Holiday Safety Tips

Most holiday accidents revolve around the Christmas tree and the dangers of fire, so pay special attention to making your Christmas tree safe. The following tips are some things to keep in mind when choosing your tree, bringing it home, and decorating it.

• If you plan to use a fresh tree, make sure it really is fresh. The first sign of a fresh tree? A fresh tree is green.
• Fresh needles are difficult to pull off the branches.
• Try bending a needle with your fingers. A fresh tree's needles will bend but not break.
• Touch the butt of the tree's trunk. If it is fresh, it will be sticky with resin.
• Try bouncing the bottom of the tree trunk on the ground. If lots of needles fall off, the tree is too dry.
• Once you bring your fresh tree home, you want to keep it moist as best you can. Start by cutting off a couple inches from the bottom of the trunk. This helps the tree absorb more water when placed in the stand.
• Trim any small branches from the trunk's bottom to make it easy to insert into the tree stand.
• Make sure you use a sturdy tree stand with wide legs. You don't want the tree tipping over because you used a flimsy stand.
• Place the tree as far away as possible from heat sources such as radiators, heaters, or fireplaces.
• Remember that hot rooms will dry a tree out faster. In any case, make sure you keep the tree stand water pan filled with water at all times. Check it at least twice a day.
• If you plan to use an artificial tree, read the label. Make sure it states that the tree is fire resistant.
• Make sure the Christmas tree lights you use are in good shape. Don't use any that look like they have frayed or exposed wires.
• If you use fresh greenery for decorating (such as pine needles, pine cones, holly, etc.), use the same kinds of precautions as you would for your tree. They can burn just as easily as a tree can.
• If you have small children (or pets), keep fragile ornaments and decorations away from their little hands (or paws). Consider placing glass ornaments up high, or don't use them at all until the little ones get older.
• Candles make for beautiful holiday lighting, but be careful with them. Try to use only candles in glass containers (such as jars). A candle that is tipped over can turn a holiday into a disaster. And with kids' natural curiosity, a burning candle is hard to resist. Keep those candles out of the reach of children and pets, and make sure they are properly contained.
• Mistletoe, holly and pyrancantha are standard holiday decorations but they are all toxic, even fatal when ingested, so make sure your kids and pets cannot get to them. Although pointsettias are not poisonous to humans, ingesting large amounts will cause severe stomach problems so keep them away from kids and pets as well.

Make sure your family's holidays stay warm, beautiful, bright, and fun by following these safety tips. Don't take chances so everyone has a very Merry Christmas.