One of the most frequently asked questions we get is, "Do you sell made in the USA Christmas lights?" Many of us strive to buy the USA made products as often as possible, and it can be frustrating when we have no other option but to buy something that was made in China, Vietnam or India. Most Americans that are at least 35 years old probably remember how Wal Mart's big marketing campaign years ago was that they only sold Made in the USA products. Nowadays you walk into any Wal Mart and you'll have a hard time finding many hard goods that are actually still made here in America.

So going back to our original question, Do we sell made in the USA Christmas lights? Despite our desire to offer domestically made light sets, there is, unfortunately, no manufacturers that still make Christmas lights here in the US. Ironically the first mass-produced light sets were made in the US beginning in the 1920s and continuing for the next 50 years. In fact, the United States was not only the world's leading Christmas light maker but also the leading manufacturer of Christmas decorations.

The reason that Christmas lights are no longer made here boils down to a single reason: The cost of labor. An article in the Huffington Post from a few years ago states that the average American factory worker earns 10 times more than their Chinese counterpart. For many years now, Chinese labor handled the bulk of manufacturing within the Christmas industry. However, in recent years inflation and rapidly increasing labor cost in China has narrowed the cost gap between what it cost to have lights and decorations made in China versus making them here in the US. But even though the gap is narrowing, it would still be at least two or three times more expensive to make Christmas Lights here in the States. Very few consumers would be willing to pay $35 to $45 for a single LED light set.

Fortunately, the future is looking brighter for manufacturing to come back to the US. As foreign labor and fuel prices continue to rise, it will help to level the playing field so that the cost of US manufacturing is not as far out of reach as it once was. Additionally, more automation in the manufacturing process also makes it more feasible for American factories to get back in the game.

So the bottom line is that unfortunately, we are unable to purchase Christmas lights made in the USA, however, our entire line of Commercial Christmas Decorations and Commercial Outdoor Christmas Trees are entirely made here in the US. The steel is all American steel and everything is built using American labor. We are always on the lookout for US manufacturers of good quality Christmas decorations and we hope that the recent trend for more products coming back to the States will continue.

Do you know of a company or individual that is making Christmas decor here in the states? Let us know, we love to find new sources of domestically made products and support US-based businesses.