When decorating for the Holiday’s of course everyone wants their home to be festive and beautiful but remember to keep safety in mind. There are many house fires every year during the Holiday Season due to faulty lighting, trees too close to the fire place and candles placed too close to other decorations. A little planning and your holiday season can be festive and safe. A lot of our tips I’m sure you have already heard – but it has been a year since you’ve decorated for the Holiday’s review the list for a refresher to help keep your home and family safe.
Trees:
- When purchasing a live tree for your home, check for freshness. A fresh tree is green, needles are hard to pull from the branches and when bent between your fingers, needles do not break. The truck butt of a fresh tree is sticky with resin, and when tapped on the ground, the tree should not loose any needles.
- When setting up a tree at home, place it away from fireplaces, radiators or portable heaters. Place the tree out of the way of traffic and do not block doorways.
- Cut a few inches off the truck of your free to expose the fresh wood. This allows for better water absorption and will help keep your tree from drying out and becoming a fire hazard
- Be sure to keep the stand filled with water, heated rooms can dry the tree out
- Remove your tree right after the holiday’s are over. Keeping the tree up means it will begin to dry out and become a fire hazard
- Only have the lights on in your tree when you are home
Lights:
- Check all tree lights-even if you’ve just purchased them- before hanging on your tree. Make sure all bulbs work and there are no frayed wires, broken sockets or loose connections
- Before using lights outdoors, check labels to be sure they have been certified for outdoor use.
- It’s a good idea to plug lights and outdoor decorations into timers that will turn on and off automatically. Lights don’t need to be on all night.
Decorations:
- Use only non-combustible or flame-resistant materials to trim a tree.
- Never use lighted candles on a tree or near other evergreens.
- Keep trimmings that have small removable parts out of reach of children to prevent them from swallowing or inhaling small pieces. Avoid trimmings that resemble candy or food that may tempt a young child to eat them.
Have a happy and safe Holiday Season from All Reasons Moving!
For tips on packing up after the holidays see our blog: Packing & Storing Holiday Decorations