Decorate Safely This Season

Who’s Hanging the Holiday Lights? 

With Halloween right around the corner, many people are getting out their orange, purple, and green lights—and before you know it, they’ll be putting up the red and green lights. While you may not be thrilled with the idea of paying someone to put up your lights, that doesn’t necessarily mean that you should just do it yourself. People can become seriously injured when putting up holiday lights by themselves. This can be especially dangerous in the winter when weather conditions are more extreme than in October and September when weather conditions are generally more mild as opposed to the weather conditions in November and December. If you’re considering putting up lights this holiday season, consider hiring someone else to do it. 

Make Sure Your Breaker Box Can Handle It 

Not all houses have wiring that’s designed to accommodate today’s technology. In fact, it may be surprising to hear, but many experts recommend that homes get rewired every thirty to forty years. So, if your home was built in 1995, there’s a chance that it may need to be rewired sooner than you’d probably like. While this is certainly not to say that every single home built before 1995 absolutely needs to be rewired before Halloween and Christmas decorations can be put up, homeowners should be cognizant of the status of their house’s wiring. If you put up inflatable decorations, lights, or other electronic decorations in your yard, and your home is over 30 years old, you should remain on the look out for signs that your breaker box is struggling to handle the lights.  

Don’t Create Slip and Fall Hazards! 

A lot of decorations that are placed in the front lawn can create slip and fall hazards, especially if they could impede someone’s path to the front door. While this is most commonly a problem in September and October when there are more people (trick-or-treaters) who are likely to walk up to your front door, it can also be an issue in November and December depending on how your property is laid out and how you’ve arranged the decorations. Keep in mind that the nights are getting longer and the days are getting shorter. If you are planning on decorating, remember that those coming up to your front door may not be able to see very well, especially if the path to the porch isn’t well-lit. Therefore, your guests may be at risk of tripping over decorations that are difficult to see.  

Don’t Make the Decorations Too Tempting 

If you have children, especially very young ones, you know that they’re not always concerned with things like foresight and safety—that’s why they’ve got you, after all. Halloween and Christmas decorations can be particularly tempting to a young child. Children may see the decorations and wander into your yard to get a closer look, and this can be a problem if you have hazards in your yard such as animals, land formations, projects, etc. For example, if your aggressive dog hangs out in your yard, and a child climbs over the fence to get a closer look at your Halloween decorations, the child could become seriously injured. If there are hazards in the yard, make sure to remove them if you’re planning on having decorations that could be interesting enough to cause a child to want to get a second look. 

Consider Composting the Pumpkins 

The pumpkin is the ultimate low-maintenance decoration. You buy it at the grocery store for only a few dollars then you set it on your porch for the fall season. You don’t even have to carve it if you can’t find the time. Plus, you can make some delicious pumpkin pie out of it for Thanksgiving, so that it gets eaten before the Christmas decorations go up. While it may sound like a good idea, it’s important to keep an eye on the pumpkin—it might not keep as long as you’d think. Furthermore, while sitting on the ground, your pumpkin may come into contact with bacteria that could be harmful. It is generally not recommended to pick fruit off the ground for the same reason. 

Reconsider Strobe Lights 

Strobe lights can pose a danger to your neighbors, especially those who have medical conditions, such as epilepsy. While strobe lights can be popular during both Halloween and Christmas time, they may not be the best option, especially as the days are growing shorter and nights are growing longer. Visibility is already decreasing earlier and earlier; the last thing you’d want is for someone to get into an accident due to the strobe lights on your home. 

Stay Safe this Holiday Season

At Moxie Law Group, we’re wishing you a safe holiday season. Unfortunately, we know that not everyone is able to reduce every single risk and eliminate every single hazard. After all, you simply can’t control the actions of others and whether or not they’re going to be negligent. If you’ve been injured due to the negligence of another person, contact Moxie Law Group today for a free consultation.