiting for colors to be the in thing and we won’t be so unique anymore, but you know? Doing lots of color takes courage. A lot of people don’t want to stand out, so maybe we colored light people can be unique a while longer.

    Reply
  7. Ellen Crimi-Trent

    Hi Melissa,

    I used to have white lights also until we had kids now I do colored lights but not mulit on the bushes. I have all the front bushes green then I mix red and white on the lightpost to look like a candycane, and then some other small bushes are red! We also put up wreaths on all the windows with the little white lights. Color is soo much more fun and creative! The kids never like the houses with the plain old white!

    Reply
  8. Kathleen Grace

    I love all the lights of Christmas, but I have to admit I just never get tired of the little white lights. Maybe it is because I have so many bright colors throughout my home. I’m not a beigey, all white shabby chic type of decorater. I look at all whites in other peoples homes and just love them, but can never bring myself to go without color, so for me the white lights tone down my brilliant colored ornaments and add a little romance to my tree.

    Reply
  9. Cottage Contessa

    I just love lights, period! Especially at Christmas time………….*sigh*
    Amanda (aka Cottage Contessa)

    Reply
  10. Esther Sunday

    Hope ya post some pics of your colored lights. Isn’t it funny, it all comes back around, doesn’t it? Should have save those platform shoes. Love, Esther

    Reply
  11. Terri

    Melissa, what magnificent lights! What little jewels! And you inspired ME to write another post on the topic. Well, aren’t we quite the pair, referencing each other. I will pay you later. haha. Like a couple of old lawyers, we are, keeping each other in business! hehe.

    Anyway, some great ideas here and I do so appreciate your wit and wisdom and wonderful observations. I think you are right about the comeback. When I was little, my Dad did alll blue lights for several years and then suddenly all the neighbors were doing it and he got annoyed and did colours again. Times don’t change. People want to be “different”. I even bought a strand of green for David (which I didn’t mention on my blog) to go with the white, and then he felt sorry for me and said I could do the white after all. Funny, because I was getting kind of excited about green and white, even if I would bnot admit it to him.

    xox Have a great weekend :)

    Reply
  12. Amanda Jones

    I love to have a really pretty Christmas Tree to put in fron to the window. I string white lights and have all the oranaments and bows match! I love white lights. I think they give a soft, romantic feeling. My hubby on the other hand, loves the all the different colors and doesn’t care what goes on the tree. So… I have my (Hoyti-Toyti as my hubby calls it) tree in our formal family room and he and he gets his in our not so formal room ;)! I do however, love as many lights as we can get outside and I love those to be strands of all different colors, but not just one color like blue or red… multi colors strung together.

    Reply
  13. Vee

    Oh no! Are you going to make me s-t-r-e-t-c-h my thinking beyond my adorable, enchanting, magical white lights? :D

    Reply
  14. Erin

    I’m a sucker for all white lights- I think they’re so timeless and classic! but husband thinks that white lights are boring (why is it he seems to have an opinion about decorating only when it contradicts mine? haha) so we have all white in the house, and colored on the outside. I love the textured lights, and the beaded ones you show above! I hate the super big bulbs ( and I mean big) though that were back in stores last year- tacky if you ask me!

    Reply
  15. Erin

    Hi Melissa,
    I have a question for you. We do not have a fireplace in our home nor a good sidetable, etc. to hang stockings from. Our entertainment center is the only place I can think of to hang stockings from, but it’s not practical because they would block our only TV! Do you have any cute ideas of how to hang stockings from something other than a mantle or piece of furniture? I was thinking of maybe ABOVE our entertainment center (it’s about the height of a mantle) or from the wall maybe? but how do I make it look cute?
    HELP!
    Erin

    Reply
  16. Julie

    I love white lights and that’s all I ever wanted in my house. End of story. Until Kenny came along. He ha lighted angel silhouettes for the kitchen windows. And the lights are yellow. BEAUTIFUL! He had colored lights for the tree, well I couldn’t give in. So we line our steps with them. Our hardwood stairs look like a runway and I love the colored lights there. Which means I would probably like them on the tree too but a girl has to draw the line somewhere!

    Love,
    Julie

    Reply
  17. Kathy

    White lights may be stylish, enchanting, and pretty but the colored lights remind me of my childhood! The lights were bigger than the twinkle lights of today and too hot to touch! I loved the way the multicolors reflected in the glass balls my sisters and I hung on our Christmas tree. I still do. Bring on the colored lights, inside and out!

