The holidays are a festive time to gather with friends, family, and colleagues to share in the joy of the season.  You’ll want your home to look its very best with the twinkling lights and your decorations that turn your home into a wonderland of delight but there are some safety tips that you should follow as you begin to adorn your home with the tree, tinsel, and other things that make your home inviting and comfortable for the holidays.

1.    Check your live Christmas tree for freshness.  A good tree will be green, have needles that are hard to pull from its branches, and branches that won’t break when you bend them between your fingers.  Look at the bottom of the tree for sticky resin that indicates your tree has been cut recently; also when you tap the tree on the ground, the needles shouldn’t fall off.

2.    Make sure to keep your tree away from heat sources.  Don’t place it close to fireplaces, vents, or radiators which can all dry the tree out. Be sure that you keep your tree watered; check its water level daily.

3.    If you’re buying an artificial tree, make sure that it has a “fire resistant” label which means that your tree won’t catch fire as easily as those without this feature.

4.    When you’re decorating the tree with your children, avoid using heavy, sharp, or breakable decorations.  If you do use these types of decoration on your tree, place them out of the reach of your children.

5.    Use candles only on stable, heat-resistant surfaces and never leave them burning in a room where no one is present.  Don’t place them close to curtains, your Christmas tree, or other flammable items.

6.    Use only lights both indoors and outdoors that have met safety requirements and make sure that you are using them in the area for which they were intended.  Be sure to check each set for damage and replace any faulty bulbs before you put them up.

7.    Make sure that any decorations are placed in areas that don’t have a lot of traffic in your home.  You won’t want guests tripping over decorations that are placed in an area that your visitors must walk through.

8.    Never burn wrapping paper in your fireplace.  When gifts are opened and the paper is discarded, put it in the trash for proper disposal; a flash fire can result suddenly and burn intensely in your fireplace and could cause a destructive chimney fire.

Making your home attractive, comfortable, and cozy during the holidays is part of the joy of owning a nice home and entertaining those whom are special to you.  Just be sure to follow some cautious steps as you and your family make preparations for all of the festivities to come.