6 Great Eco-friendly LED Christmas Lights for 2009

Nothing else says the holiday season has arrived like Christmas Lights, Christmas Lights, Christmas Lights! On the plus side, it's the one thing that most people reuse year after year, at least until the strings stop working. Unfortunately, Christmas light strings from 10 years (or even 5 years) ago probably are not equipped with LED bulbs, which means they aren't the best eco-friendly Christmas lights.

LED lights use less electricity, which right away makes them more eco-friendly and economical! However, because they are made without moving parts like traditional bulbs, they also burn out a lot less frequently, lasting thousands of times longer than regular bulbs, which means they produce less waste - and LED eco friendly Christmas lights can be used year after year for even longer than traditional Christmas lights. LED lights also stay cool to the touch, reducing the risk of a fire caused by Christmas lights.

The best part is, LED Christmas lights are now available in just about all of the same colors and styles as traditional bulbs, and for around the same price. If that isn't enough incentive for you to get eco-friendly Christmas lights this year, Home Depot is offering a special trade-in deal this November, for the second year in a row. From November 5^th through the 15^th, if you bring in old or broken strings of Christmas lights, they will give you a coupon for $3 the purchase of new, Eco-friendly Christmas lights (with a limit of 5 exchanges per customer).

If you just need simple white micro light strings, Sylvania makes LED Christmas micro light strings. These are available at Home Depot for around $10 per 100 light strand, or $9 when purchased in bulk packs. These 50,000 hour bulb strands have a 5 year guarantee and are over 16 feet long. A similar GE set in color is available from Lowe's for $11.

If you would prefer to jazz it up a little bit, but stay with white mini lights, another good eco-friendly Christmas lights set is this 100 count white Energy Smart LED icicle set made by GE. This 6 foot strand is $18 at Lowe's and graded for use indoors and outdoors.

If you like the old fat bulbs, don't despair. LED versions of those Christmas lights are also available, like this set of 25 count C9 multicolor lights by Home Accents, for $6.50 per set or $35 for a 6 set pack.

For $20 at Lowe's, you can get these Multi-Color LED "Merry Christmas" Indoor Lights manufactured by Holiday Living, which spell out the words Merry Christmas. Another far from traditional light set, these 18 inch Lollipop Path Markers, is available from Gemmy for $20/set of 4.