Proper twinkling Christmas Tree lights

[GertiMJN]

Can anyone recommend Christmas tree lights that actually twinkle.
Not chasing or flashing in increasing speed, not slow flashing speeding up to manic .

I'm asking now as I take down the tree because I always forget until I'm putting them on again in December and its too late!

TIA

I guess it depends what 'twinkle' means to you. The word seems to be being used willy-nilly to describe something very different to the old twinkle of Christmas lights.
So IMO unless you buy vintage I don't believe any of the LED ones actually twinkle. There are some that fade on and off reasonably but that's it. There are technical reasons for it along with the comparative harshness of LED light and colour.

If anyone feels they've found modern ones that really do actually gently twinkle, I'd love to know too, as I'm currently working on something.

I got some from Next this year which I think are twinkling. They have about 7 settings, most of which are hideous flashing and fading. I only use the one that twinkles.

Thanks Duchess I will see what next have on their website.

It is hard to define 'twinkle' Hugeshinyglitteringtree but I think I mean, that each light flashes on and off at constant intervals and that there are different sets of lights doing this along the whole length of the wire at slightly different times, so the overall effect is twinkling not flashing . No fading and no change of rate should be involved!

All the sets I have bought in recent years claim a variety of settings but none simply do what I want!

Sorry, no help here, but I saw some lovely white LED lights that twinkled. I think they may have been at Centerparcs. Anyway, they were all ‘on’ but every so often a random light would quickly blink off.

I would love to find something similar and will be following this thread in hope!

Me too, so agree. Would love twinkley lights but all you seem to be able to get is these mad flashy ones.

Try Noma lights from Amazon

Until I can afford some vintage Cinderella carriage ones, the Nomas are good.

I bought some traditional (teardrop-shapes bulbs) fairy lights a few years ago that properly twinkled - not in the robotic predictable way that LED lights do. I thought they were from Noma or somewhere similar, but I've just had a cheeky google and can't see them anywhere sorry that's not more helpful, but they definitely exist and within the last 5 years or so...

Thanks TheCanterburyWhales but Noma multifunction lights are in my reject box! I use them on constant "on" only because the other functions are so annoying.

Some of the function settings trick you into thinking they might be twinkling but then they change!! They also use an irritating 'throbbing' effect, so even though they come on and off, when they are on they create a pulsating effect

Mine weren't multifunctional - they only twinkled (not even static). Not all of them twinkled either, maybe one every 5 bulbs...

Watching with interest!

What you describe SleepThief sound lovely. I can't find any that are just twinkly. They are either static or multifunction.

I have been searching for this quality in a set of lights too! The closest I got previously was a set that had a “manic flashing” setting but also a separate speed setting so I could actually slow them to a gentle semi-twinkle. They weren’t LED though from what I remember and quietly expired one year.

I have searched in vain since. Have to just leave current set on “constant on” because the other settings are insane and give me a headache.

There was a thread about this recently, will post a link if I can find it. But I think the consensus was that LED lights aren’t able to twinkle in the way that the old lights could.

icanhearapindrop
If you can find it that would be great!

I stripped my tree of its decs this afternoon and I have chucked the lights in the bin! The wretched things have about 7 different modes, the only tolerable one being "steady on". Unfortunately, that mode seems to have packed up and all we got were the other six headache-inducing flashing modes!
I want lights that only have two settings - ON and OFF!

I haven't put my decorations away yet (12th night!) but will see if I've still got the box when I do.

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/am_i_being_unreasonable/3764287-To-want-TWINKLING-lights-not-BLINKING-lights?pg=3&order=

Not sure how to do clicky links, but here is the other thread.

Oh good, it worked!

Thanks icanhearapindrop

No real solution but a couple of products that are better than what I currently have.

The last post on that thread referred to Twinkle smart lights . I googled and almost fell off my chair !

Found the box, but a quick google isn't throwing thx anything up This is definitely the holy grail of twinkling lights, though.

I have also got some firefly lights, which are gorgeous too, but a constant twinkle,

icanhearapindrop
Re the consensus: the way LED light's are currently dimmed and brightened uses something called pulse width modulation and that's the main issue around lack of what I'd call a proper twinkle.
I think I've found an answer.
Unfortunately I probably wont have the resources to be the first to get it to market but it shouldn't be long before that part of Christmas LED lights problem is sorted.

Hugeshinyglitteringtree get thee to the dragon's den!!
You can prove there's a market

www.very.co.uk/400-flickering-flame-firefly-indooroutdoor-fairy-lights/1600266446.prd?_requestid=539645&Ntt=firefly%20lights

I had these on my tree (along with proper old fashioned Quality Street wrapper coloured lights) this (last?!) year and they're beautiful. Like hundreds of gently flickering tiny candle flames. Not at all flashy, just twinkly and glory and a lovely warm tone, exactly like a candle flame. Only the one setting but that's all you need because they're gorgeous.

(If you scroll through the pics there's one wi them in 'action' )