    Reply
  18. Sweet Cottage Dreams

    Hello my sweet friend! Talk about etiquette and my lack there of! …..I just now caught up on your posts (huge apology for not being an attentive friend lately) and see that YOU – you sweetheart – gave me such a wonderful award!!!! Should I feel embarrassed for just now seeing this!? Well, yes I should and yes I am and am eat humble pie right now! Thank you, Melissa, for sharing this with me. I know that you have such a fan club and so many blogging friends and I am just so appreciative of your thoughtfulness!!! HUGS to you – right through this old computer of mine!

    Ok, I have a problem with people wearing shoes in my house. I just had my carpets cleaned and have been trying to keep my guys from walking on our beige carpet with their shoes. Shoes can track so much dirt onto carpet…just wipe the bottom with a wet rag and see how much ick comes off on the towel. EWWW!! LOL about Winston’s little tootsie roll on the stairs. Not funny for your friend, but being a dog lover, I had to chuckle over that one! Still chuckling!

    Ok, I am a white light girl. My husband loves the colored ones. I guess I had my fill of those large vintage colored bulbs as a kid. But, you know I am on a white kick anyways, so go figure.

    This is becoming a novel, so I will end it with a goodnight and have a great weekend!! I will post your award this weekend when I announce the giveaway!

    love to you and Mr. Winston,

    Becky

    Reply
  19. KJ

    Isn’t there beauty in changing our minds! That’s what I tell my kids about tattoos. I let them know that I would not want to do something permanent on my body because I have changed my mind so many times in my life. What I liked at 20 is certainly not what I liked at 30 or 40 or now. There is such freedom in following our whims and having the freedom to shift gears!

    KJ

    Reply
  20. Jenn and Jacqui

    Hi Melissa, we feel the same, having always used white lights on the tree, the mantles, the staircase, outside under the veranda and wrapped around the topiaries, year after year it’s time for a colour change!! Not too drastic, it’s baby steps for us but we are using soft gold dragonflies and green pinecones this year! Have a super wonderful weekend :) Jenn and Jacqui

    Reply
  21. Emily-Sarah

    It really does sound like a trend coming on! We’ve used white lights for years. I don’t criticize anyone’s decorations (anyone who decorates displays holiday cheer, you know?!), but in the past I’ve secretly thought those colored, bright lights too 1970s … but two years ago my husband, who has fond bright-light memories (we were both born in 1969), convinced me to use them on our tree. And they were beautiful! We still use white in the windows — for now — but there’s room for variety. And I had no idea just HOW many kinds/shapes of lights are available. Thanks for sharing pics.

    Reply
  22. Dena

    What a great selection of different lights! I love all of them, white, multi-colored, just all of them!

    Hugs,
    Dena

    Reply
  23. Nan

    Thanks for shedding some light on the subject! LOL
    We have both white lights and golden lights on our tree.
    Have a great weekend.
    Nan

    Reply
  24. Jan

    Wow! Who would have thought there was such a variety of lights! Thanks for showcasing them!

    Jan

    Reply
  25. Sharon Goemaere

    These lights are simply gorgeous!!!I am a huge fan of color myself but the white lights can look very elegant.:-)Actually I just love the holidays so I don’t care what color the lights are.Just as long as there are lights…LOL
    Blessings~Sharon :-)

    Reply
  26. Seeb

    Hi Mellissa,

    I always be glad to see you there,your comments brighten my day.:)and nice collection of lights.

    Reply
  27. GardenGirl

    Oh, Christmas lights! I’m very blessed because my neighbor puts out the most fantastic light display! Every bush and tree on their corner lot is covered with tiny colored lights. What’s so wonderful is that the window seat in my dining room faces this light display. I look forward to it every year.

    Because my neighbors have all the tiny colored lights, I wanted to do something different, so I decorate with the old fashioned big ceramic bulbs. I intermix with tiny white lights. It gives a very nostalgic look that lends itself to my 1920 home.

    Reply
  28. Linda

    I love the colored lights, especially the frosty round ones. I still adore the little white lights but all the beautiful colored one are very tempting. Linda

    Reply
  29. Lynn

    I am a white light snob. I found these itty bitty white lights called Rice lights that I just love. When the children were growing up I always insisted on white lights even when I knew they loved the colored ones. When they were teenagers one day my DH and I went Christmas shopping for the day and when we got home after dark the boys had strung (threw) colored lights everywhere…on top of the roof, hanging down the side of the house, all over the yard…just everywhere. I never laughed so hard in my life. I still use white lights everywhere but now I also have a slim tree in the kitchen with colored lights on it and I LOVE it. :)) Lynn

