With incomes down this year and the holidays not too far away, many will surely wonder whether the kitsch delight of holiday lights is worth the expense of buying, running, and replacing them. In a word, for all but the most glitzy businesses, the answer is probably no. Incandescent light strings are expensive to buy, easily broken, consume inordinate amounts of power, and need to be replaced often as bulbs break or brightness fades. The cost, in addition to the safety concerns that are warranted by the hot incandescent bulbs, warrant a somewhat Grinch-like attitude when it comes to the festive filaments.

Thankfully not all holiday cheer needs to be lost due to the recession and worrying about safety. LED holiday lights offer the campy festivity of incandescent strings but last longer, use less power, and burn both cooler and more vividly. Whereas incandescent strings depend on incandescent bulbs for their luminescence, LED strings rely on light-emitting diodes, which aren’t really bulbs at all but are more like small circuits. Because bulbs invoke filaments, much of the energy they emit is lost in the generation of heat up to the threshold of creating light. LEDs are also far more energy efficient. By running them 8-10 hours per day for the holidays, the savings on electricity may pay for the extra cost of the LEDs in just one season. And because they do not depend on heat for the creation of light they are much safer. Since they also lack filaments, they are not susceptible to the same kind of burnout that requires buyers of conventional holiday lights to replace them every few years – indeed LED holiday lights can last for 15-20 years without any burnout or fading.

Adding holiday cheer to a home or business is more important this year than others. In the home, holiday cheer is an escape from the reality of the world, which seems to be falling apart from the economy to problems abroad. In the business, holiday cheers serves the same function, which can boost sales as customers re-prioritize their lives and put giving to others at the top of the list during a time when they might not be able to afford being as generous as they were last year.

Regardless of the motivation for spreading holiday cheer, LEDs make it easier, safer, and more cost-effective than it has ever been.