6 Safety Tips for Holiday Decorating

Twinkling lights and crackling fires are part of the season — but you need to be careful with your holiday decorations. Help keep yourself and your household safe by following these holiday decorating safety tips. 

Take Care with Your Tree

Whether you’re hauling home a fresh-cut tree from a farm or lugging the real-looking tree out of the attic, lift and move safely so you don’t hurt your back. Leave it to the pros at the farm to put your tree on top of your car. Get anyone in your family who’s mature and strong enough to help with moving the tree. 

If you’re bringing a heavy tree up or down stairs, consider taking it apart and carrying the pieces separately rather than moving it all at once.

Look Out for Lights

One of the most important safety tips for holiday decorating is to make sure you’re using lights safely. Otherwise, you risk an electric shock or a dangerous electrical fire. Before you put up any lights, check them for damage or fraying. Replace any strands that show signs of wear and put bulbs in empty sockets. The days of, “when one goes out, they all go out” may be behind us, but an open bulb socket is hazardous.

When stringing up lights outdoors, make sure you only use lights marked on the packaging as designed for outside use. They are safety tested to withstand rain, snow and cold. They should also be plugged into ground-fault circuit interrupter (GFCI) outlets. Don’t run lights through doors or windows since they could be damaged.

If you need to use extension cords to power your lights, don’t overload them and make sure to position them where people won’t trip over them. 

Watch Out for Fire Hazards

Your tree may look pretty next to the fireplace but keep it at least three feet away from flames. Place any mantel hangings or garlands a safe distance away from the fireplace opening. That goes for candles, too — keep them at a distance from your tree and any other flammable decorations.

Be Careful with Heights

If you’re using a ladder to hang decorations, don’t overreach and risk falling. Move the ladder as often as you need to make sure you’re not leaning too far to one side. Take 30 seconds to move your ladder instead of the next few months to recover from a fall.

The same goes for your Christmas tree. If you have a tall tree and you need to stand on a ladder, stool or chair to reach the high branches, move it around the tree as needed. It may help to have someone pass lights and ornaments to you so you can decorate a section, then move on to another area.

Protect Children and Yourself

If you don’t have young children living in your home, it might not be childproof. Be sure stairways and cabinets are latched and blocked and put any dangerous or fragile items away. Make sure that little hands can’t grab lights, ornaments or decorations.

And if you’re playing with kids or teenagers for the first time in a while, remember that you’re not a kid yourself. Go ahead and have fun but know your limits. It might not be a great idea to get on that skateboard, even if you remember how fun it used to be. A walk, bike ride or game of tag might be a better choice.

Water Your Tree and Dispose of It Properly

Water won’t keep a cut tree healthy forever, but it will extend its life and keep it from drying out quickly. A dry tree will burn much faster than one that’s been watered regularly.

Never burn a Christmas tree in a fireplace once you’re finished with it. Christmas trees are highly flammable — a spark could have your house ablaze in minutes. Put your tree out for pickup, take it to a recycling center or let it compost naturally by using it for mulch.

Make Sure Your Home Is Covered

It’s important to take all the safety steps you can, but you can’t prevent every potential problem. Reach out to a Farm Bureau insurance agent and make sure your property is protected. If something happens, you want your homeowner’s insurance to be there for you.