Electric Christmas decorations are stunning and can be an asset to your home during the Christmas season, however you will need to ensure they are set up correctly. All adults and children love to celebrate with fairy lights, rope lights and light motifs that are erected either inside or outside their homes. It isn’t Christmas without decorations and the family moments that have everyone involved in designing and setting up their home.
As a family, you will certainly need to be aware of safety, including fire safety, with your electric Christmas decorations. The festive season can be busy and joyful, but during these emotional and eventful moments accidents can happen. It is very easy to make a mistake in setting up decorations that could be disastrous if it isn’t rectified. Careful attention will need to be paid to unpacking, selecting and decorating with anything electrical, and everyone involved should know the safety precautions to follow.
When we imagine our beautiful home, carefully decorated with lights and brilliant items, it can be easy to rush in with our hearts, not our common sense. The secret though, to a truly rewarding Christmas, is a balance in aesthetic appeal and good old fashioned safety. You can achieve both, with using your heart and your mind to make decisions.
We want you to have a safe and wonderful Christmas, filled with good times and peace of mind, so we have gathered some ideas on how you can NOT set up your electrical Christmas decorations. Along with other advice that you might find, from the appropriate safety advisory organisations, you can make your own decisions to keep you and your family safe during the holiday season.
Don’t rush in, without reading the packaging and or instructions
Unpacking decorations can and should be fun, but you will also need to take some time to read the instructions that come with electric decorations, to ensure the safety of yourself and your family. Electric decorations can spark fires and cause electrocution if they are not used properly, and they need to be treated with care.
Each set of Christmas decorations needs to be set up differently, which means it is important to read the instructions for every single package that you have. Fairy lights may need to be used differently to rope lights, and each manufacturer has their own requirements for safe use and installation.
Don’t use indoor decorations outdoors
If you are planning to decorate the front of your house or your outdoor yard, you will need to use the right equipment. It can be highly dangerous to use indoor lights outside your home, and it is important that you don’t disregard this fact. Many homes catch fire, simply because the owners of the decorations tried to use them incorrectly, because they were too rushed to by the appropriate items, or because they were trying to save money.
Lights and electric Christmas decorations are labelled for good reason, and any installation instructions should be respected. Use indoor lights indoors, and outdoor lights outdoors. Remember the that weather and rain and corrode wires and protective coverings, and interfere with the safety of electric currents. Use Christmas decorations for their right purposes.
Don’t piggy back double adaptors
There are lots of different ways to connect Christmas decorations to the wall, and you will need to ensure that you do this correctly, if you want a safe and successful Christmas. Avoid overloading sockets and adapters, and connecting several of them together. Space out, organise and tie down your cords if necessary, and ensure that all of your wall outlets are appropriately loaded.