Bold warning: Safe holiday lights aren’t optional—they protect your home and loved ones from unnecessary hazards. If you want a brighter, cozier season without the risk, this guide lays out practical steps you can follow, with clear explanations and real-world tips. And this is the part many overlook: small faults in décor can spark serious incidents. Here’s a fresh, beginner-friendly rewrite that preserves the essential information and context from the original.
Decorating safely: Practical tips for installing holiday lights
OHIO — When people think of holiday lights, Clark Griswold often comes to mind, but electric string lights have a longer history than that famous movie moment. They’re a staple of festive décor, and they’ve evolved significantly since their first public display.
What you should know
- FirstEnergy is offering guidance on safe light installation for the holiday season
- Be mindful of electrical wires when you’re putting up lights
- Consider using a timer to turn lights off when you’re not home or when you’re sleeping
Historically, the Library of Congress notes that Thomas Edison created the first electric light strand and displayed them outside his laboratory around Christmas in 1880, marking the early days of electric holiday lighting. Electrical safety has improved a great deal since Edison’s era—and especially since the late 1980s—but it’s still smart to exercise caution as you decorate.
Candy Webb, FirstEnergy’s manager of public safety, emphasized that a few simple precautions can keep hazards at bay and let you enjoy time with family and friends. She added that it’s wise to periodically inspect your lights and decorations to ensure everything is functioning safely.
Recent data from the National Fire Protection Association, cited by FirstEnergy, shows that fires related to holiday décor prompt a substantial number of fire department responses. (These figures don’t even include fires caused by Christmas trees.)
FirstEnergy’s guidance for safe light installation
- Inspect for power lines before you install lights and keep strands away from them and other electrical equipment
- Look for a UL mark on light tags; a red mark indicates suitability for indoor or outdoor use, while a green mark indicates indoor use only
- Replace lights that are worn, broken, or have damaged sockets
- Use clips to attach string lights to your home; avoid driving nails or staples through cords
- Use ground-fault circuit interrupters (GFCIs) for lights and inflatables
- Use heavy-duty, outdoor-rated extension cords when decorating outside
- Do not connect more than three sets of lights to a single extension cord
- Keep indoor lights away from flammable materials
- Turn lights off when you go to bed or leave the house; a timer can automate this
- Ensure smoke detectors are installed and functioning properly
If you’d like, I can tailor this to a specific audience (homeowners, renters, or beginners) or adapt the tone to a blog, newsletter, or safety checklist. Would you prefer a version with more step-by-step instructions, or one that emphasizes quick safety reminders for quick reference?
