Holiday Decorating Safety Tips

Tinsel, wrapping paper, trees, and sparking lights—while pretty and festive, these Christmas staples are also potential hazards in your home. It’s easy to get caught up in holiday madness with food in the kitchen and family running around the house. But according to the Consumer Product Safety Commission, home holiday decorations cause more than 400 fires each year, so it’s important to keep your seasonal celebrations safe. We spoke to three of our top decor and design bloggers from Catch My Party, Spearmint Baby, and Modern Day Moms to find out how they keep their homes safe while trimming the tree and decking the halls for the yuletide.

Cara Chronis, Glam editor: What are your holiday decorating safety tips?

Jillian Tohber Leslie, Catch My Party
My main concern in the winter months when it comes to decorating is fire safety. When I found out about the Energizer Flameless Candles I was very excited. These worked perfectly for our outdoor Halloween decorations this year—I put them in paper bags to light the path to our door and in our jack-o’-lanterns—and I will definitely be using them for my Christmas decorating. They’ll look great on my mantel and dining-room table. Plus, I might light up a gingerbread house with them. As a mom, it makes me feel so much safer to know there are great alternatives to candles out there.

Shari Lott, Spearmint Baby
Over the holidays I light lots of candles and always keep them up high where the kids and dog cannot reach them. My 2-year-old can climb up on the kitchen table, so candles there are not an option. A really great alternative that I’ve recently discovered is the Energizer Flameless Candle. If you’re the mom of a toddler, you will especially love these. They really give off great mood lighting and can be placed all over the home without the same concerns you may have with real candles. They’re also great for holiday parties, where people may be moving around a lot and bumping into things.

I also double check to make sure I blow out any candles and unplug any holiday lights before I leave the house.

Jessica Lynn, Modern Day Moms
Make sure to keep the candles away from the decorations! Use votive, candleholders, or Flameless Candles if need be, and make sure you’re always by the open flame. When it comes to Christmas-tree lights, make sure you don’t leave them lit while you are away from the home.