From smart, programmable lights to traditional incandescents and LEDs, these waterproof picks have you covered.
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Christmas lights are the crown jewel of outdoor Christmas décor. Adorning your roof, stair rails, shrubs and trees with colorful bulbs transforms a dreary winter block into a festive spectacle. While the basics of wired lights has remained the same, advancements in smart technology and programmable lights, options of LED and solar-powered displays, and even Christmas projectors that require less setup have changed the holiday decoration game in recent years, making putting on a festive light show easier than ever.
The Good Housekeeping Institute has researched, tested and evaluated holiday décor essentials annually for over 10 years. From artificial Christmas trees to stands for real trees, our engineers and editors are dedicated to recommending festive picks that liven up the home and will last for Christmases to come.
To choose the best outdoor Christmas lights, we consider bestsellers as well as products from brands we trust and that innovative new additions to the category. Our experts and engineers in the Home Improvement Lab pay attention to waterproofing by looking at ingress protection (a measure of how well protected an electronic is from dust and water), look out for durability features like continuous function when a bulb breaks and consider how easy the lights are to set up. Our list includes picks that span a wide variety of lighting preferences: Incandescent, LED, smart, solar-powered and more.
Keep reading after our picks for a closer look at how we choose the best outdoor Christmas lights and why you can trust our recommendations.
We love that you can use these bright, warm white Christmas lights both indoors and outdoors to create a postcard-perfect wintery scene. Our pros like that you can connect up to five strings of lights for a 500-bulb festive glow. They’re both classic and versatile so you can also keep them up year-round on your patio or use them for other parties and special occasions.
A heavy hitter in the lighting category, GE is known for high-quality lighting solutions that have stood the test of time. These dual indoor-outdoor mini lights feature the brand's color choice technology, which enables two different colors to be displayed on the same string (for instance warm white and multicolor).
This means that you can switch between multicolored lights for the holidays and white lights on other occasions. They also feature eight different light modes and come with a handy switch. If you're looking for more high tech ways to liven up your outdoor space and don't mind veering from traditional wired Christmas lights, we're also fans of the GE CYNC Full Color Direct Connect Outdoor Smart Bulb, which allow you to set up different lighting scenes from your phone and can make creating a festive ambience a lot quicker.
Christmas in the roaring 2020s means high-tech solutions to yesteryear's problems. Twinkly makes some of the most advanced string lights on the market, giving you more control over your Christmas light show than ever before. These lights are Bluetooth and Wi-Fi connected to an app on your phone, letting you set custom patterns, program timers, design light shows and more.
They're also compatible with Google Assistant or Alexa, provided you have a smart speaker. You can also wirelessly connect multiple strings and types of Twinkly lights together so they work in unison. Though they're pricey, our pros think they’re worth it for the ultimate Christmas light display and we like that you can use them for celebrations year-round.
When it comes to smart outdoor lights, Philips has made some of our top-tested models, and their non-smart lights are still just as good. We like that these simple miniature lights are designed to stay bright, even if a bulb blows somewhere on the string. Offered in both white and multicolored versions, these feature a 24-inch lead-in wire before the lights begin so you don’t have to set them up next to an outlet.
Hang these icicle lights from your roof, fence or entryway to give your home a frosty makeover. Each icicle features a different drop length, giving it a more organic look. With the possibility to link three strings of lights, you can cover around 25 feet of lighting with just one outlet. But if you need a longer length and don't have access to another outlet, you should consider purchasing LED icicle lights, which can oftentimes handle more connections. Also, our pros recommend purchasing light clips along with these lights for the easiest setup around your home.
We love that these battery-powered globe lights don’t require any outlets or extension cords so you can hang them wherever you want in your front yard. Our pros like that they feature a remote to make operation easy, in addition to a timer function so you can automatically turn off your lights before heading off to bed. You can also adjust the lights' brightness and play around with eight different effect modes to create the perfect holiday scene.
These plug-in LED twinkle star lights will turn your space into a starry night. Each whopping 49-foot string is filled with 100 stars and can be linked together to reach nearly 350 feet, making these suitable for large indoor or outdoor spaces. Just keep in mind that these cannot be submerged underwater, making them best for a covered porch or indoor display. While we haven’t tested these yet, our pros like that the lights feature various modes, like slow fade, twinkle and more.
These multi-colored mini bulbs look a bit like vintage Christmas lights, but they also have the power to twinkle and flash among six additional light modes. They’re extremely long at 66 feet so they’re ideal for larger spaces, and you can link strands to connect up to 1000 LED bulbs of bright light! We also like that these come with 17 feet of leading wire so you can set them up further from the outlet. Just keep in mind that they’re not fully waterproof and aren’t recommended for harsh rain or snow conditions.
