Best Christmas lights 2022: Fairy lights and smart decorations

See the twinkling lights in real life and you’ll understand how Christmas lights have come from the dusty, tangled ball of wires and bulbs you used to drag around each year. Yes, Twinkly products are expensive, but they are also the best Christmas lights you will find.

They connect via Wi-Fi to the free Twinkly app, which you can use to control them and play effects – either of your own design or preset. Once wrapped around the tree, you can scan the pattern of lights, giving you more precise control of the pattern. You can set a timer, group them into sets with other Twinkly lights and control them together – or sync them to the music if you buy the Twinkly Music dongle ($39.99/£23.99). If you use a voice assistant, you can even turn it on and off using voice commands.

There’s also a button on the power cord so family members without an app can turn the lights on and off and change the pattern.

But it’s not just what you can do with them that’s a big step forward. They represent a significant leap in quality over standard lamps, with rich colors (16 million of them, in fact) and opalescent whites.

There are many lengths available, so choose wisely based on the size of your tree – or get a longer twine to adorn an entire room. We’ve reviewed the 400 LED set, but Twinkly has several clever light designs for Christmas, including an icicle design (get it in the US or UK).