It started with the party dress… and now I’m already looking into festive lights for my home. It’s funny how one thing leads to another when you’re searching for ‘Christmas shopping’ online and I ‘accidentally’ started browsing through fairy lights and christmas trees!
I’ve only had one previous Christmas in my home, and having only recently moved money was tight, so I didn’t really focus much on decorating the house for Christmas. Of course I went to town on the interior (I don’t think there’s ever a bare branch on my Christmas tree!) but I didn’t have the time or budget to invest in outdoor lights. I admired plenty of houses nearby that were lit-up for the whole of the festive period and I even found a house with ‘bah-humbug’ spelled out in fairy lights – is that ironic or what?! I definitely want to get in on the ‘exterior illuminations’ act this year and I’ve been investigating the most thrifty way to do so.
The one of the first rules of being thrifty is being careful with your electricity (I don’t want a huge bill just because I put up some twinkle lights!) and that’s where LED lights come in. Over the years these have got better and better, and it’s hardly even possible to get old ‘fairy bulb’ lights any more – and that’s a good thing, because LEDs use considerably less electricity than normal bulbs and they don’t get scorching-hot like the old-fashioned lights used to. Plus they can usually be used outside because they are a sealed unit and water can’t get in. So they are safe and energy efficient – what’s not to like? My absolute favourites are these lantern lights above from White Stores. They are so retro and make me think of Christmases past – I’m sure that mom had lights similar to these when I was a child. And even though they look like lights from the 70s, they have LED bulbs so are electric-friendly and nostalgic, what a combination! I’d love to have this multi-coloured string of lights along the front of my house to welcome guests at Christmas.
I also love the LED blossom trees that are so popular at the moment. I think I enjoy them so much because there’s a chance that I could have them on all year round – they would look great in the garden on summer nights too! There are tons of different colours available but I would probably go for this pink tree (top pic) so that they would be suitable to use during the year. Now, above is a Christmas illumination that can divide opinion. To have a festive scene or to not have a festive scene – that is the question! I love seeing other people’s lawns strewn with plastic santas, rope light reindeer and path lights, but would I want all that confusion of color and movement in my own front garden? I think I have come up with the solution with these classy polar bear lights. I think that these are much cooler (pardon the pun) than ye olde rope lights and I just can’t help loving their cute faces. And reindeer live at the north pole too, don’t they? They do now! Of course, it would have to snow all winter to complete my polar scene but that’s a minor issue and I’m sure the Met office can help me out with that!
Let me know what you think – do you decorate the outside of your home for winter? Tweet me @cassiefairy or leave a comment below
