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....

@Nonamesavail

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

Old style from the '80s?? I have a couple of sets of nursery rhyme lights, a plasticy bell with a rhyme on each one, I wouldn't say they're old but the have a fabric-covered two strand twisted cable and used to have the original round pin two pin plug. I recall them from the early 50s but they may even be older, and they still work!

I LOVE this Thread 🎄🧚🏻‍♀️🎶🎵🎉⭐️

My grandparents still have a set of coloured lights with the little plastic flower shapes on each bulb. They have them up over an archway in their hallway all year round and switch them on when the great grandchildren visit. I adore them.

They still have decorations on their tree that belonged to their parents. My Gran can tell a story about each one.

We do a full on 80’s Christmas! I love it

Forgot to say, dc hate it so we alternate between full on bling and more muted. (They are teens/adults).

There is nowt like the magic of Christmas in colour! I love coloured lights but do also appreciate the elegance of a warm white...so we have lights which can alternate between the two at the flick of a button.

Always have coloured on for the children in the day, then switch it up for a grown up evening of warm white.

@Toomuchtrouble4me

We go full-on tacky with flashing coloured lights. Love them.

Love this!! 🎄

@ShivD where did you get them please?

@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.

🤣

the lights had lovely cone shaped 'petals' round them so they glowed beautifully

We had those, quite chunky ones, from Woolworths. The plastic reminded me of boiled sweets, I always felt like biting it

@Mightysmoosh

Colourful here too

Oh wow!!! You lucky thing to have the space and resources to have two!

@TheYearOfSmallThings

These are the ones we had in the 1980s - 6 colours, plastic shades, glitter...perfect. They looked magical reflected in the silver tinsel. Good taste is so drab.

are these still available 💕 I loved these lights 🥰

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Well knock me down with a feather! I never knew these marvels existed!!!!

I have a slim black tree in my kitchen which is deliberately naff. Every bauble is food and drink themed and I have coloured lights on it to add to the colourful theme. My kitchen is black and white and grey so this breaks it up nicely.

The problem is the blue that you get in coloured lights. It's just so cold - coloured lights need to be warm and soft glowy. Blue looks like the police have arrived!

I love a proper mishmash tree-coloured lights, all the tinsel, homemade decorations.

I still have coloured lights! The proper, soft type- not LED. I’d never be without them.

We also do tinsel and multicoloured baubles.

I have a slim black tree in my kitchen which is deliberately naff. Every bauble is food and drink themed and I have coloured lights

omg can we see it 💕

I think I might have to get some foil decorations and introduce the children to how Christmas used to be. Like a pp our tree has a long history to it with many baubles having a story to them. The concertina garlands were my favourite decorations as a child. We put them up with drawing pins and the hammer the lights glinted off them and they were fab.

The blue's the best one.

are these still available 💕 I loved these lights

Sadly no, BlueThistles - they haven't been made for decades ☹️. So pretty!

Lovely memory of my childhood coloured lights reflecting off the quality street tin.

Warm white only in the living room but retro colourful in the dining room.
I’m not keen on the foil decorations but LOVE paper honeycombs and garlands.

Sadly no, BlueThistles - they haven't been made for decades ☹️. So pretty!

so true... and gave me such a warm feeling on seeing them 🥰

what a shame they stop making these wonderful lights 🥺

I love the cozy warm lights. Coloured doesn't feel as Christmasy to me.