This year our trees have grown large enough and my Christmas lights were old enough that multiple strands died, so we made a significant investment in new lights. At Home Depot I found $5, $10, and $20 options.
Since my last lights lasted about 10 years, I’m curious whether I’ll see a difference in longevity between the $10 and $20 lights. I skipped the $5 ones—they looked disposable with no replaceable bulbs.
My goals:
- Minimize trash
- Look good
- If they last 5 years, I’ll consider the cost amortized
I labeled every strand with an ID so I can track them over the years. I’m storing the data in an Obsidian vault. Here’s a copy to see what I’m using.
| Strand ID | Source | Type | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Home Depot | Steady Lit 100 Warm | false | true |
| 02 | Home Depot | Steady Lit 100 Warm | false | true |
| 03 | Home Depot | Steady Lit 100 Warm | false | true |
| 04 | Home Depot | 100 Warm minis | false | true |
| 05 | Home Depot | 100 Warm minis | false | true |
| 06 | Home Depot | 100 Warm Minis | true | true |
| 07 | Home Depot | 100 Warm Minis | true | true |
| 08 | White lights from wedding | true | true | |
| 09 | Home Depot | Big bulb (C6) | true | true |
| 11 | McGuckin’s | Celebrations platinum LED professional grade | false | true |
| 12 | McGuckin’s | Celebrations LED Warm white | false | false |
| 13 | McGuckin’s | Celebrations platinum LED professional grade | false | true |
| 14 | McGuckin’s | Celebrations LED Warm white | false | true |