As LEDs have become cheaper, their uses have expended to Christmas lights. We anticipate normal Christmas lights to be discontinued very shortly.
Just look at the brightness and power savings with LED christmas lights

One of the most popular uses of flexible LEDs is installation on automobiles. They are waterproof so they can take a good beating as long as they are not struck with sharp objects.
There are also other options such as
Super bright & wide angle LEDs are encased in an attractive black housing. We call these guys our "Beefy" LED Strips because they are virtually indestructible. The Beefy LED Strips were developed to meet a popular demand for heavy duty applications. Trust me, put these in your wheel wells and you'll be happy. These Beefy LED strips are so tough that they'll outlast your vehicle or anything you mount them on.
Much like our Original Flexible Strips, our Beefy LED Strips are ready for 12V, weather proof, and of course super flexible.

We tested some LED rope lights from PlasmaLED.com in various colors such as RED, BLUE & White.
Advantages of LED rope lights over LED strips
1. Brightness
2. Lower Cost
3. More durable
Disadvantages
1. Larger and bulky
2. Not as flexible
3. Heavy
4. Not as directional light
We do recommend their rope lights, but if you are in need of an LED product for small area's we recommend the strips. For larger area's or outside installations we highly recommend LED rope lights because they can take some serious abuse and they are waterproof.
LED strips come in various forms and thickness. You can buy LED strips with various size LEDs as well.
We tested a sample from PlasmaLED and found it quite pleasing. The output was very good. The LED strips were very flexible and withstanding abuse. We highly recommend