said by dave:Better in the 80's, hell. Christmas lights were much better when they were honking big bulbs with 1/4" threaded bases, when the whole string would fail if one bulb didn't work, when however much care you took to put them away in functioning condition, the string would always amuse itself by practicing advanced knot tying in the attic, and inevitably several bulbs would not survive the summer, so the lights never ever worked when you unpacked them, and it was always after the shops closed for the evening and besides they were always fresh out of bulbs because every other kid's father had also left it to the last minute to consider that just maybe the christmas tree lights needed to be tested, and no I don't know where I left the spares. That is the true meaning of christmas.
damn right, nothing built character like having to check every bulb on a string lights to find the dead one