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Close-up, out-of-focus Christmas lights in a variety of colors: blue, red, green, orange. Credit: Ethan Miller / Getty Images

The Best Christmas Lights of 2023

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Close-up, out-of-focus Christmas lights in a variety of colors: blue, red, green, orange. Credit: Ethan Miller / Getty Images

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Product image of Wintergreen Lighting C9 OptiCore Heavy Duty String Lights

Wintergreen Lighting C9 OptiCore Heavy Duty String Lights

These gorgeous shatter-resistant bulbs are a little on the pricey side, but we think they’re worth the investment. Read More

Pros

  • Parallel wiring
  • Dimmable
  • Heavy-duty bulbs

Cons

  • Assembly required
  • Expensive
Product image of Sanjicha LED Icicle Christmas Lights

Sanjicha LED Icicle Christmas Lights

These icicle lights are limited to strings of either 100 or 500 lights, but they’re inexpensive and come with a handy built-in timer. Read More

Pros

  • Built-in timer
  • Inexpensive
  • Long lead

Cons

  • Can’t connect to additional strands
  • No memory on light settings
Product image of Outylts Waterproof String Lights

Outylts Waterproof String Lights

These lovely, high-quality lights can be strung together with up to 3,200 bulbs, and they’re said to hold up well in extreme weather conditions. Read More

Pros

  • Connect up to 3,200
  • Quality construction

Cons

  • Less ideal for outdoor use
  • May tangle easily
Product image of Yuletime LED Christmas Lights

Yuletime LED Christmas Lights

These classic bulbs look great, they’re cool to the touch, and have a convenient tangle-free design to cut down on installation and storage headaches. Read More

Pros

  • Tangle-free design
  • Parallel wiring
  • Cool to the touch

Cons

  • Inconsistencies in brightness
Product image of Wintergreen Lighting Cone Christmas Lights

Wintergreen Lighting Cone Christmas Lights

You can’t remove or replace the bulbs on these strings, but they’re durable, sealed against moisture, and come with a 3-year seasonal warranty. Read More

Pros

  • Bright yet dimmable
  • Durable and sealed
  • 3-year warranty

Cons

  • Non-removable bulbs

There are few things more wholesome than driving around the neighborhood and taking in the glow of Christmas lights during the holiday season. Some people go for the classic warm glow of white lights, while others opt for bright, vibrant colors twinkling across their homes.

In the past, traditional incandescent bulbs were the go-to for indoor and outdoor stands of lights, but nowadays the move is to go for energy-efficient LED bulbs. Not only are LED lights more efficient; they last longer than cheaper incandescents, as well, and end up saving you money and headaches.

“We’ve tested Christmas lights extensively in the past and found that the LED ones are pretty much all the same,” says TJ Donegan, Director of Content Development at Reviewed. “You may have a preference for frosted, or large bulbs, or small cones, or warm white, but make sure you get LED lights and store them properly.”

After researching thousands of product specs and customer reviews, we came up with some of the best Christmas lights for holiday decorating. Whether you’re looking for indoor or outdoor lights, different light colors and brightness options, or a specific light bulb type—you’ll be sure to find the perfect holiday lighting for your brightest Christmas yet.

Editor's Note:
The recommendations in this guide are based on thorough product and market research by our team of expert product reviewers. The picks are based on examining user reviews, product specifications, and, in some limited cases, our experience with the specific products named.
Product image of Wintergreen Lighting C9 OptiCore Heavy Duty String Lights
Wintergreen Lighting C9 OptiCore Heavy Duty String Lights

When picking out lights to decorate your house or yard, you’ll want to be sure the lights are suitable for outdoor use, not only for safety but also so you aren’t ruining your lights and wasting money. Luckily, these classic cone lights are great for indoor and outdoor use, so you won’t have to worry about where you’re using them.

The shatter-resistant polycarbonate bulbs are removable and dimmable (dimmer sold separately). This is nice if you want some variation in your lighting. That being said, the bulbs come detached, so there’s a little bit of assembly required. But user reviews say that’s easy and doesn’t take long.

What’s great about these lights is that they’re parallel wired, so if one bulb goes out, the rest of the string will stay lit. The classic cone style of these lights are an easy draw, and the available options of 35, 50, and 100 feet make it easy to cover your preferred area without any issues. And you can connect up to 1,000 bulbs.

While the six-inch lead and tail might seem short to some, this means that there will be less spacing between strands, so you won’t have any unlit gaps to detract from your holiday display.

These lights are on the expensive side, but the quality and professional look stand up to the price. And they’ll hold up over time with proper use and care when storing them away with your other Christmas decorations.

Pros

  • Parallel wiring

  • Dimmable

  • Heavy-duty bulbs

Cons

  • Assembly required

  • Expensive

Product image of Sanjicha LED Icicle Christmas Lights
Sanjicha LED Icicle Christmas Lights

These outdoor Christmas lights are perfect for adding a special touch to your home display. Icicle lights have a special place in my heart because they were a staple in our holiday decor growing up. Not only do they look like pretty icicles; they also tend to get covered in ice during the winter, which makes them twinkle just a little bit more. Luckily, you won’t have to worry about them getting damaged if this happens, though, because these lights are rated for outdoor use.

Inexpensive, these icicle lights come in a batch of either 100 or 500 lights and have a long, 16-foot lead. But they aren’t made to connect to additional strands, so you’ll want to make sure you buy the correct length to avoid coming up short in your display.

