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The winter holidays are meant to be festive and fun. To keep things festive and fun, you need to keep them safe. The NFPA reports that there are an average of 160 home fires started with Christmas trees annually. And that isn’t the only danger to your holiday season. Christmas safety is important and with COVID threatening a winter spike, your holiday safety plan is as important as ever.
How to put lights on the Christmas tree – safely
If you’re like me, putting the lights on the Christmas tree is one part festive excitement and one part frustration with tangles and missing bulbs. My arms are never long enough to get around the tree which sits against a wall where I can’t walk around it. But it all seems to be worth it when I finally finish with perfectly spaced twinkles of light.
Here’s how to make putting lights on the Christmas tree a safe endeavor: Test the string of lights before you put them on the tree to make sure all bulbs are working. Check the wires for wear and tear; exposed wires and cracked bulb sockets can quickly heat up or spark leading to a fire. Don’t wrap lights around flammable ornaments.
There’s more to tree decorating safety than just having lights that work and are in good condition. Make sure you use a secure step stool or ladder to place hard to reach spots at the top of the tree. This is where having a spotter to hold the ladder helps to keep you safe — and stay off the eggnog until you finish with the ladder.
Keep your Christmas tree hydrated to prevent it from drying out prematurely. Dry and brittle trees don’t just look bad, they’re at a higher risk of catching fire. “We put up several fake trees around the house to avoid real trees dying," New Jersey mom Anna Choi told Mom.com, "We just couldn’t keep one green. With the fake trees, the kids have one that is all theirs to decorate.”
Just make sure your fake tree is fire resistant!
Other household decorations, both inside and out
Decking the halls often involves decorations both inside and out. Keep these tips in mind to decorate safely:
- When putting decorations around the house, make sure to keep heating vents free and clear of anything that could cause debris to fall in and become a fire hazard.
- Limit candle use to areas where they have enough space to burn without potentially igniting something in the house. It’s not just the tree that can start a fire!
- When decorating outdoors, make anything with a ladder a two-person job. One person hangs the lights while the other person has a firm grip on the ladder to prevent wobbles and falls.
- Make sure to secure and tape down any cords along pathways to prevent anyone from tripping. Nearly 4,000 people a year are treated by ER doctors because they got hurt by an accident with an extension cord. Half of those are from tripping. And cords are a serious choking hazard for young children.
Christmas safety tips: Think like a child to identify choking hazards and other dangers
Dr. Tony Woodward of Seattle Children’s Hospital told Mom.com that you have to get into the mindset of a child to best protect your little ones. “Get down on your hands and knees and look around the house. If something looks shiny and enticing, a child may want to put it in their mouth. Keep decorations high and out of reach,” he advised.
This includes garland, tinsel, and delicate ornaments. Ornaments that are made up of various pieces can break and become choking hazards. And the lights on the tree might seem enticing to pull at, potentially bringing the whole tree down on children.
Don’t forget about plants you may use around the house to make the season feel more festive. Mistletoe, holly, and poinsettias may be common but they can be dangerous to humans and animals. Don’t leave these around where kids or pets can get to them. While you’re at it, don’t put decorations out that look like food, you never know when someone will try to eat them and get sick.
With all the lights posing a fire risk, make sure to turn everything off when you go to sleep or leave the house. This prevents a spark from igniting when you least expect it.
Decorating and COVID-19
I really enjoy having friends over for a tree decorating party. It’s fun to share the stories behind the ornaments and fond memories of childhood (ours and the kids). But 2020 will be different, and any celebrations will be socially distanced. The CDC recommends avoiding gatherings, especially if they are indoors. This makes something like a tree decorating party a no-go, at least for us.