Dreaming of a white Christmas? These cool white snowflake icicle lights are perfect for creating a winter wonderland inside or outside of your home. Though these are shorter than other outdoor Christmas lights, you can link up to 44 sets and the LEDs will last longer than incandescent lightbulbs. Plus, according to the brand, each snowflake is built to withstand any shattering that can be caused by wind.
If you don’t have much time to hang outdoor Christmas lights, speed up the process with this snowflake projector. You can decorate your home in a flash and create the effect of falling snow either inside or outside your home thanks to an interchangeable flat base or ground stake. Our pros like that a remote comes included so you easily set a timer, change the light mode and more, though keep in mind that you’ll only be able to project snowflakes.
If you’re looking for traditional Christmas lights to deck your front yard in multicolored holiday cheer, this pick is both affordable and easy to use. These lights are suitable both for indoor and outdoor use, and you’ll have plenty of length to work with since you can connect up to five strings. Our pros warn, however, to be careful indoors since incandescent bulbs can heat up over time.
If you want your home to look like a gingerbread house, you’ll need these multicolored icicle lights that feature eight different light modes like twinkling or flashing. We like that they come with a memory function so when you turn them back on they’ll automatically remember your last setting and they also feature a built-in timer.
At the Good Housekeeping Institute, our experts and engineers have tested outdoor Christmas lights in their own homes as well as in our Media & Tech Lab.
While we haven't tested every outdoor Christmas light set featured in this roundup, we have reviewed and vetted similar or previous models for performance and quality. We've also done more extensive in-Lab testing on solar-powered Christmas lights.
The recommendations in this guide have been vetted by GH Home Improvement & Outdoor Director Dan DiClerico and Lab Assistant Nikolas Greenwald, who recently conducted a categorical test of outdoor Christmas projectors. When evaluating outdoor Christmas lights, we looked at key criteria such as ease of installation and set up, performance, durability, bulb type, length, special features and more.
✔️ Bulb type: The first question to ask yourself when shopping for outdoor Christmas lights is the kind of bulb shape that you want. Do you prefer mini bulbs, regular-sized bulbs or bulbs that are in the shape of a snowflake, star or another unique configuration like an icicle? Most traditional outdoor Christmas lights will feature a C6 or C7 bulb shape, but you can opt for larger bulbs like C9, which are great for outdoor spaces.
You should also consider whether you want LED or incandescent lights, the main difference being that incandescent lights are typically more affordable but will not last as long as LED lights. It’s also worth noting that LED lights are more energy efficient and do not heat up as much as incandescent lights.
✔️ Length: Measure your desired space before purchasing outdoor Christmas lights to ensure that you’ll have enough coverage. You should also factor in how close your outlet is and the lead space you’ll need, as well as whether the strings are extendable should you need to connect more lights down the line (without having to access another outlet or add an extension cord).
✔️ Durability: When provided, check your outdoor Christmas light’s IP (Ingress Protection) Rating, which will indicate how well they can withstand exposure to environmental conditions such as rain, dust, wind and dirt.
The first number refers to solids (i.e., dust) and how durable the product is, while the second is for liquids (i.e., water). Most outdoor Christmas lights are rated IP44, while more robust models are rated IP65. If you live in an area with harsh winters, consider a model with a higher IP rating.
✔️ Color: For the most part, you need to decide whether you prefer outdoor Christmas lights that are white or multicolored. While some lights may feature both, this isn’t common and will cost more. If you’re opting for white lights, ask yourself whether you prefer a cooler or warmer temperature. Cooler white lights will look slightly bluer while warmer lights tend towards the amber spectrum.
✔️ Extra features: While outdoor Christmas lights are fairly affordable, that doesn’t mean that they don’t come with extra features.
Some of the picks we include have light modes, meaning that you can set up effects for your lights like flashing, blinking, slow fades and more. Others have built-in timers so you can set your lights to turn off at a certain time, though you could consider investing in a smart plug that offers a timer function should your lights not have one.
If you want lights that can be operated via an app or a remote, check whether that’s included. Also, if you don’t have many outlets in your home, consider outdoor Christmas lights that are battery-powered or solar-powered to save yourself the trouble of dealing with extension cords.
For years, the Good Housekeeping Institute has been providing expert reviews and advice on home essentials like Christmas decorations and lighting.
This article was originally written by contributing writer Cassidy Olsen, who worked with Good Housekeeping's experts to vet a majority of the picks above. Media & Tech Reviews Analyst Olivia Lipski, who covers everything from consumer tech to smart home for GH, most recently updated this guide to reflect new outdoor Christmas lights and popular picks. Not only does she bring years of product review experience to GH, but she's a holiday enthusiast.
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