Keep merry mishaps to a minimum with these simple safety tips for holiday decorations

Half the fun of the gift-giving season is decking the halls and stringing up the lights. Decorations can turn your home into a beacon of holiday spirit, but if you have little ones to look out for, you’ll need to take some precautions to avoid accidents and ensure their safety. Brush up on these six safety tips for holiday decorations to keep your children out of harm’s way.

Opt for Non-Flammable or Fire-Resistant Decorations

Flammable holiday decorations, like those made of paper, wood, and cloth, can quickly become a fire hazard if they’re accessible enough to be played with or knocked over. Whenever possible, use durable, fire-resistant decorations made from things like plastic, glass, or metal.

And when setting up flammable items, make sure they’re a safe distance (at least three feet) from any heat sources in your home, such as your fireplace, radiator, stove, candles, lights, etc.

Christmas Tree Safety

Infants and toddlers love to expand their palates by putting whatever they can find in their mouths. That said, there are several things to keep in mind when childproofing your Christmas tree, so we’ve made a quick list for your reference:

• Attach your Christmas lights to the tree branches with zip ties or other secure fasteners to ensure they can’t be pulled off and turned into a choking or tripping hazard. 
• Keep the lights high enough on the tree that they’re out of reach.
• Keep any tinsel and garland out of reach as well.
• Place any fragile ornaments on the higher branches.
• Put softer, stronger ornaments on the lower branches. If these items get knocked off, they’ll be more likely to survive the fall.
• If you want to eliminate the risk of tree tampering altogether, throw up a baby gate around it. With a gate, you can decorate the tree to your heart’s content without worrying about broken ornaments or choking hazards.

Clean Up as You Go

To avoid wrapping paper, ribbons, and bows building up on the floor, make an effort to clean up as you go when opening presents. Leftover wrapping can be a tripping and choking hazard, so the quicker you clear it away, the better.

You can tackle this issue preemptively by setting yourself up with a couple of trash bags before diving into the presents. That way, you’ll be ready to start cleaning right away.

Keep Potentially Dangerous Items Out of Reach

Holiday decorations and the supplies needed to set them up are often hazardous to children. In the chaos of the holidays, it can be easy to mistakenly leave these items in easy-to-reach places or misplace them entirely. 

That’s why it’s so important to stay vigilant. Keep any sharp, heavy, or breakable items far from the edges of counters and other surfaces in your home to prevent them from being pulled down. 

Set up candles on high surfaces far from anything flammable, and stow matches and lighters safely when not in use. Ideally, you should keep these items above floor level in a child-locked drawer or cabinet.

Many holiday decorations require batteries to operate, including small coin-shaped ones. These are easily confused with a tasty snack and need to be kept out of sight at all times.

If they’re old enough to understand, ensure your little ones know that the above items are not toys and shouldn’t be played with. 

Use Plastic Caps on Any Unused Outlets

To set up all your holiday lights, chances are you had to break out nearly every power strip and extension cord you have. That means several outlets are probably left without anything plugged in, which can be an electrocution risk.

To prevent wandering fingers and toys from prying at unused outlets, invest in some plastic caps to close them off. They’re super cheap, take seconds to install, and the level of safety they provide makes them well worth the time and money.

Set Up Baby Gates to Close Off Heat Sources

A baby gate around the tree is a great way to keep it off-limits, but you can use more than one to keep your children extra safe. You may already have a glass or screen door blocking off your fireplace, but a baby gate can add an extra level of safety to prevent the little ones from getting too close. The heat can still pass through, after all.

Another good spot is around the radiator. Even with close supervision, a playful child can accidentally slip or run into something dangerous like this, which could cause serious burns.

Rather than hoping these things don’t happen, it’s best to remove the risk entirely so you can enjoy the holidays with a greater sense of peace of mind.