Christmas/Fairy lights with that old fashioned twinkle and glow?

[PositivelyGlowing]

I'm one of those who prefer the 'old school' indoor Christmas lights, therefore the filament/incandescent mini bulbs which look like tiny candles , each just over an inch long and maybe 3mm to 4mm in diameter. These give off a wonderful glow and often have a gentle twinkle function. I also prefer multi-coloured instead of just plain white. I'm very fussy about my lights. :-)

Trouble is that the old bulbs use a lot of energy, on the other hand LED bulbs are extremely cheap to run (just a few pence a week even at today's energy prices) BUT they are often harsh and overly bright and any 'twinkle' function is more like a maddening flashing sequence. They are also more often that not in the 'wrong' colours - they should be Red, Green, Blue and Yellow but these days they often throw in Orange, Purple, Pink and other colours.

Are there any indoor LED bulb strings which effectively mimic the soft glow of the older filament/incandescent mini lights? Either battery or mains powered? They don't need to by the mini candle shape Must be in the Red, Green, Blue and Yellow colours and also have a good twinkle function if possible.

Thanks in eager anticipation of loads of suggestions. :-)

If they exist, I haven't found them. I bought some coloured lights with little shades on them from Aldi last year but the bulbs are just coloured LEDs and the blues in particular are quite harsh.

I pine for the beautiful landern-shaped Pifco London lights we had when I was a child. My dad spent half of December trying to find which bulb had gone this time but it was so worth it.

I've not found them.

I can't abide led lights for various reasons one being they set off migraines.

I have a few sets of traditional fairy lights and got some with the old plastic shades on eBay last yr.

I'm currently looking at firefly ones in warm white for Robert Days but they say they twinkle.

I'm probably going to have to bite the bullet and order, just to find out if the twinkling bit can be turned off🤣

I'm ok to absorb the cost of them being more to power. Then again it's better for me.

Thanks for the replies. Regarding the colours, one option I guess would be to buy the 'warm white' LED bulbs and perhaps paint them? Or maybe add some suitably coloured 'caps'?

They do still exist! Google Noma Christmas lights. But they are very pricey and I’ve found that they don’t last many years before I have to replace them

These are the ones

Thanks very much but because they are the old filament bulbs they'll use a lot of energy compared to LEDs. What I'm hoping to find is some LED bulbs (in the correct colours) which give off the same gentle glow as the old filaments and also preferably with a soft twinkle function. :-)

Try UK Christmas World, I got some old fashioned ones last year.

Thanks a lot, I'll have a look, I hope that they have some coloured LED bulbs which give off the same kind of soft light as the old fashioned filament bulbs. :)

Doh, sorry OP, I misread and didn’t realise that you actively wanted LED. I hope you find what you’re after but I had a similar search myself a few years back and found that LEDs always equals harsh light :(

@evilharpy how about these:

www.noma.co.uk/catalogue/filament-lighting/40-multicolour-classic-victorian-lantern-filament-lights/

@evilharpy or do you mean this style?

www.ukchristmasworld.com/products/20-classic-canterbury-belles-bo

Not found coloured ones but have firefly lights and they are fab, they twinkle in a seemingly random pattern and do remind me of old Christmas lights not the regimented twinkle of newer led lights

These?

Thanks.

I found some! Hang in I'll find a link!

I don't think you'll find LED ones with the twinkle you're after. I bought some proper fairy lights off ebay though which I love

I have these and do have a lovely warm glow.
The settings also allow for a dimmer version which isn't too bright.

www.argos.co.uk/product/8588115?clickSR=slp:term:vintage%20christmas%20lights:2:212:1

If you go to a pretty large garden centre they often have them all out on display at this time of year and you can see if there’s anything good there?

Most LED lights come with different settings, and there is usually a nice twinkle setting. This is what I prefer rather than flashing in the corner of my eye!
I normally go for warm white colour but I'm sure the same applies to coloured ones.
Or try some solar ones with the copper wire?We have some in the garden that are twinkly. Like these:

I mix the coloured new ones with warm white new ones - a big string of each wrapped round the tree. The combination of adding the warm white ones in kind of softens it.

Have a look at firefly lights by a company called Festive. I saw them in a garden centre the other day, they have a gentle flicker.

*meant gentle twinkle

Following in case anyone has the answer! I also find the colours are all wrong on the LED ones. When I was a kid the yellow was more like orangey gold, the red was more like magenta. The LED ones are more like bright primary colours - all wrong!

The Pickwick lights from UK Christmas World are the closest I’ve got to the lights we had as a child.

@KangarooKenny thanks, are those Pickwick lights LED or filament? It doesn't mention on the web site.

I guess the outer caps can be removed?