Turn off holiday lights when you go to sleep or leave home. Make your holiday bright -- and safe, indoors and out. Here's how:
• Pick UL-listed lights and cords suited for indoors or outdoors, and use them into the appropriate place. Discard any lights with cracked plugs or sockets or damaged wire.
• Don't run extension cords under carpets or rugs, across doorways or near heaters.
• Don't attach more than three strands of lights to any one extension cord.
• Keep burning candles on a stable surface, out of the reach of children, away from combustibles such as drapes, curtains or trees, and never leave them unattended.
• Turn off decorative lights when sleeping or away from home.
• Put small or breakable ornaments on high branches.
Outdoor decorations set the stage for celebrating -- and hint at more to come indoors. But put them up with care:
• Use a sturdy ladder. Be cautious on wood-shake roofs, which are treacherous when wet.
• Use insulated staples or hooks to fasten light strings. Keep electrical connectors above ground and out of puddles.
• If possible, face bulbs down so they don't collect water.
• Unplug light strings before working with them. Use an outlet protected with a GFCI device.
• Turn off outdoor lights when you're asleep or away from the house.
-- Homes & Gardens staff
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