I own quite a few christmas lights. I’ve been searching far and wide for good commercial LED christmas lights that don’t break the bank, and give the retro LED glow that I’m searching for.
You don’t need to spend thousands on your electric bill to experience the soft glow of old-fashioned Christmas Lights. See below for my reviews of each, and a video comparison of the options I’ve found.
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Colored Mini Lights
1. Sylvania Traditional Glow
The Sylvania Traditional Glow are my new all-around winner for both value and for cost (~$9.99). The bulbs are glass (so they are not as durable), but they are nicely tinted, and there are no harsh blues or greens. They have the warm, nostalgic glow that I absolutely love. They’re constructed exactly like old christmas lights, just with LEDs. I bought some of these, and immediately bought more. These are 5-color lights.
At $10 a box from Target, you can’t quite beat them. Like I mentioned are glass bulbs, just like real vintage ones, which I think helps make them look as authentic as possible. But if you aren’t careful, they’ll break.
2. Vintaglow LEDs
The Vintaglow Lights (by Merry Co.) are warm, colored, and seem pretty nice. The main point is ordering them is harder (wait list), and they’re more expensive. These don’t have a harsh glow, but in some cases can seem dim. Lenses are plastic, if durability is a concern. They are also 4-color (red, yellow, green, blue). They cost $24.99-ish online.
I bought these last year, so I don’t have the box anymore (that I can find). From what I remember - you have to pre-order these so availability is more scarce. But they too have the nice vintage glow.
3. Tru-Tone
The Tru-Tone Mini Lights are a kind of in-between between the modern LED bulbs, and the really soft incandescent bulbs. The brightness is bright (brighter than the Sylvania and Vintaglows). Lenses are plastic, as well. These are 5-color lights, and cost $29.95.
These aren’t quite as soft colored as the prior two, but they’re definitely much, much better than the harsh blues of the modern LED lights. These have a square transformer and there is a power-on delay.
4. Home Depot LED
The control group: Run of the mill Home Depot LED lights. It’s even tough to get a picture, as they flicker. And they hurt your eyes. These can be had for around $9-10, sometimes less.
5. Control Group - Incandescent
I bought these just for comparison in this post - and they’re cheap ($2.99), but you’ll pay in electricity and heat!
Comparison Photo
And - them all next to each other, for visual comparison. In order, left to right:
- Incandescent
- Sylvania LED
- Tru-Tone LED
- Vintaglow LED
- Home Depot LED
You can really tell how much better any of the traditional glow LED options are compared to the normal LED varieties.
White Mini Lights
Generally, are much closer color wise, inherently. And honestly, most places you can find theseare OK. Except for the flickering you’ll get from the cheaper ones.
Sylvania Traditional Glow (White)
These, have the same glass bulbs as the colored, just with no tint. So if that’s what you’re looking for, these are it.
Comparison
And, a comparison. Across: Sylvania, then Home Depot white, and finally, some Real Incandescent White Lights.
C7 Lights
The Un-disputed king here is Tru-glow. Granted, they’re the only ones I’ve ever had, but they have a nice warm retro glow. I use their candelabra bulbs in my window candles, and their C7 lights for accent.
The Verdict?
Depends on what you’re trying to do. For the price, The Sylvania ones seem pretty nice, but I have not run them for very long. Home Depot ones are a known quantity. I have one season (indoors) on the Vintaglow, and the Tru-Tone ones are also new to me.
Time Will Tell!