# Blinking Lights Or Non-Blinking Lights On Christmas Trees **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [December 2, 2009, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blinking-lights-or-non-blinking-lights-on-christmas-trees/519724 "2009-12-02T18:01:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Markxxx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5daacb/32.png) [@Markxxx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Markxxx)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2009, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blinking-lights-or-non-blinking-lights-on-christmas-trees/519724/1 "2009-12-02T18:01:39Z")
This is the annual Do you like blinking lights on Christmas trees or non-blinking lights on Christmas trees Now I like blinking lights And you? ---
**Author:** ![myskepticsight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/cc9497/32.png) [@myskepticsight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/myskepticsight)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2009, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blinking-lights-or-non-blinking-lights-on-christmas-trees/519724/2 "2009-12-02T18:04:58Z")
Blinking lights look broken. But I hate them much more on houses than trees. ---
**Author:** ![DMark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@DMark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DMark)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2009, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blinking-lights-or-non-blinking-lights-on-christmas-trees/519724/3 "2009-12-02T18:21:23Z")
If you have a Christmas tree in your living room, can you seriously sit there and watch those blinking lights all night, every night?! I think it would drive me insane after about 1 minute. ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2009, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blinking-lights-or-non-blinking-lights-on-christmas-trees/519724/4 "2009-12-02T18:26:43Z")
Blinking = distraction = not nice to look at ---
**Author:** ![Baracus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/2bfe46/32.png) [@Baracus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baracus)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2009, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blinking-lights-or-non-blinking-lights-on-christmas-trees/519724/5 "2009-12-02T18:38:45Z")
I seem to recall seeing some twinkling lights recently where a few bulbs on the strand would blink at random, but whole strands blinking on and off is too much for me. ---
**Author:** ![Markxxx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5daacb/32.png) [@Markxxx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Markxxx)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2009, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blinking-lights-or-non-blinking-lights-on-christmas-trees/519724/6 "2009-12-02T18:47:16Z")
> [@DMark](#): > > If you have a Christmas tree in your living room, can you seriously sit there and watch those blinking lights all night, every night?! I think it would drive me insane after about 1 minute. I actually can. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![LawMonkey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/d6d6ee/32.png) [@LawMonkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LawMonkey)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2009, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blinking-lights-or-non-blinking-lights-on-christmas-trees/519724/7 "2009-12-02T18:53:24Z")
So far as traditional lights go, it’s definitely non-blinking. The new, fancy lights that can do various sorts of fade-in/fade-out “twinkling,” though–those are very cool. ---
**Author:** ![Icerigger](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/icerigger/32/432_2.png) [@Icerigger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Icerigger)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2009, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blinking-lights-or-non-blinking-lights-on-christmas-trees/519724/8 "2009-12-02T18:57:59Z")
I like a few, maybe four or five on the tree to give it some flair. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2009, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blinking-lights-or-non-blinking-lights-on-christmas-trees/519724/9 "2009-12-02T19:05:33Z")
We have both on ours. Blinking lights make it interesting, but if they all blinked it would be too much. ---
**Author:** ![Chopper9760](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/cdc98d/32.png) [@Chopper9760](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chopper9760)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2009, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blinking-lights-or-non-blinking-lights-on-christmas-trees/519724/10 "2009-12-02T19:55:57Z")
Stab the blinky! Blinking lights are totally awesome when they animate an outdoor decoration though like leaping reindeer or my neighbor’s Christmas dragon. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2009, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blinking-lights-or-non-blinking-lights-on-christmas-trees/519724/11 "2009-12-02T19:58:46Z")
Last year I bought a really nice 7-foot artificial tree with hundreds of non-blinking white lights. Then I added several strings of randomly-blinking white lights. The combination is awesome. ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2009, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blinking-lights-or-non-blinking-lights-on-christmas-trees/519724/12 "2009-12-02T19:59:23Z")
non-blinking lights all the way. ---
**Author:** ![BleizDu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/9dc877/32.png) [@BleizDu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BleizDu)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2009, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blinking-lights-or-non-blinking-lights-on-christmas-trees/519724/13 "2009-12-02T20:00:20Z")
Man I would have never guessed so many folks didn’t like blinking lights on christlas trees! It’s probably the only part of christmas I like! ---
**Author:** ![Harmonious\_Discord](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/74df32/32.png) [@Harmonious\_Discord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harmonious_Discord)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2009, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blinking-lights-or-non-blinking-lights-on-christmas-trees/519724/14 "2009-12-02T20:13:45Z")
I like them in moderation. You need to have lights on all over the tree at all times and not a big unlit section. My favorite blinking is when individual bulbs blink on and off like there was in the c7’s. Failures from the the past I absolutely hate: 1. A device between the outlet and the tree that blinked the whole tree on and off. 2. Musical light sets that played crappy music and sequenced the lights off 3. Miniature lights on a roof line that sequence like landing lights for a fighter launch bay on a space ship in a movie. This year we have miniature lights always on, and I got to put up my full sized bubble lights from storage. I love bubble lights. ---
**Author:** ![davekhps](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a5b964/32.png) [@davekhps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davekhps)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2009, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blinking-lights-or-non-blinking-lights-on-christmas-trees/519724/15 "2009-12-02T20:14:50Z")
Non-blinking lights for the tree, blinking for outside. Oh, also: I love real trees, but I am happy with fake ones (they’re just easier, and since I like to put my tree up the day after Thanksgiving, I don’t have to worry about a dead tree by Christmas Eve). Green trees only, BTW-- white trees are a communist plot, and rotating trees are a sign from Satan. And, multi-colored lights all the way, they make me feel like a little kid (you can use white lights outside if you want, just remember not to mix them!). ---
**Author:** ![Rushgeekgirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rushgeekgirl/32/3715_2.png) [@Rushgeekgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rushgeekgirl)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2009, 2:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blinking-lights-or-non-blinking-lights-on-christmas-trees/519724/16 "2009-12-03T02:56:14Z")
Love the blinking lights! I prefer all white but the rest of the family out-voted me so we have a tree ridiculously heavy with blinking lights. One day I want an aluminum tree with one of those color disks like we had when I was a kid. ---
**Author:** ![Renee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/renee/32/287_2.png) [@Renee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Renee)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2009, 3:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blinking-lights-or-non-blinking-lights-on-christmas-trees/519724/17 "2009-12-03T03:03:20Z")
Flashing lights give me a headache. Especially strobe lights. How can anyone stand that? Gah. ---
**Author:** ![WolfpackJeep](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpackjeep/32/2921_2.png) [@WolfpackJeep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WolfpackJeep)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2009, 5:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blinking-lights-or-non-blinking-lights-on-christmas-trees/519724/18 "2009-12-03T05:20:28Z")
On indoor trees, blinking lights are evil. However, one of my favorite outdoor decorations I’ve seen this year has cascading blinking lights. By daylight, it’s just a crappy plastic white tree…when lit, it alternates between all white lights and multicolor. It’s surprisingly pretty at night. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2009, 5:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blinking-lights-or-non-blinking-lights-on-christmas-trees/519724/19 "2009-12-03T05:31:18Z")
I said no preference, but the truth is that for most of my life we’ve hooked the lights up to a dimmer that slowly dims then brightens the lights. It’s better than blinking or steady lights. ---
**Author:** ![MovieMogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2009, 9:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blinking-lights-or-non-blinking-lights-on-christmas-trees/519724/20 "2009-12-03T09:56:50Z")
My answer isn’t available in the poll: BOTH [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blinking-lights-or-non-blinking-lights-on-christmas-trees/519724.md?page=2)