    Reply
  30. Lynda

    I used white lights for years and would use nothing else but last year I switched to amber and I *love* them ~ even more than I did the white ones! Go figure. I’m not sure that I’ll ever be able to embrace multi-coloured ones but you never know! ~ Lynda xo

    Reply
  31. Robin

    Oh My…I have missed a few of your posts!! I love vintage Christmas lights…heck I love vintage Christmas everything!
    About your etiquette post….I have hardwood floors throughout my downstairs and carpeted upstairs. I have a cute lil NO SHOES sign hung at the bottom of the stairs,,,,its really there for the kid’s friends who walk in the door and run right up the stairs with wet shoes….I live in wet Washington where it rains ALL the time! I did have company that removed shoes when they came in after seeing the sign…we were staying downstairs so I told them shoes were OK but they insisted on taking them off because they do at home.
    Blessings to you!
    Robin

    Reply
  32. Penny, Mosaic Artist

    I have used white lights for years, like most of us. I have been enjoying the resurgence of the colored lights. I probably would not use the colored ones on my tree, because my tree is covered in all blown glass ornaments, and with the white lights they really stand out. I think I would love a wreath on my front door with the colored lights…
    Penny

    Reply
  33. Debra W

    Hi Melissa,

    Thank you so much for the lovely comment that you left on my blog! You made my day:)

    I love all of the colors of Christmas. Being Jewish, I sometimes wish that I could find a way to decorate my home more for Chanukah. I really enjoy looking at all of the beautiful Christmas displays that people work so hard on. I really enjoyed looking at all of the pictures that you placed on your site, Melissa! So much fun.

    Have a wonderful Saturday!

    Reply
  34. paintedgroovegirl

    Love your variety of lights. So many of them are reminiscent of the vintage lights I have been discovering lately. Especially the colored, textured lights. Our tree came “pre-lit” with white lights and while it was so very chic and fashionable, I had to go back and add the big C7 colored lights to it so that it felt “right,” like the Christmas trees when I was growing up.

    Reply
  35. Michelle

    I was raised with white lights only..now I have both white and colored.. I love those hummingbird lights..I’d keep those up all year if I could! Have a wonderful evening. Michelle

    Reply
  36. karla nathan

    I’m a white light person myself, but man, you found some pretties in color!! Where are the first ones from??? I could be slightly in love with those.

    Reply
  37. parisapartment

    The colored lights really do bring a bit of childhood into it. One color or pure white is so adult!

    Reply
  38. Polly

    Thank you so much for posting these. We just bought a “pre-lit” tree because they were on sale and we desperately needed a new one. It’s not even out of the box yet and I’m already thinking that it’s going to be so plain-jane. This is just what I needed! Blessings… Polly

    Reply
  39. Jennifer

    I love this post! Do you remember those frosted, large circular bulbs? I think you even have a picture of them. I also still have a real soft spot for larger coloured lights.

    Reply
  40. Liberty Post

    I still have a crush on white lights. My German Grandparents used to have real (yes, I said real) candles burning on the tree. Can you imagine!

    Reply
  41. Neutral Dwelling

    I am a white light person too but my family always likes the colored lights. So we compromise- sometimes we do colored lights on the tree and sometimes we do white. But outside- we mix it up!

    I love the little hummingbird lights that you found. A great touch of nature!

    Reply
  42. Carrie

    I always had a struggle between wanting the pure white lights and the excitement and beauty of the color. So I put the color ones on the garland above the sink in the kitchen and used the white everywhere else.

    Reply
  43. David B

    You can never be to surprised what a little love and hard work can create:) Great Christmas lighting and a great post, this is very valuable information for all home owners and a great way of improving your home and living environment, during the holidays.

    I believe that being prepared and having balance and harmony in the home though the holidays are the two most important things besides a loving family.

    Thanks,

    Dave

    Reply
  44. Eeva

    I was born in ’51. My childhood trees had these glass
    candles on two tone plastic bases. When the lights
    warmed up the candles (with colored fluid in them) began to bubble! Plus my Nanna added sparklers to the
    tree (until one Christmas, the tree was too dry and it caught fire…OOPS). Pretty and nostalgic memories
    nonetheless. My Dad said “Christmas comes but ONCE
    a year”…Bless us EVERY ONE!

    Reply
  45. RoseMarie

    Not only are these lights gorgeous and colorful, what I especially appreciate about them is that they are quite unique in shape and various textures. I am a great Christmas decoration enthusiast and am always on the look out for uniqueness in everything I collect. Awesome site, I will be visiting often for more style – I cannot promise I will share with friends and family!
    .-= RoseMarie @Prelit Artificial Christmas Tree´s last undefined ..If you register your site for free at =-.

    Reply

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