I got some bad news yesterday — my dad fell nearly 2 stories from a ladder while hanging Christmas lights. He's going to be ok (thankfully, despite multiple pelvic fractures) but it got me thinking about all the things that can go wrong due to our holiday exuberance. I wonder if a lot of emergency rooms saw high numbers of holiday related accidents last weekend (probably, right?). In the spirit of keeping everyone merry, here are some little known safety tips.
Logic should prevail, but in case it doesn't, here is a video and and some written info on general holiday safety. As I nosed around I came across some things I didn't know — and am glad I do now!
1) When stringing together lights for outdoors, it is a good idea to wrap the plug joints with electrical tape. This will help to protect you from electric shock.
2) Salt (sea) water and holiday lights don't mix. I found this out first-hand over Thanksgiving when we stayed in a beach house for a friend's wedding. Even though the lights were only up for a few days, the constant sea water misting of the lights that we hung on the balcony as wedding decor turned them into extremely dangerous electrocution devices. I'm not exactly sure of the science here, but I seem to remember from high school chemistry that salt water conducts electricity better than fresh water. After we were shocked...I looked up and down the beach and saw no other twinkle lights… and I think there might have been a good reason...
3) For similar reasons (danger of electrocution) you should never hang lights on a metal tree. Instead consider uplighting from a spot light.
4) We got a puppy this year (want to see him?), so I have been keen to learn a bit more about holiday pet safety — this was useful.
5) Traveling by air? Did you know that there are special TSA approved baggage locks that you can use? If the TSA needs to get into your bag, they can, without breaking the lock — but no one else can.
And one last thing: nearly all the standard holiday gift plants (poinsettias, paper-whites, lilies, amaryllis, mistletoe, holly) are toxic to pets and often people as well. Take care when decorating to make sure that these don't get ingested and are properly handled.
Do you have any holiday safety tips to share?
(Image: Shutterstock)
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They ASPCA list you linked to mentioned not letting pets drink the water at the base of a Christmas tree -- but it can be even worse than they mentioned, I know someone whose childhood cat died from drinking that water.
I'm very sorry about your dad's injuries, that sounds terrible! My best wishes for his complete and speedy recovery.
I second good thoughts for your Papa.
Make sure your tree isn't top heavy or the truck of the tree isn't too small. Either way, it will tip over especially if the truck is too small. They don't seem to make tree holders small enough even when you screw them right into the tree...I know this from experience when my little tree fell while I had friends over for Christmas one year. We had to tie the tree to the window with floss so it wouldn't continue to fall over. It was only 3' tall too but the truck was just way too small for it to stand in the tree holder..
Ooh, ouch! Hope he recovers quickly!
Ornament hooks were a surprise hazard for us when my kid was younger; now I just use ribbon, and I'll never see a kid trying to eat an ornament hook ever again. Not to mention, I won't get stabbed in the foot by one that's hiding in the carpet! :(
My friend's cat unraveled and ate string from an ornament of some kind, and had to have emergency surgery.
It's funny you mentioned ER's around the holidays---I have also heard that people will put off going to the hospital on the holiday itself (for something like chest pain), putting them at greater risk. All because they don't want to interrupt the celebration.
If you have a floor tree & a dog who's too young/silly to be trustworthy, & a floor plan that makes it difficult to keep tree & puppy apart, consider an exercise pen (doggy playpen) but for the tree--lights, cords, presents, & all--not the dog. May get you a few funny looks from your friends. May also prevent present shredding, electrocution, house fires, emergency surgery. I have a fellow-service-dog-raiser friend who almost always has a Christmas puppy, & has done this for many years.
My cat used to bite and eat the Christmas lights on the tree. She lived to be 19. Go figure.
I am so sorry about your dad! I hope he feels better soon. I had my own mishap this past weekend. I accidentally sliced my finger open with a handsaw while cutting lower branches off my Christmas tree. It bled like crazy but no stitches thankfully. I did, however, have to get a tetanus shot. I highly recommend getting a tree from someone who can cut the end and lower branches for you!
I hope your dad heals quickly and comfortably!!
Praying Dad recovers quickly & suffers no long term effects.
The poinsettia is not poisonous, btw.
Hope your Dad heals well.
Fireplace safety: kids can burn their hands on glass and metal fire screens or on woodburning stoves. It can happen in a second. Be careful if you are visiting a friend's house and they have their fireplace or their stove lit. It is easy to get distracted and often you may not recognize the danger fast enough.
And check out the William Shatner Turkey Deep Frying Safety Video!
Thanks for the tips! Hope your dad heals fully and quickly!
Also test your pet's comfort level with different decorations...if you think the holidays can be stressful for a person, try being an English Bulldog puppy seeing a *huge* Christmas tree for the first time! You'd back up and knock over Dad's guitar, too!
PS -Zippy is rad!
Wishing for a speedy recovery for your dad.
Also in the hanging lights safety tips -- Know where the power lines are!!! My neighbor's power lines swoop low across my driveway and this year I barely stopped my boyfriend from hitting them with the metal extension ladder while hanging lights on my house. It took ME about two minutes to breathe again after that.
We have very busy cats, so I use plastic coated wire to attach the top of the Christmas tree to two places on the wall, so if they decide to climb it it will hopefully stay upright.
We also are very mindful of the ornaments we choose. There are plenty of plastic ones that can get knocked around that are just as lovely as glass.
And last, we had a cat who LOVED the curly ribbon. She had special radar for the stuff and would just suck it down like spaghetti within minutes of realizing it was in the house. More than one trip to the vet. We started using with real cloth ribbon which didn't appeal to her and would check presents as they came in and change out the ribbon.
So sorry about your dad - scary to think of climbing up on the roof for any reason.
My dogs were excited last year to have a tree indoors as they assumed it was there for them to pee on it. Just sayin' - you might want to consider putting something under the tree that's waterproof?
When my kids were little, I used felt and quilted decorations and ribbons so nothing would fall off the tree and bop them on the head or end up in sharp fragments on the floor. We later made decorations and kept them from year to year (had a bit of a problem with one decorated with Cheerios when little mousies found it and ate them).
My family tradition was to put an electric candle inside each window - low key, very pretty, safer.