5 Reasons Why We Should Love Fairy Lights

Fairy lights are those strings of tiny LED lights; sometimes twinkling, sometimes steady (or full wave rectified). I LOVE these lights. I add a few more to my collection every year, and try to take great care of them, so that I can keep them for longer. I ONLY use warm white fairy lights because I believe they achieve the most calming magical glow. I am not a fan of cool white. I could rant on cool white lights for a very long time, but I will save you from this.

Fairy Lights are Budget Friendly

I buy my fairy lights at the dollar store. In 2024 I was paying $2.50 Canadian for a string of fairy lights. I would recommend buying 10, if you can, to keep in your collection. They are one of my absolute staples as far as parties go, and they’re one of the first things my friends ask to borrow when their party is outdoors. I happened to find a great deal on AA batteries the first time I purchased fairy lights, but this added another $10 to my expenses. Now I use rechargeables. Each string uses 2 x AA batteries.

Fairy lights are battery powered

Using battery powered lighting means you can turn up your lighting situation, no matter how far away the nearest electrical outlet is. This is particularly important at outdoor parties where it may be inconvenient to have extension cords for lighting, or you may have run out of outlets because you’re using them for other purposes. MAKE SURE to remove the batteries every time. This is how you’ll keep your lights healthy for a long time.

Fairy lights add some magic

A space lit by overhead lighting is practical. A space lit by fairy lights feels like a secret hideaway. There’s something about that soft, warm twinkle or steady glow that can make even the plainest corner feel cozy, inviting, and a little enchanted.

Put your guests at ease

Gentle lighting can make your guests feel more at ease. It's the visual equivalent of a whisper, as far as lighting goes. Their soft, warm glow has been shown to have a calming effect, much like candlelight, but without the danger of an open flame.

Dim lighting hides a lot of flaws

One of my favourite strategies for setting up a party in a space that one wouldn’t traditionally use for a party, is to use dim lighting to hide the flaws. If you chose to hold your party in your garage, for example, you could use curtain walls to hide your storage shelves, or your garage door. You could even do a full 4 curtain walls, but the ceiling is still the ceiling. Dim lighting, placed low in the room, will really help to draw attention away from any less-than-perfect ceiling areas. The same can be said of a backyard space. In these cases, I often place fairy lights in mason jars. This keeps them safe from the weather but also adds that fireflies-in-a-jar, childhood whimsical feeling, to your outdoor space. And most importantly you’ll only place them in the more appealing parts of your space, where you want your guests to look, keeping the less appealing parts a little darker.

I weave fairy lights into the beach grasses that I rent, just in case you’re looking for this extra spark. The lights are fairly well blended into the grasses, so they won’t be noticed, depending where you place them, if you choose not to turn them on (but why wouldn’t you want them to be on?!). Here’s the difference they make:

So, make this small investment to add to you party décor supplies, or rent them from me. Either way, add this little bit of magic to your next party. You and your guests will love them.