Reviewers say these lights are very bright, and with eight lighting modes and a built-in timer, you’ll have a spectacular light show with minimal effort. That said, the lights don’t have any sort of memory, so once they’re turned off they automatically revert back to the first light setting, which could be a little annoying.

Pros

  • Built-in timer

  • Inexpensive

  • Long lead

Cons

  • Can’t connect to additional strands

  • No memory on light settings

Product image of Outylts Waterproof String Lights
Outylts Waterproof String Lights

Small but bright, these LED string lights come in packages of 300 or 800 lights, with end-to-end plugs and a long six-foot lead. Outlyts offers a few colors to choose from, including fun Halloween colors, so if you end up loving these for your Christmas decorating, you might want to grab an additional set for Halloween!

These string lights are waterproof and meet safety standards for indoor and outdoor use. While we think these would work best on your Christmas tree, due to their small bulb size, they could also be a great choice for bushes or outdoor trees. You can connect up to four strands of lights for up to either 1,200 or 3,200 lights in total, and a remote switch makes it easy to toggle between eight lighting modes.

If you do hang these lights outside, you’ll be glad to know that user reviews mention they hold up extremely well in cold weather, rain, and snow. As with any string lights, you’ll want to be sure to store them properly to avoid unnecessary wear, as they are prone to tangling easily.

Pros

  • Connect up to 3,200

  • Quality construction

Cons

  • Less ideal for outdoor use

  • May tangle easily

Product image of Yuletime LED Christmas Lights
Yuletime LED Christmas Lights

Sporting a classic bulb shape most people are used to, these LED Christmas lights from Yuletime offer something that the strands from our childhood were missing: a tangle-free design. With 200 lights, four-inch spacing per strand, and a short six-inch lead and tail, these lights would be perfect for decorating your tree. They also stay cool to the touch, so if you’re worried about hot bulbs against flammable trees or bushes, you’ll have some extra peace of mind.

Suitable for both indoor and outdoor use, we especially like that these lights have green cable, so you won’t have any obvious wires poking out. Broken bulbs can be a huge annoyance, but these string lights are wired on a series-parallel circuit structure, so if you accidentally step on a bulb while you’re setting up, the rest of the string will still work fine.

These lights are UL certified and include an inline reflector, so if you’re someone who easily notices the flickering of LED lights, these are a great choice. According to reviews, customer service is quick to respond to inquiries and replace lights that arrive damaged or faulty.

Pros

  • Tangle-free design

  • Parallel wiring

  • Cool to the touch

Cons

  • Inconsistencies in brightness

Product image of Wintergreen Lighting Cone Christmas Lights
Wintergreen Lighting Cone Christmas Lights

Simple and straightforward, this set of Christmas lights is a good choice for people looking to cover a lot of area. The 17-foot strands can be safely connected for a total of 1,500 lights on just one plug, making it easy to decorate without the need for multiple outlets or extension cords.

If you’re connecting lots of stands, you’ll want to make sure there’s enough lead on the lights, and you may want to consider an outdoor smart plug for extra convenience. These lights offer a six-inch lead, with the LED bulbs spaced eight inches apart, so you won’t have to worry about ugly gaps between strands.

What’s important to note is that the bulbs on these strands are not removable. This is meant to seal out moisture and eliminate the possibility of corrosion for a longer bulb life. This makes proper storage even more important, since you won’t be able to replace any damaged bulbs. If this raises concerns, you’ll be pleased to hear that they’re durable and backed by a three-year seasonal warranty.

We love these lights because the multicolored option offers a nostalgic retro feel, making the holidays even more cozy. Another feature we like is that, though these bulbs are nice and bright, you can also dim them.

Pros

  • Bright yet dimmable

  • Durable and sealed

  • 3-year warranty

Cons

  • Non-removable bulbs

Product image of AWQ C9 LED Christmas String Lights
AWQ C9 LED Christmas String Lights

Another great cone-light option, these string lights from AWQ come in three different color schemes. Choose between 49-foot (50 lights) or 81-foot (100 lights) strands, depending on the size of the space you’re looking to decorate. You can also mix and match to create the perfect length, as these lights can connect up to five sets in total.

While these bulbs sit just eight inches apart, the lights have a long 16.4-foot lead, which is great for an initial setup. But they might get tricky when you’re connecting strands end to end; you may have to use zip ties to wrap up unlit sections.

Eight lighting modes are available with these lights, but once they’re turned off they will revert back to the first setting, and the steady on is the last setting. This could be annoying for some folks.

An included timer for six hours on and 18 hours off makes these lights a great choice if you don’t want to worry about turning your lights on and off each day. That being said, built-in timers can also get tricky when you’re connecting multiple strands, so you’ll want to keep that in mind if you’re set on using the timer.

These Christmas lights are meant to withstand most weather conditions, making them great for outside use, but the power adapter is not waterproof—that’ll need to stay indoors.

Pros

  • Connects up to 405 feet long

  • Timer included

Cons

  • Power adaptor isn’t waterproof

  • Lights reset to default setting

Meet the tester

Ceara Perez-Murphy

Ceara Perez-Murphy

Staff Writer, Search

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Ceara Perez-Murphy is a staff writer at Reviewed. In her free time she likes trying out new recipes in the kitchen, exploring new restaurants and spending time outdoors with her dogs.

See all of Ceara Perez-Murphy's reviews

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