Something kind of random here. But I read a story today about a guy who made a modern LED copy of those old school Christmas lights with the fat bulbs.
I remember those bulbs from my childhood. Anyone who grew up in the 60s, 70s or 80s probably does, too.
Here's a commercial for the modern knock-offs for anyone who's interested:
Yes, we had some with bulbs shaped like that when I was a kid in the '80s. I remember Dad going through a long string of them trying to find the one that was blown, because none of them would work when one of them blew (they were wired in series).
I only remember them from the first couple/few Christmases that I remember, because in about 1982 we got all new, modern (at the time) style Christmas lights, wired in parallel and everything. They had tiny bulbs with clear glass. Also, we got some "bubble lights," specifically because Mom wanted them. She said she remembered them from when she was a kid in the '50s and '60s.
There's a nightlight available that is based on the design of those bubble lights. I sometimes plug it in next to my bed during the Christmas season, for fun and nostalgia.
It looks like this: https://mk.ssb-media.com/images/alt_349634_1_2x.jpg
Your experience seems very similar to mine. I remember them from my childhood but eventually they faded out of our decoration collection and were replaced entirely by the modern small, colored lights. Personally, that's fine with me as I like the look of the small lights much more.
It seems there is a market for these retro lights, though. The guy who created them said he intended for them just to be a small side business but he totally underestimated the demand.
I have a collection of oddities that includes one of these old bulbs from the 1960s. My parents had some strings of these lights and one of the bulbs was pink, a color rarely seen. That was the reason why I kept it.
That's nice. It's can be fun and rewarding to keep things around from the past.
I actually haven't seen a string of these old lights in many years, at least not that I recall. It makes me wonder how many are still hanging around in decoration boxes and still get used every year.
If you look at some of the comments on the ad I linked to, where the company replied, it gives the impression that they are a very small company who is kind of figuring things out as they go. It sounds like they may be having trouble keeping up with demand. I know in the interview I ran across with the owner he said he was thinking this might just be a nice side business and he totally underestimated how many people would be interested in these lights.
I agree. In the age of corporate behemoths and multinational conglomerations, it's nice to see the success of a little start-up that's just trying to sell some retro Christmas lights.
I remember my family putting them on the tree in the early 70s but by the late 70s they were replaced with the smaller lights on the tree. My dad did still put the larger lights on the outside of the house. There was an episode of “Halt or Catch Fire” about 10 years that showed some.