Safety Guidelines to Decorate your Family Christmas Tree
Unless you have a set tradition for decorating the Christmas tree, every year you give thought to how you can make the Christmas tree more stunning - and safe.
08/12/2022
Christmas is a special time of year for families. It is a time when family and friends gather together to create lasting memories and celebrate joy with their children. And let's be honest... decorating the Christmas tree in a family home is all about the children. So, why is it that so many accidents involving infants, toddlers and children happen over the festive season?
A Christmas tree is an essential part of decorating a home for the festive season for many and for a whole month it takes up a special place where it can be adored and bring joy at this time of the year. Here are some important guidelines to stick to when setting up a Christmas tree in the home.
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1. Prevent the tree from tipping
Infants, toddlers, and even young children can get up to mischief and that isn't even including any pets in the home. For safety and peace of mind, take the necessary steps to secure the Christmas tree so that it will not tip or fall over. If you have a tall, freestanding tree, an easy way to fasten the top of the tree to the ceiling or a light fixture is using a piece of ribbon or string. This solution also works well if you have pets in the home and particularly cats that love to climb the tree!
2. Fence off decorations
If you are worried about infants getting too close to the Christmas tree, set up a fence around the tree at a safe distance, similar to what they do in shopping centres. This method will keep the tree, decorations, lights, and presents out of harm's way.
3. Protect electrical wires and power outlets
We all like to think that a Christmas tree catching fire won't happen to us... until it does. The truth is that Christmas trees on fire, both live and artificial trees, occur more than we think and it all boils down to safety. Carefully inspect any wired decorations, including fairy or rope lights, to make sure the cords are not frayed or broken and replace any damaged globes.
That is the first step in Christmas tree safety. The second step is to make sure that the power outlet is out of reach of infants and young children. Most tree lights have a 2-pin plug and that means you usually have to use a 2-pin adaptor in the power outlet. To avoid curious mind, cover up the power outlet to keep it away from little fingers.
With the abundance of cords that accompany tree lights, use zip ties to organise them.
4. Fasten decorations securely
Christmas baubles and decorations simply are not designed with safety in mind and most are considered choking hazards. Tree baubles usually have a click-on top that is pushed onto the end of a tree branch for quick and easy installation. The downside to this is that they can easily be pulled off the tree and broken.
Shop for decorations that will not break easily or can be securely fastened onto the tree branches.
5. Location, location, location
Many people like to decorate a mantel shelf above an open fireplace but many forget that the majority of decorations are synthetic in nature and therefore highly flammable. Putting anything synthetic near and open flame - or a heater - is most definitely a bad idea so it is best to forget about decorations that hang over the fire and rather decorate the mantel shelf.
Unless you have a live tree, keep artificial trees away from any heat source. Even a live tree can be just as dangerous is it has time to dry out.
