5 Ways I Use Twinkle Lights During Christmas

I can’t remember if it all started last Christmas or the year before, but I have a bit of an obsession with adding twinkle lights to my Christmas decor. They’re these small strands of LED lights on a wire, they’re battery operated, and they created such a magical and cozy glow.

I’m always talking about them over on Instagram, so I figured it was time I took a second to actually lay out how I use them. Because at this point, I have 10+ strands of them floating around my house and I buy at least one more every time I’m at Target!

So today, I’m sharing 5 simple ways I use these cozy little lights in my house at Christmastime. Hopefully it inspires you to give it a shot, because I promise you, it’s magical. The first night that we had them all turned on I kept pausing in the middle of my living room to just take it all in, because it just felt like Christmas.

How do the Twinkle Lights Work?

Let me take a second before we dive in to run you through a couple of logistics:

1. These are the twinkle lights I use. They’re normally $5 each, but they often go on sale for $4. And, if you get really lucky you can catch them for $2.50.
2. They’re battery operated and they use two AA batteries each. So, if you plan to get addicted to them like I am, you’re gonna want to stock up on batteries. I’m sorry.
3. I use the timer setting, which turns them on for 6 hours and off for 18. So, on the first night of “twinkle light season”, I go around the house at 4:00 PM and switch them all to the timer setting. From then, they turn on at 4:00 every night and turn off at 10:00.
4. If you let them turn on every night on the schedule (I do!) they’ll last around a month before you need to replace the batteries. Last year I started turning them on a little too early in the season. By the week of Christmas they were all dying but I didn’t really want to replace aaaaall those batteries. This year, I waited until the day after Thanksgiving to turn them on. I’m hoping that works. If not, I might make it a December 1st tradition.

Got it? Ok. Let’s talk about how I use them!

1. Wrapped in Garland

Probably the most common way I use these little twinkle lights during the holiday season is wrapped around my garland! I use garlands all throughout my house, and adding a little bit of sparkle to them just makes them feel so cozy. I’ve got lights wrapped around the garland on my mantel, above my kitchen window, and on the mirror in our living room.

2. In My Paper Snowflakes

My paper snowflake garlands are already one of the most magical parts of our Christmas decor. But, when you add in some twinkly lights it really takes things to the next level! The lights are on a wire rather than just string, so it’s really easy to mold them into a good shape to wrap around the snowflakes. I don’t overthink it, I just string them up as best I can and enjoy the glow. On both of my garlands, I have two sets of twinkly lights.

3. Tucked into Christmas Greenery

You don’t need a full garland to create some magical twinkling greenery! I have a large vase in my dining room with some evergreen sprigs and I always wrap some lights around them. It works so nicely because you can just tuck the battery pack into the vase and it disappears! This works best on larger stems, of course, but if you have a collection of smaller vases grouped together it could work well there, too.

4. On Trays

When I tell you I take any opportunity I can to add twinkle lights in, I’m not kidding! One of my favorite little displays this year is the tray I keep on our kitchen island. Once I was done adding some cute little Christmas trees to it, I just tucked the twinkle lights in all along the bottom and into the trees. It makes the whole thing feel so cozy! I’ve also got a strand in the tray in my bar cabinet, and a full string tucked into the glass cloche on my kitchen counter. The more twinkle lights, the merrier (literally!).

5. On Mini Trees

And finally, another really simple way to use twinkle lights in your home at Christmas is to wrap any small tabletop trees you have with them! I always add some lights to the tree we use for our activity advent calendar, and it looks gorgeous. This is a perfect solution for a spot when you want to add some lights but a full strand of lights might be overkill!

Hopefully that leaves you feeling inspired to give it a shot. Grab a set of twinkle lights (or a dozen) and get started creating some magic in your house!