1. Like snowflakes, no two sets of Christmas light bulbs
will ever be exactly the same shade. Each manufacturer strives to
present a uniform, consistent color but slight variations of light
color occur and are not considered a manufacturer's defect.
2. The traditional clear mini holiday lights
are generally lit by incandescent lamps. These lamps produce a
broad-spectrum white Christmas light and are colored by coating the
glass envelope with a transparent or translucent paint that acts as a
color filter.
3. LED Christmas tree lights emit diodes rather than traditional mini lights. Christmas LED lights do not have a filament inside that can burn out and take the entire strand of bulbs with it. Christmas LED C7 lights are a great choice because they do not emit excessive heat like incandescent bulbs can and they use less electricity.
4. As a rule of thumb, plan on using 75 to 100 mini lights per foot
of tree. So for a 6 foot Christmas tree: 450-600 lights, 7 foot tree:
525-700 lights, 8 foot tree: 600-800 lights, 9 foot tree: 675-900
lights. For the "twinkle" factor, some decorators will use 150 mini
lights per foot.
5. The recommended maximum number of outdoor Christmas lights
to interconnect or plug into each other is three sets. If you need to
connect more string lights together, choose a commercial LED light set
using a power adapter. The commercial Christmas LED string lights can allow up to 125 mini light sets to be connected.
6. Do not mix and match outdoor Christmas light counts by connecting a 25 ct. string light
into a 100 ct. or even 50 ct. outdoor Christmas light. If you plug in
different count outdoor Christmas lights, the power draw is uneven and
the higher wattage or power needed for a 100 ct. strong outdoor
Christmas light could short out or cause a malfunction on the 25 ct. or
50 ct. string lights as it would flow excessive power.
7. Determine the location of your exterior outlet or run a
heavy-duty extension cord from inside the house. Tape the cord down to
avoid anyone tripping on it. We recommend you test your white lights on a reliable inside outlet before hanging them on the house.
8. We recommend preparing your icicle lights
for storage by labeling them with tags indicating the length and type
of light. This will save you from having to unravel the entire strand
and will make it easier to see what you already have for next year.
9. Net lights and tree wraps are becoming
popular choices because they make for quick and easy holiday
decorating. Net lights are generally tangle-free and offer uniformly
spaced lighting that can quickly be placed on shrubs and bushes.
10. Holiday lights originated in Germany in the 17th century. They
were in homes of only the very wealthy and the lights were actually
candles. Electricity did not enter the picture until 1882 when Edward
Johnson lit up a Christmas tree in New York City with 80 small electric
bulbs.
