Why don't people use coloured lights anymore?!

[80sColourfulChristmas]

I was born in the early eighties and I have fond memories of colour, colour & more colour at Christmas! We even had those god-awful foil decorations criss-crossing the ceiling of the living room. Foil honeycomb balls dangling and giant unfolded foil stars.

The foil I don't miss particularly, but what has happened to colourful lights?!

I realise that with the (much needed) switch to LED, the new multi coloured lights aren't quite as pretty as they used to be (why is that?!) but why has this meant that seemingly the majority of people have defaulted to a simple set of boring white lights with just a handful of plain, boring ornaments on their tree?! (Still looks pretty of course it just isn't Christmas as I know it!)

I remember looking admirably at our beautiful tree as a child, stuffed full of all kinds of colourful glass ornaments which had been passed down through my Mum's family from the 1800s. The prettiest tinsel you've ever seen, lametta, beads, bells on beads, the lights had lovely cone shaped 'petals' round them so they glowed beautifully, reflecting off the glass, lametta and tinsel. It was stunning. Fond memories.

Can't have just been us, surely? Anyone else still go for the overloaded, 80s style multicolored Christmas look?!

This year I've ordered LED multi coloured cluster lights for the first time, but still have some traditional style lights for the tree and have used them every year until now. Not sure how pretty our tree is going to look....

[Standrewsschool]

Ok, who are the other twenty people looking at coloured lights on Argos site? All. Mumsnetters?!

[Kissthepastrychef]

The main tree has warm white lights, I loathe the bluey ones

[TurquoiseDragon]

@Ginkypig

I had the foil ceiling garlands right up until the Christmas before last but they snapped and I can’t find the correct length to replace them

My late mum liked to have the foil garlands, and a large ceiling area. So she used to get two or three identical ones, and carefully staple the ends together to get the length she wanted.

[YellowHighlighterPen]

www.onbuy.com/gb/noma-pickwick-christmas-fairy-lights-coloured-x-40-4311~c9627~p6572202/

These are what you want but get spare bulbs.

[Doryhunky]

I really miss the twinkly coloured lights from the 70s and 80s with the flower shades. They really glowed. But the ones I buy (Noma) never last. Has anyone found non LED coloured lights that have that twinkle and last?

[GrumblyMumblyisnotJumbly]

My MIL has blue lights and it makes me think of A&E.

Lametta and the Webb Ivory catalogue were two of my childhood Christmas staples.

[Coffeepot72]

I was born in the early 70s and also had coloured lights as a child. But as I got older, I grew to love the traditional white lights. I went through a blue lights phase a few years ago, but we will have white lights again this year.

[Vinorosso74]

I remember the Webb Ivory catalogue!

[Nonamesavail]

I deliberately buy the old style ones that I remember from the 80s.

[villainousbroodmare]

The German mother of an exBF had, and I'm sure still has, real wax candles on her tree. We would all stand around in combined awe and fear for the brief period they were lit.

[Thedarknightsaredrawingin]

We have multicoloured lights on our porch, outdoor tree and along the gutter.

[TatianaBis]

Can’t stand multicoloured lights, never liked them even back in the 80s.

White lights are much prettier.

[Coffeepot72]

@Vinorosso74 I remember Webb Ivory too, and Studio Cards!

[lollipoprainbow]

We have had coloured lights for a few years as I love the vintage feel, going for white this year though !

[SDTGisAnEvilWolefGenius]

I prefer the white lights - the warm white ones, though, not the chilly bright white ones. I have loads of them, so the tree really sparkles - and I have a big collection of decorations - lots of which are brightly coloured, so I get my fix of colour from them.

The thing I remember from my childhood is some tissue paper garlands that concertina-d out into a lacy pattern (if that makes sense). We were incredibly careful with them, and they survived, largely unscathed (apart from some minor tears) throughout all of my childhood and until I left home. They were brightly coloured.

[WombatChocolate]

I remember my Dad putting up the foil and crepe garlands. There was a very precise order they had to go in and he carefully returned them to their packets after Christmas, with a label of exactly which corner/wall they should go on. If this wasn’t strictly adhered to, he would get very cross whilst putting them up and if the ‘hang’ from the corner to the centre of the room wasn’t equal on all of them,

And then we had balloons ha ring up too...inevitably in a cock and balls kind of shape, or by Christmas looking like 2 droopy boobs.

And we also had a decoration in the mantelpiece that had 4 candles in in, which when lit emitted heat which caused the metal decoration to rotate and play a tinkly tune.

The thing is, it’s all about family traditions and children feeling ‘this is what we do’ each year isn’t it. The lights are part of it.....we were only allowed ours on for 2 hours a day as apparently it was very expensive!!

[Mybedislisting]

I love the pickwick lights but you only get between 40-60 lights per plug. My current living room tree is 7foot and needs several hundred lights.

I wish the led light makers would make some softer lights like the old fashioned 70s/80s lights - they have soft pinks, blues and oranges - LEDs are so stark

[Namechange600]

I have found my people!! 80s child and loved coloured lights and shimmery tinsel and making endless paperchains! We have Coloured lights, reams of tinsel and all the decorations are made by the kids from nursery upwards (eldest is 8 now) and it all gets chucked on by the kids!!! I love it 🥰

[Redcrayons]

I’ve been a white light purist for years, but I’m definitely in the mood for some coloured ones this year. If I can find those colour flower ones I might have to have them.
Not sure I’m ready for tinsel though.

[StirUp]

@bluetinpinkteapot

Ooh I also a child born in the early 80s and remember this! Coloured lights, foil chains on the ceiling and the foil decorations that you used to turn upside down to 'open' them that you then pinned up, they looked like little fireworks!

My MIL insists on getting all of the 80s decorations out every year, including window decorations, ceiling decorations and coloured lights. We used to tease her (nicely) about it because it is absurdly, abundantly tacky, but since having children I must admit they absolutely love it it looks like a foil-y grotto! MIL declares she knows it's 'vintage' now but she likes it and she doesn't care I love her.

That's what I was trying, badly, to describe!!

[NewYorkIvy]

Coloured lights, foil decorations everywhere and I let the kids decorate the tree. There is nothing stylish about our Christmas decor. It's great fun and nostalgic though.

[Jelly4444]

I have 3 trees inside and I use warm white lights on them. But I would love old style coloured lights with pink, blue, yellow, red, green, purple, turquoise. Coloured LEDs only have 4 colours so they don't look good at all in my opinion.

[chocolatespiders]

Those look great where did you find them @ShivD

[JoeNotExotic]

I remember the jewelled lights, as a child I thought they were spectacular and agree the LEDs are not the same.

My mum switched to multi-coloured lights last year and her tree just didn’t look as nice.

[sparklefarts]

My flat is going to be green, red and gold and tinsel tastic. Our 80s/90s 'tack' every year at mine