Bubble Lights: A unique Christmas tree decoration

Bubble lights are a vintage Christmas light that is shaped like a candle with an art deco style base. When warmed up, a liquid inside the glass begins to bubble gently. Christmas bubble lights can be a variety of colors, often with a tinted liquid or glitter inside the glass tube to add a mesmerizing effect.

For children, the answer is simple: bubble lights work by Christmas magic!

Scientifically speaking, the way bubble lights work is fairly straightforward as well, although slightly less mysterious. The liquid inside the glass tube is mostly water, but it also contains a small amount of oil or a chemical that has a very low boiling point. This glass tube is designed to be in close contact with the incandescent light source, which gives off heat after being turned on for a few minutes. As the incandescent bulb heats up, the liquid inside the glass tube begins to boil, and you get a favorite light from Christmas past: bubble lights!

Christmas bubble light safety: modern bubble lights are completely safe as long as they are properly displayed and stored. To avoid broken glass & liquid spills, make sure Christmas bubble lights are secured to your tree and unable to be easily knocked down by pets or children. If you've come across a set of vintage bubble lights, extra caution should be taken if you plan to display these as the materials used in older light sets may not be as safe or the strings may no longer be in good working condition.

If you're curious where these imaginative lights came from, you might be surprised to learn it was an accountant who started the trend! In the 1940s a New York accountant named Carl Otis came up with the idea for a bubbling, candle shaped set of Christmas lights. The captivating lights he envisioned were brought to life with the help of NOMA Electric Corporation and given the name "Bubble Lites" - quickly becoming the must-have Christmas decoration of the 1950s and bubbling merrily on Christmas trees in family homes across America ever since.

You might have come here looking for bubble lights because of the childhood memories they invoke, or maybe you just love the retro look and feel of this Christmas decoration. Whatever reason brought you here, we're glad you found us! We have a little more vintage Christmas magic to share with you.

Like bubble lights, C7 and C9 Christmas light bulbs are a hallmark of Christmas past that continues to be popular in the present. The technology used to illuminate these bulbs may have evolved over the years, but the classic design remains. Since they first arrived in homes during the 1920s, C7 & C9 light bulbs have never gone out of style. These classic bulbs continue to be the most popular Christmas lights, especially for outdoor decorating. While you can still find incandescent C7 & C9 Christmas lights in some stores, the newer LED technology and bulb finishes come so close to mimicking the soft glow and visible filament display that you almost can't tell the difference anymore!