Christmas (or other holiday) lights

Charlene · Post by **Charlene** » Mon Dec 04, 2006 1:29 pm

What do you do when a string of lights only partially works?

I check for missing/broken bulbs, then start replacing lights in the hopes of getting it working. Sometimes my husband will take the partial strings and use them outside, hiding the ones that don't light. If I can't get the whole string to light, I tend to save the bulbs and throw away the wire. Lately, though, since I have several hundred spare bulbs,I've been throwing away the whole thing, bulbs and all.

If I do that enough, I"ll have an excuse to buy the new LED lights!

Flyingcursor · Post by **Flyingcursor** » Mon Dec 04, 2006 1:38 pm

Four votes and only 1 (mine) is not "don't put up lights".

You savages

djm · Post by **djm** » Mon Dec 04, 2006 1:46 pm

FlyingC wrote:You savages

I guess it is un-American of us not to want to further deplete the earth's resources and increase global warming by unnecessarily adding to the existing levels of light pollution over our cities.

Besides, I'm as lazy as the day is long.

(but isn't all this tree-hugger crap handy when you need it?

)

djm

Congratulations · Post by **Congratulations** » Mon Dec 04, 2006 1:52 pm

I just don't understand Christmas lights.

The Weekenders · Post by **The Weekenders** » Mon Dec 04, 2006 2:03 pm

The near-slave labor used to make the little lights is such that they are cheaper to buy a new set than bother with trying to diagnose and fix em. Very sad.

I have become too lazy to get worked up about mounting them. We bought our house in 02 and I havent put any up yet. One side of me thinks they are wasteful, but another side tells me to get with the program and add to seasonal excitement. Our house is a corner one, with a long visible roofline, so I could do the whole toy thing etc etc.

Post by **Nanohedron** » Mon Dec 04, 2006 3:25 pm

I recall one year when one of my brothers, I think it was, decided he'd had it with the Christmas lights thing and decided not to put them up. One of the neighbor ladies took umbrage at this and hissed at him, "What, aren't you even Christian??".

emmline · Post by **emmline** » Mon Dec 04, 2006 3:30 pm

I voted the first choice, but this only pertains to strings of lights for the Christmas tree. We are minimalists where Christmas (and most other stuff!) is concerned.

missy · Post by **missy** » Mon Dec 04, 2006 4:03 pm

I didn't vote - Tom is the one in charge of the outside lights. Usually, if he can't get a strand to light in about 5 minutes of messing with it, he tosses it and buys another.
As for the inside, we bought a fiber optic tree a couple of years ago. NO MORE STRANDS OF LIGHTS!

fearfaoin · Post by **fearfaoin** » Mon Dec 04, 2006 4:26 pm

I have no problem with replacing bulbs in strings, but we bought
some of those net lights for our bushes, and those suckers are rife
with short circuits. We threw 3 nets away this year, because it was
obviously not a problem fixed with new bulbs. Bleh.

Nanohedron wrote:I recall one year when one of my brothers, I think it was, decided he'd had it with the Christmas lights thing and decided not to put them up. One of the neighbor ladies took umbrage at this and hissed at him, "What, aren't you even Christian??".

Ha! One neat thing about our neighborhood is that there are a few
Hindu families who put up lights for Diwali in October. That'll
confuse the folks who complain about the stores starting Christmas
too early!

fel bautista · Post by **fel bautista** » Mon Dec 04, 2006 4:31 pm

I think that's a great idea- people put up lights for their own celebrations- That'll confuse the majority of people

jsluder · Post by **jsluder** » Mon Dec 04, 2006 4:36 pm

fel bautista wrote:I think that's a great idea- people put up lights for their own celebrations- That'll confuse the majority of people

I think everyone should string up lights for Groundhog Day. That way, poor little Phil will always see his shadow, and we'll get a long winter every year.

fearfaoin · Post by **fearfaoin** » Mon Dec 04, 2006 4:37 pm

fel bautista wrote:I think that's a great idea- people put up lights for their own celebrations- That'll confuse the majority of people

Yeah, we could have lights year 'round!

Neighbor: "Smith, when you gonna take yer lights down?"
Smith: "What? I'm Discordian, I'm celebrating Jake Day!"

Walden · Post by **Walden** » Mon Dec 04, 2006 5:10 pm

Congratulations wrote:I just don't understand Christmas lights.

It's like this. It all started with Judas Macabee and there was a miracle of the oil and so people started burning lamps and then candles. Then the idea of lighting houses caught on. After the electric light bulb was invented, people went to using those, so they didn't have to rebuild their houses year after year.

Charlene · Post by **Charlene** » Mon Dec 04, 2006 5:14 pm

I suppose if I lived in the Southern Hemisphere I wouldn't bother because then it would be summer and light and warm. But since I'm up in the Northern US and it's cold and dark and snowy I like the bright lights.

I started this because I just spent hours over this past week trying to get lights working - and this morning the lights on the outside tree went out! GRRR! I was going to try to see if I could troubleshoot it today on my day off, but I'm stuck working at my husband's bookstore (on my day off from my paying job) because he has to take his mother out shopping.

(edited to remove some silly code that this sticky keyboard put in!)

cowtime · Post by **cowtime** » Mon Dec 04, 2006 6:43 pm

I voted that I throw them away then realized ya'll meant outside lights. I don't have them. Sometimes I'll put a floodlight on the house, but I never string lights. (it doesn't fit the era of the house you know, and my obsessiveness prevents it)

I have lights on the tree - although I did not grow up with lights on the tree, we never had them as kids.

But, I have my own second tree, ala 1950s, with bubble lights, the big colored bulbs, glass ornaments, and tinsel galore. This is the tree everyone else in the family hates.

I do love looking at folks lights at night, so I'm glad someone does it.

Chiff and Fipple Forums

Christmas (or other holiday) lights

When you get out a string of lights, and only half to three-quarters of the lights work, do you:

Christmas (or other holiday) lights