These Solar Christmas Lights Will Make Your Decorations Pop and Save You Money

We updated this article in December 2022 to ensure the information reflected current prices, features and more. Our top picks, based on testing notes from the Good Housekeeping Institute, remain the same.

When December rolls around — alright, for some it's as soon as that Thanksgiving turkey is picked clean — it's time to decorate for the holidays. And if you're leveling up your festive outdoor game, step one is probably outdoor Christmas lights. You can hang them around trees, windows, bushes or any other part of your home that you want to brighten up and give that warm glow. And while traditional Christmas lights are great, especially for decorating your Christmas tree, you still do need to plug them into an outlet, which not everyone has outside. Nor does everyone want to run an extremely long extension cord from the inside to the outside just to turn on lights. That's why solar Christmas lights are a great alternative — plus, they'll save you some money on your electricity bill!

The Good Housekeeping Institute has tested all sorts of solar gadgets, including solar phone chargers not to mention holiday gear like artificial Christmas trees. To test solar Christmas lights, we used the darkroom in our Lab to simulate daylight and nighttime conditions in order to determine how effective each set of lights was. We also evaluate how easy it is to set them up, how easy the controls are to change the settings, how bright the lights are and how well-built they are. Ultimately, we set out to find solar-powered lights that work well, produce bright lights that hold a strong charge and are built well enough to last multiple seasons.

Our top picks:

Continue reading to see our solar Christmas light picks, all rated for outdoor use. After our picks, you can learn more about how we test solar Christmas lights. And while you're in the holiday decorating spirit, check out our roundup of the best Christmas decorations.