We all know the saying: "Its all fun and games until someone gets hurt" right? Well, if you don't take the necessary precautions, you could end up in the Hospital on Christmas Morning instead of at home opening presents with your family. Just follow these guidelines to ensure a safe and happy Christmas for you and your family.

Contents 1 Before Lighting 1.1 Step 1 1.2 Step 2 1.3 Step 3 1.4 Step 4 2 Hanging Lights 2.1 Methods 2.1.1 Pay Someone 2.1.2 Ladder 2.1.3 Pole and Hooks 3 Tips 3.1 Never Hang Alone! 3.2 Storing 3.3 Broken Lights 4 End

Before LightingEdit

Step 1Edit

Record how many of each type of light Strand you have, how long it is, and how many can be connected end to end. Also Record Yard Decorations and Extension Cords.

Step 2Edit

Measure all of the dimensions of the face of the house you are decorating, such as the perimeter of the window, or the length of a roof to hang icicle lights on.

Step 3Edit

Make a rough sketch of the front of your house, or which ever side you are decorating, including the yard and all power outlets, windows, roofs, trees, bushes, and garages.

Step 4Edit

Sketch out where you are going to put your lights, how you are going to hang them, and how you will get power to them.

Hanging LightsEdit

MethodsEdit

There are various methods on how to hang lights. Here are a few of the more common ones.

Pay SomeoneEdit

Pay someone Professional to hang your lights for you. This might take the fun out of it, but could save your life when he is putting icicle lights on a second story roof while leaning over the edge to nail in the lights.

LadderEdit

Of all the most old fashioned ways to do lights, a ladder, a hammer, and a box of nails are your best friend. just nail a path of nails spaced about one foot apart from each other to hang them on roofs, or put the ladder up against a tree to wind lights around a tree.

Pole and HooksEdit

Use a specially designed pole with removable light hooks to place the hooks on a gutter or roof, then use the pole again to place the lights in the clips. The best part is, you never leave the ground! some of the poles can extend up to 20 feet, so you may never set foot on a ladder to hang lights from the gutter again!

TipsEdit

Never Hang Alone!Edit

Never do this by yourself. You may need someone on the ground to feed you up strands of lights, or steady the ladder, and If worst comes to worst, call the ambulance!

StoringEdit

When you store you Christmas Lights, wrap them around your wrist, or around your hand before the thumb, so that the next time you take them out, they will be able to be unwound with one person holding one end while the other moves backwards and lets it spin.

Broken LightsEdit

Always replace broken lights as soon as you see them on a strand. Some strands will go out if only one light goes out, so half your house might go out because of one light.

EndEdit

With these tips and tricks, you will have a happier, and less painful Christmas either this year or next year!

This article is currently a featured article, as of January 2009.