Planning and preparation is essential to reducing your stress during the holiday season. While we can’t help you manage your budgets, guests, and travel arrangements, we can help you plan and arrange for safe holiday decorations.
- If you haven’t already done so this month, test all smoke alarms. Replace the batteries, or smoke alarm if it is not working properly.
- Inspect all electrical decorations and replace any that are cracked, frayed, or have other breaks in the insulation of any wires.
- Plan out the placement of your holiday lighting so that no more than three strands are strung together (unless using LEDs).
- Outdoor electric lights and decorations should be plugged into circuits protected by ground fault circuit interrupters (GFCIs). If circuits are not GFCI-protected, portable outdoor GFCIs can be purchased where electrical supplies are sold and require no special knowledge or equipment to install.
- Be sure to check each product label or packaging to determine whether it is intended for indoors or outdoors and utilize accordingly.
- Arrange your decorations so that no outlet is overloaded and no cords will be pinched by furniture or positioned under rugs.
- Be sure all heating sources or open flames, such as a candle or fireplace, are given a three foot buffer from any decorations.
