Christmas Lights…

IMG_0563.JPG

The glow cast by candlelight always seems to make things and people look so much better… I suspect everyone around a holiday table lit only by candlelight were probably much more mellow, if oxygen deprived… :) While it’s easy to use candles with abandon at any time of the year, they seem particularly festive during the Christmas season. Add lots of little fairy lights and other sources of light, and you have the setting for a memorable meal…

IMG_0562.JPG

This candle sheath, made of brass with perforated holes, probably hand made in India some 50 years ago, was something I got from my parents homes. It is so simple, yet has such a stunning effect, housing a single little votive candle at the bottom.

IMG_0553.JPG

These overrun bone china votive candle holders with a snowflake pattern were from Banj Claparols at the Sunday Legaspi market, and cost a fraction of the retail price at Pottery Barn, where I saw the exact same items last Thanksgiving! they also house a single votive candle and all of the holes send out rays of light…

IMG_0555.JPG

In the background are two of three christmas trees we fabricated out of chicken wire and strings of Christmas lights, recycled from last year. With 400 bulbs on each small tree, these are brighter than a lamp and unfortunately, probably environmentally unfriendly.

IMG_0567.JPG

A close up of the tree. I noticed the last time we were at Costco that they are now selling LED christmas lights, so maybe the next time we replace all our strings of lights, that will be the way to go…

IMG_0570.JPG

And finally, what would be Filipino Christmas lights without several capiz or opaque shell balls hanging from the trees in the garden with low wattage bulbs… All of this was the setting of a small Christmas family gathering we had in our backyard last night…

Facebook
Twitter
Pinterest

9 Responses

  1. You can do a rough calculation of your energy use…if those are typical strings of incandescent lights, they’re burning about 100 watts each, compared to about 10 watts for an equivalent LED string. A more environmentally friendly option is to rely more on single LEDs (votive type lights). You won’t have the brightness of those trees but then again they have 400 (!) bulbs on each.

  2. go for the LED next time, MM. they don’t get hot and won’t burn, but they have that really nice firefly looking light!

  3. Hi MM — yes. LED xmas lights is the way to go. They consume far less electricity though the light seem far more intense. Just a bit pricier than the regular lights but they just might last more seasons.

    Happy holidays!

  4. Can you please tell me where I can buy Filipino Christmas lights with opaque shell balls.
    Thank you

  5. hi,

    Do you happen to know where i can buy cheapest Rice light/LED lights in manila???

    Thank you!

BLOG CATEGORIES

MARKETMAN ON INSTAGRAM

Subscribe To Updates

No spam, only notifications about new blog posts.