Geeky Fairy Light Addiction

Hello. My name is Carol, and I am addicted to geeky fairy lights. This is my story. Perhaps it can save others from a geeky fairy light addiction. Or not. As addictions go, it's cheap and harmless.

It all started when LED lights began replacing the short-lived incandescent light bulbs and the longer-lived but obnoxious compact fluorescent twisty things. Manufacturers soon realized they were no longer limited by fat wires and hot, fat bulbs. Tiny lights became affordable, and tiny circuit board meant they could add color and timers and simple programs.

Gateway to an Addiction

I bought one USB-based strand as an experiment. For my author business, I occasionally set up sales tables for my books, and I thought it would be fun to decorate with the lights. I plugged them in at home to see how they worked.

Big mistake. I loved them. They were subtle and cheery and fun.

Geeky fairy lights brighten the day

Next, I discovered battery-operated lights. Some run on standard AAAs, and some on watch batteries. I figured these might be better for sales table decoration. I was right—they are. Especially if the nearest outlet is 50 feet away.

Yes, those are little pine tree lights.
Don't look at me like that — they were on sale.

On the other hand, you have to buy batteries, so it’s best to have both the USB and battery-operated lights. More lights. More colors. Blinky lights. Lights on a timer. Color morphing lights.

Oh, the possibilities!

Full-Blown Geeky Fair Light Addiction

Then, of course, came lights for the holidays. The resident mad scientist is very tolerant of my impulse to put geeky fairy lights up everywhere. Luckily for me, he’s also tolerant of them never coming down again.

My former office. Bears love geeky fairy lights, too.

In the Ice Age Shifters series, a polar fairy named Tinsel makes her home in the sanctuary town of Kotoyeesinay, Wyoming (see Shift of Destiny). She lives in a miniature castle that she's made into a fancy bed and breakfast. The outside of her castle is decorated with lights. Tens of thousands of them. She adds more during the holidays. You could probably see her house from orbit, if the town wasn't shielded with magic. If I had a castle, that's how I'd decorate it.

Now I even decorate me.