Want to add a little something extra to your holiday decorations this year? Instead of plain Christmas lights, you can add flair to your display with The Holiday Aisle 25 Light Pinecone LED String Light, which features bulbs in the shape of pinecones. We wanted to see if these cute Christmas lights were worth the price, so we tested them for several weeks throughout the holiday season. Here’s what we liked and didn’t like about the novelty string lights.
Setup: Ready to go out of the package
Some Christmas lights require you to install batteries or replace bulbs right out of the package, but not these ones! The Holiday Aisle 25 Light Pinecone LED String Light arrives ready to go—all we had to do was pull it out of the packaging and plug it in. It’s as simple as that!
Design: Could be more lights
This set of string lights measures 17.5 feet total and it sports 25 pinecone-shaped LED bulbs. The bulbs themselves are made of hard plastic, and they’re about the same size as “old-fashioned” Christmas lights—you know, the chunky, multicolored ones. The cord itself is green and made up of three thick wires twisted together. It’s a little cumbersome, but we barely noticed it once the lights were up. However, one of the issues we found with the Holiday Aisle 25 Light Pinecone LED String Light is that the bulbs are spaced quite far apart: There are 8 inches of wire between each bulb, so there were large gaps between the lights when we hung up the strand. Plus, there’s only a 6-inch lead wire, which means you have to start fairly close to an electrical outlet. Further, while 17.5 feet may seem like a lot, this is actually quite short for a string of lights. For reference, we needed close to 80 feet of mini lights to decorate a 6-foot Christmas tree, so this strand would barely cover a quarter of the tree. You could remedy this by purchasing several strands of the lights, though, as they do have end-to-end connectors.
Performance: More clear then warm light
To display these lights for the holidays, I choose to wrap them around the Norfolk pine plant that lives in my living room. Each Christmas, I decorate this plant with ornaments, so I thought it would be fitting to give him some lights, as well. The 17-foot string ended up being the perfect length to wrap around the plant a few times, and even though the wire is fairly bulky, it wasn’t too heavy for the plant to handle. The plant looked absolutely adorable with little pinecone lights peeking out from under the branches! We do wish the lead wire was a little longer, as the outlet was around 2 feet away, so several of the lights weren’t on the tree. The description says The Holiday Aisle 25 Light Pinecone LED String Light gives off a warm white light, but we found that it was more clear. This didn’t bother us, but if you’re looking for a warmer light, you might not be happy with the appearance of these LED bulbs. The upside of the lights being LEDs, however, is that they never get warm to the touch, so I didn’t have to worry about them harming my precious plant. Plus, these LED bulbs are Energy Star-certified, meaning they use significantly less energy than traditional holiday lights. Despite being energy-efficient, these bulbs give off a lot of light. These were much brighter than other string lights we tested, and because we hung them next to our TV, we actually ended up turning them off at night because they caused a little glare on the screen. This strong glow may be beneficial if you choose to use the lights outside, as they’re safe for both indoor and outdoor use. We wouldn’t worry about the lights breaking, either, as the hard plastic bulbs seem extremely durable. Want to take a look at some other options? See our guide to the best outdoor Christmas lights.
Features: Can’t replace bulbs
One thing we noticed right away was that this string of Christmas lights doesn’t come with any replacement bulbs (although there are two replacement fuses). After reviewing the product description, we discovered that you actually can’t replace the bulbs, unlike with most string lights. We found this to be a little disappointing, especially since the lights were on the pricier side. The good news is that the rest of the string will continue to work if one bulb goes out, but the manufacturer doesn’t specify how long the bulbs should last—they do have a three-year warranty, so that may be some indication of their expected lifespan.
Price: On the high side
As mentioned, these novelty holiday lights are more expensive than your standard string lights. One package of the Holiday Aisle lights costs $24.99, which we found to be a little steep considering how short the strand is and that you can’t replace the bulbs. You can sometimes find the lights on sale for a few dollars cheaper.
Competition: You can get more for less
Holiday Wonderland Mini Multi Color Christmas Light Set: If you have a large area to decorate, you might want to look for longer strings of lights, such as these ones from Holiday Wonderland. This set comes with two 39-foot light stands, each of which feature 150 mini multicolored bulbs. It’s the perfect length to decorate a full Christmas tree, and these lights are indoor/outdoor and include end-to-end connectors, as well. Plus, they’re a steal at just under $20! Novolink LED Battery-Operated Decorative String Lights: For a longer strand of LEDs, these decorative string lights from Novolink might fit the bill. The battery-operated strand is 34 feet long, and it features 100 warm white bulbs. Because it’s battery-powered, there’s no need to place it near an electrical outlet, and it even includes an automatic timer and several fun flashing patterns. This product retails for around $15. See more reviews of our favorite indoor Christmas lights available for purchase. There’s no denying that you can find a longer string of Christmas lights for less, but The Holiday Aisle 25 Light Pinecone LED String Light offers something those other products don’t: cute pinecone bulbs! These novelty lights are on the more expensive side and don’t have bulb replacements, but we still thought they looked beautiful and festive as part of our holiday decor.
