The One Holiday Item You'll Never Find In My Home

I don’t have many bones to pick with the Christmas season—what’s not to love? In the month of December, my house constantly smells of baked goods, I get to give back to the people I love, and my family finally busts out our adorable Christmas decorations. There is one traditional piece of holiday décor that drives me absolutely crazy, though, one that you’ll never find in my home—and that is multicolored Christmas tree lights.

I'm sorry to those who own and love these, I really am. If you can rock these in your space and they bring you joy, please go on ahead and do so. But for me, they take a Christmas tree from chic to unbalanced, and they turn a sweet, festive aesthetic into something that more closely resembles the inside of a bowling alley. All that does is bring back memories of eighth-grade summer camp, a place I don’t really want to revisit every December.

I think the “white vs. multicolored” light debate is pretty common, and most people prefer whichever adorned their Christmas tree growing up. Maybe the multicolored lights evoke a sense of nostalgia for some, and in that case, I understand the appeal. However, we took Christmas décor incredibly seriously in my house, with a coordinating tree, mantel garland, and ornaments. Our decorations of choice were black, white, and red—and our bright, white lights just worked perfectly with that scheme and popped against the evergreen accents. 

If you're in the market to purchase a pre-lit tree—and hopefully, that means pre-lit with white bulbs—it's best to opt for a tree that will match any Christmas décor you may cycle through. What if one year, you'd love to lean heavily into a neutral Christmastime color palette—as seen in the stunning living room below—but your tree is already pre-lit with every color under the sun?

Keeping the lighting neutral on your tree opens up far more design options than using the multicolored variety. If you have the option to string your real or artificial Christmas tree with any kind of lights, choose ones that won’t detract from your sentimental ornaments and the naturalistic beauty of your tree. You know which option that is.

Now, just don’t get me started on leaving the lights on in blinking mode.